By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Bahcesehir Koleji’s Jaleen Smith is the Most Valuable Player of Round 14 of the 2024-25 BKT EuroCup Regular Season.
Euroleague Basketball confirmed the distinction for the 30-year-old combo guard on Thursday.
Smith paired 19 points with nine assists as his side edged out Buducnost VOLI in overtime on Wednesday. A performance index rating of 32 topped all players in action on Tuesday and Wednesday, leading to the MVP nod.
Per the press release: “A huge performance in a winning effort allowed Jaleen Smith of Bahcesehir College Istanbul to earn Round 14 MVP honors with a PIR of 32. Smith led Bahcesehir to a 95-93 overtime home win over Buducnost VOLI Podgorica.
He finished the game with 19 points on 3-of-6 two-pointers, 2-of-4 three-pointers and 7-of-7 free throws, plus 3 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals and 8 fouls drawn, for a career-high PIR of 32, the highest in Round 14. Smith earned EuroCup MVP of the Round honors for the first time and is the second Bahcesehir player to do so; Axel Bouteille was Round 5’s co-MVP along with Marko Pecarski of 7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys.
Bouteille had the second-highest PIR of the round with 28 against Buducnost. He had 23 points on 5-of-6 three-point shooting and 4-of-5 free throws, 9 rebounds and 4 fouls drawn. Jared Harper of Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem, Jaroslaw Zyskowski of Trefl Sopot and Bruno Caboclo of Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv, each of whom had a PIR of 26, complete the top individual performances in Round 14.
Harper had 21 points on 10-of-10 free-throw shooting, 6 rebounds and 7 assists in his team’s 79-91 road victory over U-BT Cluj-Napoca. Zyskowski led Trefl to its first win, 74-97 over Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius, with 20 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists. Caboclo put his fingerprints all over Hapoel’s 89-68 win against Dolomiti Energia Trento, netting 19 points – shooting 5 of 5 on two-pointers and 3 for 4 from deep – and grabbing 9 rebounds in 22 minutes on the floor. He also had 2 steals, 1 block and drew 2 fouls.
Individual highs: Yoan Makoundou, Turk Telekom, 4 blocks
DJ Seeley of Cluj led all players in scoring in Round 14 with 27 points. Jerusalem’s Jared Harper leads the EuroCup in this category with 23.2 points per game.
Mike Tobey of Dreamland Gran Canaria and Tai Odiase of Bahcesehir each grabbed a round-high 10 rebounds. Umana Reyer Venice’s Mfiondu Kabengele tops the rebounding charts with 9.5 boards per night.
Sergio de Larrea of Valencia Basket and Bahcesehir’s Jaleen Smith, this round’s MVP, each dished 9 assists, the most in Round 14. Cluj playmaker Zavier Simpson is the EuroCup’s leading assist provider with 7.0 dimes per contest.
Ten different players recorded a round-high 3 steals. Valencia’s Jean Montero and Gran Canaria’s Andrew Albicy sit together atop the steals charts this season with 2.0 per game.
Turk Telekom Ankara’s Yoan Makoundou had a career-best 4 blocks in this round, the most of any player. Makoundou’s teammate, Kyle Alexander, is atop the season leaderboard in blocks with 2.1 per night.
Mike Tobey (10 points, 10 rebounds) and Tai Odiase (16 points, 10 rebounds) were the only two players to record double-doubles in Round 14.”
Top 10 Plays
An amazing block by Tai Odiase of Bahcesehir Koleji highlighted the Top 10 Plays of Round 14.
Photo Credit: EuroleagueBasketball.net