By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The mix of honorees, whose selection included voting from Euroleague Basketball’s panel of experts, includes a representative from each of the semifinalists and leans toward veterans – including a couple of young ones. The All-7DAYS EuroCup First Team has two players still fighting for the title, 25-year-old centers Bojan Dubljevic of Valencia Basket and Dejan Musli of Unicaja Malaga; long-time scoring aces Curtis Jerrells of Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem and Alexey Shved of Khimki Moscow Region; plus the only returnee to the first team, do-it-all Mardy Collins of Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar. Earlier in the week, Rolands Smits of Montakit Fuenlabrada was announced as the winner of this season’s 7DAYS EuroCup Rising Star Trophy and Pedro Martinez of Valencia Basket was named 7DAYS EuroCup Coach of the Year, while five players were selected for the 2016-17 All-7DAYS EuroCup Second Team. Still to be revealed before the finals start on Tuesday is this season’s 7DAYS EuroCup MVP!
Curtis Jerrells, Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem
After winning the EuroCup last year with Galatasaray Odeabank Istanbul, combo-guard Curtis Jerrells was one of the leaders for Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem on its way to the EuroCup Semifinals this season. No player played more total minutes in the competition this season than Jerrells, who started every game for Jerusalem. He ranked fifth among all EuroCup players in scoring (16.8 ppg) and was second on his team in assists (3.7). The 30-year-old veteran also knocked down 2.7 threes per game on 44.0% accuracy, which was third-best among players with at least 5 attempts on average.
Alexey Shved, Khimki Moscow Region
Alexey Shved was everything Khimki Moscow Region needed, and more, during this 7DAYS EuroCup season. The 28-year-old guard and former Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champion scored at least 15 points in all 14 games that he played this season, and was the competition’s leader in points (22.0), index rating (22.3) and three-point shots made (3.4). He also posted a team-high 5.2 assists, ranking sixth in the competition, and was Khimki’s second-best rebounder with 4.0 per game. He made an even greater impact in the quarterfinals against Valencia Basket, posting averages of 20.7 points, 7.3 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 1.0 steals in three games, and in the process earned quarterfinals Game 2 MVP honors.
Mardy Collins, Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar
The only player from last season to return as an All-EuroCup First Team selection is all-round swingman Mardy Collins. After helping Strasbourg to reach the EuroCup Finals a year ago, Collins was a do-it-all presence again in pacing Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar to the EuroCup Semifinals. The 32-year-old veteran led a balanced Lokomotiv lineup in rebounds (5.7), assists (3.6) and steals (1.1). He also ranked as the team’s third-best player in performance index rating (12.1) and fourth-best in scoring (10.8). Making his presence felt equally at both ends of the floor, Collins had his fingers deep in Lokomotiv’s run of seven wins in eight games through the Top 16 and quarterfinals.
Dejan Musli, Unicaja Malaga
Returning to the competition eight seasons after making his debut, 25-year old center Dejan Musli had the best campaign of his career, helping Unicaja Malaga take its EuroCup debut all the way to the finals. Musli led Unicaja with an average performance index rating of 14.2 and was a standout in the paint, ranking second on the team with 11.7 points and fourth with 3.9 rebounds. His domination around the rims was showcased by Musli ranking eighth among all EuroCup players in both blocked shots (0.8 bpg) and two-point accuracy (66.4%). He played his best in the quarterfinals, averaging 15.3 points as Unicaja became the only team to survive without home-court advantage.
Bojan Dubljevic, Valencia Basket
A former EuroCup champion, Bojan Dubljevic overcame early injury issues to put together another strong season for Valencia Basket. The 25-year-old center’s game grew as the season went on and peaked with averages of 12.3 points and 9.0 rebounds over six games in the quarterfinals and semifinals. Dubljevic paced Valencia during the EuroCup’s longest winning streak this season, 13 games, and finished as the competition’s third-best rebounder (6.8), while also leading Valencia in points (11.6) and index rating (14.1) . Now, this former two-time EuroCup Rising Star trophy winner and two-time member of the All-EuroCup Second Team has an All-EuroCup First Team selection to add to his list of accomplishments.