By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
At the end of the 7DAYS EuroCup Regular Season, the trend of a Hapoel Vegan Friendly Tel Aviv player emerging as the MVP of the week resurfaces.
Jaylen Hoard was named Round 18 MVP, Euroleague Basketball announced Thursday.
Hoard, 23, piled up a PIR of 34 to collect his second individual MVP award and the eighth overall for the Israeli club. The former Wake Forest standout recorded 23 points with 10/14 two-pointers and 3/3 free throws to go with 11 rebounds, three steals, and two assists in the blowout win against Promitheas in Shlomo Group Arena.
The French forward earned the Round 4 MVP award, earlier in his first EuroCup campaign. Jordan McRae in Rounds 9, 10, and 14, J’Covan Brown in Rounds 2 and 11, and Chinanu Onuaku in Round 13 were the previous weekly standouts based in Tel Aviv.
Per the press release: “With a near-perfect 22 minutes off the bench in a rousing home win to end the regular season, Jaylen Hoard of Hapoel Vegan Friendly Tel Aviv earned his second MVP of the Round honor in his debut 7DAYS EuroCup season. Hoard’s personal-best 34 PIR in a 108-69 victory against Promitheas Patras topped all EuroCup performers in Round 18, and it gave his Hapoel side an extra boost of confidence heading into the upcoming do-or-die eighthfinals. Hoard also set season highs for points and rebounds. He scored 23 points after going 10-for-14 on two-pointers and 3-for-3 on free throws, in addition to bringing down 11 boards for his first-ever EuroCup double-double.
This round’s highest PIR, 35, belonged to Karlo Matkovic of Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana. He scored 28 points on 12-for-14 two-point shooting with 9 rebounds and 2 blocks, but it came in a losing effort against Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse. Tyrone Wallace of Paris Basketball had a 32 PIR in his team’s 85-96 home defeat against the London Lions. Wallace finished with 22 points, making 7-of-9 shots from the field, while he also dished 6 assists. His teammate Ismael Kamagate, as well as C.J. Massinburg of Germani Brescia, each had a PIR of 27, rounding out the list of Round 18’s top performers. Kamagate had a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double, whereas Massinburg amassed 25 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists in an 86-76 loss against Frutti Extra Bursaspor.”
The London Lions defeating Paris on the road included Josh Sharma rejecting Kevan Moreno with an incredible athletic effort. The former Stanford standout ranked first in the Top 10 Plays of the Week.
Photo Credit: EuroleagueBasketball.net