By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Brandon Davies was named MVP of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Quarterfinals best-of-five series Game 1, Euroleague Basketball announced Thursday.
Davies, 30, paved the way for FC Barcelona combining 19 points and five rebounds and earning eight fouls in the home win versus FC Bayern Munich on Tuesday. Producing a 24 PIR led him to the MVP nod.
Per the press release: “A big-time performance in a reserve role allowed Brandon Davies of FC Barcelona to earn the MVP honor for Game 1 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs.
Davies led Barca to a 77-67 home victory against FC Bayern Munich by coming off the bench to get 19 points on 6-for-9 two-point and 7-for-10 free-throw shooting. He added 5 rebounds, a steal and 8 fouls drawn to amass a performance index rating of 24, the highest for any player in playoffs Game 1. Davies has now earned the MVP of the Round honor for the fifth time in his career and the second time this season following his PIR of 38 back in Round 4 of the regular season.
Fabien Causeur of Real Madrid and Scottie Wilbekin had PIRs of 21 each in the opener of their playoff series. Causeur led Real to an 84-74 home victory with 20 points while making 3 of 5 two-pointers, 4 of 6 threes and 2 of 2 free throws. He added 4 rebounds, 5 assists and a steal. Wilbekin could not help Maccabi beat Real despite finishing the game with 20 points on 4-for-7 three-point and 6-for-6 free-throw shooting. Vladimir Lucic of Bayern (19 PIR), Nigel Williams-Goss of Real and Dante Exum of Barcelona, with PIRs of 18 each, completed the top individual performances in the opening games of the playoffs.”
On the Top 10 Plays of Playoffs Game 1, Dante Exum’s emphatic throwdown clinched first place.
Game 2 action follows Thursday and Friday.
Thursday, 21 April
FC Barcelona – FC Bayern Munich (20:00 CET)
AX Armani Exchange Milan – Anadolu Efes (20:30 CET)
Friday, 22 April
Olympiacos – AS Monaco (18:00 CET)
Real Madrid – Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv (20:45 CET)
Photo Credit: EuroLeagueBasketball.net