By John Rammas/ irammas@eurohoops.net
Anyone can get a chance in a team, but not everyone will seize it.
Eurohoops presents five players who have made the competition their own and who are slowly attracting some of the limelight on the biggest stage in European basketball, the EuroLeague.
SERTAC SANLI
Anadolu Efes Istanbul | Center | 5 August 1991 | Turkey
7,3 pts | 1,5 reb | 0,7 ast | 0,5 stl | 0,2 blk | 0,5 tov | 13:23 min | 6,5 PIR | 9/22 GS
There are more than a few well-known names in Anadolu Efes Istanbul, but there are also more than a few opportunities given by Ergin Ataman to anyone who wants to show what they’re worth. There’s no better example than Sertac Sanli, who stepped up in the absence of Tibor Pleiss and has now worthily earned his place in the rotation with a playing time that exceeds 20:00 in recent games. In fact, he scored in double digits in seven of the last ten games and now has a career-high point average.
Efes is making an impressive run in the second part of the regular season and Sanli, in his third season with the team and fourth in the EuroLeague, is credited with his fair share of this success.
NICK WEILER-BABB
FC Bayern Munich | Guard | 12 December 1995 | USA
6,3 pts | 3,3 reb | 2,2 ast | 1,2 stl | 0,1 blk | 1,2 tov | 23:35 min | 7,1 PIR | 10/29 GS
FC Bayern Munich is having the best season in its short history in the EuroLeague and wouldn’t have gotten so far (5th place with 18-11) if each of the players didn’t contribute something. Nick Weiler-Babb is one of the benchmark players, even though he’s only in his second season as a pro and a rookie in the team and the competition.
He’s one of only four Bayern players who have played in all 29 games and Andrea Trinchieri gives him the third-highest playing time. How could he not when Weiler-Babb contributes in every area of the game, from defense to offense?
YOUSSOUPHA FALL
TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz | Center | 12 January 1995 | Senegal
7,6 pts | 3,4 reb | 0,6 ast | 0,5 stl | 0,8 blk | 1,8 tov | 12:04 min | 9,4 PIR | 15/28 GS
His height makes him stand out anyway, but Youssoupha Fall is much more than his 2.21 meters. Dusko Ivanovic knows this better than most and often trusts him with a place in the starting lineup. How he makes use of his playing time is equally interesting, since he scores more than last season, while playing less (5.8 points in 13:33 last season).
His presence on the court means a lot for TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, who count six wins in the last seven games, one of which Fall completed with a career-high 20 points, vs. Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade.
BEN LAMMERS
ALBA Berlin | Center | 12 November 1995 | USA
10,2 pts | 4,2 reb | 0,7 ast | 0,8 stl | 1,2 blk | 0,7 tov | 20:40 min | 12,3 PIR | 18/23 GS
ALBA Berlin is one of those teams in the EuroLeague that enjoys the game regardless of the result, and this is exactly what Ben Lammers does, too. Although only in the third season of his professional career and the first in the team and the competition, Aito Garcia Reneses almost always entrusts Lammers with a place in the starting lineup and he reciprocates with one of the best stat sheets among his teammates.
He’s third on ALBA in points, second in rebounds, first in blocks and third in PIR.
MOUSTAPHA FALL
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne | Center | 23 February 1992 | France
9,3 pts | 5,5 reb | 1,9 ast | 0,5 stl | 0,8 blk | 1,7 tov | 22:09 min | 14,5 PIR | 24/26 GS
Moustapha Fall stands out on the court even without doing anything, so one can imagine what he can do when he combines his height of 2.18 meters with his basketball skills and awareness. Then, his presence under the basket takes on a dominant role, as evidenced by his stats. After all, he scores 9.3 points, while he’s 14th in the EuroLeague in rebounds and 21st in PIR.
Although a pro since 2011, he’s only in his first season in the competition, but it seems the wait was worth it, both for himself and for LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne, who gave him the opportunity to play at the highest level in Europe.