By John Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Three sweeps and a triumph for one team that began the Playoffs without the home-court advantage summed up the first round of postseason VTB United League action.
The Semifinals, which will kick off on May 22nd, will feature CSKA Moscow versus Zenit Saint-Petersburg and UNICS Kazan against Khimki Moscow Region. Three more wins are needed for a Finals appearance, which will also translate for a ticket to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.
MVP
Errick McCollum, UNICS Kazan
Many players took it up a notch, but none like our VTB Playoffs First Round MVP, Errick McCollum. The 31-year-old American guard led UNICS Kazan to the 3-0 sweep over Kalev/Cramo Tallinn with 23 points and 23 PIR per contest, both League-highs in the Quarterfinals.
Game 1 was his best with 29 points, five rebounds and four dimes. McCollum followed up with a 16-point performance in Game 2 and wrapped up the series with 24 points at Estonia including 5/5 beyond the arc. C.J. McCollum’s brother now wants to help his team progress to the best-of-five Finals.