By Cesare Milanti / info@eurohoops.net
Pushing Anadolu Efes to the comeback 100-94 victory at home against Partizan Belgrade, Shane Larkin was named alongside Maodo Lo MVP of Round 10 in this year’s EuroLeague, providing 27 points (4/6 2FG, 4/6 3FG, and 7/7 FT), 3 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals, and 4 fouls drawn for a 38 of PIR.
Interviewed after the game, the former Brooklyn Nets playmaker praised his team’s effort. “It’s a character win. There were some games this year where we didn’t fight back, but we showed great character to get a big win in front of our fans. We knew the key to this game was to be defensively aggressive”, the 31-year-old guard commented. His head coach Erdem Can says he is “the leader of the team”.
This is Shane Larkin’s 15th-ever MVP of the Round in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, being second only to Nando De Colo, first in this category with a total of 16. He got them all since moving to Turkey with Anadolu Efes, where he has won back-to-back EuroLeague titles in 2021 and 2022.
Elsewhere, after receiving his first MVP of the Round back in the 2021-22 Round 29 with his former team ALBA Berlin, Maodo Lo renewed his career-highs in points (32) and PIR (38) following his monster night on the road over Crvena Zvezda, pushing Ettore Messina’s team to the 93-71 victory.
“It’s a big-time win for us. It’s always tough to place in such an unbelievable atmosphere here in Belgrade. Every win in the EuroLeague is huge. We finished well, we rebounded better, and that helped us to win”, he said after also adding 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 4 fouls drawn on 32:46 minutes on an amazing shooting night (4/7 2FG, 6/7 3FG, and 6/6 FT).
Full list of 2023-24 EuroLeague Round MVPs
- Round 1: Alec Peters, Olympiacos vs Panathinaikos (31 PIR)
- Round 2: Guerschon Yabusele, Real Madrid vs Anadolu Efes (39 PIR)
- Round 3: Tornike Shengelia, Virtus Bologna vs ALBA Berlin (32 PIR)
- Round 4: Nikola Milutinov, Olympiacos vs Partizan Belgrade (30 PIR)
- Round 5: Mathias Lessort, Panathinaikos vs Baskonia (31 PIR)
- Round 6: Tornike Shengelia, Virtus Bologna vs Anadolu Efes (30 PIR)
- Round 7: Facundo Campazzo, Real Madrid vs Virtus Bologna (39 PIR)
- Round 8: Codi Miller-McIntyre, Baskonia vs FC Barcelona (29 PIR)
- Round 9: Chima Moneke, Baskonia vs ASVEL (35 PIR)
- Round 10: Shane Larkin, Anadolu Efes vs Partizan Belgrade – Maodo Lo, Milan vs Crvena Zvezda (38 PIR)
Per the press release: “An exciting Round 10 of the 2023-24 EuroLeague regular season produced a pair of players deserving of the MVP of the Round award: Shane Larkin of Anadolu Efes Istanbul and Maodo Lo of EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, each of whom had a performance index rating of 38.
Larkin led Efes to a 100-94 win over the visiting Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade. The American guard scored 27 points, going 4-of-6 on both two-pointers and three-pointers, as well as a perfect 7-of-7 from the free-throw line. Larkin also dished 8 assists and had 3 steals and 3 rebounds. On the other hand, Lo paced Milan to a 71-93 road win over Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade. He scored a career-high 32 points, netting 4-of-7 two-pointers and tying his career-best mark by making 6 triples on 7 attempts. Lo also made all 6 of his free throws, in addition to pulling down 4 rebounds, dishing 3 assists and making 2 steals. A 38 PIR is the highest of his career.
The next best PIR, 31, belongs to Johnathan Motley of Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, as he collected 25 points on 12-for-17 two-point shooting, 9 rebounds and 2 assists in an 87-79 loss against Virtus Segafredo Bologna. Rounding out the list of Round 10’s top performers are Mike James of AS Monaco and Alec Peters of Olympiacos Piraeus, both with a 29 PIR. James posted 28 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists in a 75-77 win over Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, while Peters had 22 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists in an 89-72 win over Zalgiris Kaunas.”
Top 10 Plays
The game-winning putback dunk by Jaron Blossomgame was listed first in the Top 10 Plays of Round 10, besides lifting AS Monaco over Baskonia on Friday.
PHOTO CREDIT: Turkish Airlines EuroLeague