By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Fans deciding on the Basketball Champions League player of the week extended to Jayvon Graves of Limoges CSP Sunday afternoon.
Graves, 23, got 45% of the votes over the weekend, as displayed on championsleague.basketball. Nate Reuvers of UnaHotels Reggio Emilia and Ray McCallum Jr. of Legia Warszawa both received 23% and were tied for second. UCAM Murcia’s James Anderson had 5% and Galatasaray Nef’s Angelo Caloiaro had 4%.
The five most impactful players of Week 6 were named via the Viziball Advanced Stats system. Then delivered to the fans with a poll determining the player of the week.
Graves and Limoges dominated VEF Riga Wednesday. The former Buffalo standout ended up with 17 points behind 7/9 field goals, six assists, five rebounds, and three steals in 28 minutes, producing a game-high efficiency rating of 28. Coming off the bench, his side outscored the visitors by 42 points with him on the court, the third-best mark in Champions League history.
The French outfit won the tiebreaking advantage and was placed third in Group F, currently tied with VEF Riga at 1-3. Baxi Manresa and SL Benfica at 3-1 are in the lead with two games remaining in the double-legged round-robin schedule. The top seed will progress directly to the Round of 16, while the second and third will have another chance in the Play-Ins.
Combined with shifting Limoges to the win column this week, Graves has recorded 11.0 points, 3.8 assists, 3.8 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 0.5 blocks per contest over four appearances in his first BCL campaign, paired with his debut in Europe after spending his rookie professional season at G League’s Austin Spurs.
The previous players of the week were Miro Bilan of Peristeri bwin in Week 1, Zoltan Perl of Falco Vulcano Szombathely in Week 2, Maurice Kemp of Bnei Ofek Dist Herziliya in Week 3, Jordan Davis of Murcia in Week 4, and Justin Johnson of MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg in Week 5.
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League