By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
In his second campaign as a member of FC Bayern Munich and fifth overall in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, Augustine Rubit finally earns a monthly MVP award in Europe’s premier club continental competition.
Rubit, 33, was named January MVP, Euroleague Basketball announced Monday.
The previous nods went to Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet’s Luca Vildoza in December, Olympiacos’ Sasha Vezenkov in November, and AS Monaco’s Mike James in October.
Averaging 11.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.3 blocks per contest over 17 appearances in the 2022-23 edition of EuroLeague, Rubit, an NCAA product coming out of South Alabama in 2014, powered Bayern to a 9-12 record, two games shy of the Playoffs zone with 13 games left in the double-legged round-robin schedule.
Per the press release: “Starting the new year in 17th place amid a spate of injuries, FC Bayern Munich needed an anchor if it was going to climb back into the playoffs race in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. A month later, Bayern is very much back in that race after having found its anchor in forward Augustine Rubit, who is Euroleague Basketball’s choice as MVP for January.
Rubit supplied regular, efficient offense as Bayern went 4-1 in January and vaulted to 13th place, just two victories from the playoffs places with 13 rounds left to play. He scored between 13 and 23 points in all five January games, making more than 70% of all his shots. He ranked second among all EuroLeague players during the month in both scoring and performance index rating, giving Bayern’s offense the stability it needed to make a run for its third consecutive playoffs berth despite having started the season 0-5.
The MVP of the Month award is now in its 18th season. The winner is named by Euroleague Basketball based on his and his team’s performance during the month in question. The January MVP award includes the five games that all teams played between Wednesday, January 4 and Friday, January 27. Rubit, 33 , becomes the first Bayern player to win an MVP of the Month honor in the club’s eight EuroLeague seasons.
Bayern started 2023 with a bang, topping Panathinaikos Athens 84-68 at home for what remains its biggest win all season as Rubit starred with 23 points on 9-for-13 two-point and 5-for-6 free-throw shooting. His 34 PIR that night matched Rubit’s career best in five EuroLeague seasons and 140 games. Rubit would score 13 points and post a PIR of 14 as Bayern followed up with a 92-79 home win against Cazoo Baskonia-Vitoria Gasteiz, avenging a 25-point road loss just a month earlier. Rubit had 21 points and a PIR of 26 in Bayern’s sole January defeat, a 79-71 decision on the floor of Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul. Bayern stayed on the road to rally past Anadolu Efes Istanbul 81-89 as Rubit contributed 14 points, 9 of those as Bayern came back from a 13-point deficit with 7 minutes to play. Bayern finished the month beating Virtus Segafredo Bologna 91-84 behind Rubit’s game highs of 18 points and 21 PIR.
Rubit finished his stellar month of play with averages of 17.8 points and 21.0 PIR. He made a league-high 32 two-pointers at a rate of 72.1% for January. He also hit 4 of his 6 three-point attempts (66.7%) and 15 of 20 free throws (75%). Bayern fans will be able to show their appreciation when Rubit receives his award at an upcoming home game.”
Photo Credit: EuroleagueBasketball.net