By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Facundo Campazzo masterfully conducted Real Madrid’s offense on Thursday night, earning MVP of the Round honors after leading the reigning Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champion to a 101-90 Game 2 win over Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz and moving the team within one win of returning to the Final Four.
Campazzo starred in his 27 minutes on the floor, scoring a game-high 24 points on 3-for-4 two-pointers and 4-for-5 three-point shooting while making all 6 of his free throws. Los Blancos’ playmaker also dished 7 assists and pulled down 4 rebounds, accumulating a PIR of 33, the highest among all players in Game 2 action.
It earned Campazzo the second MVP of the Round honor of his career, having previously got his first one earlier this season in Round 7.
The second-best performance in Game 2 belonged to Kostas Sloukas of Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens, who led the Greens to a series-tying 95-79 victory over Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv and had a PIR of 28. Sloukas set a new career high with 29 points, making a career-best 8-of-9 two-point shots and 4-of-7 threes.
Baskonia’s Vanja Marinkovic had a PIR of 24, collecting 20 points, 4 assists, and 2 rebounds in a loss in Madrid.
Rounding out the list of Game 2’s top performers, all with a 22 PIR, are Mathias Lessort of Panathinaikos, Codi Miller-McIntyre of Baskonia, and Jabari Parker of FC Barcelona. Lessort collected 11 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists and drew 7 fouls; Miller-McIntyre had 13 points, 8 assists, and 6 rebounds; and Parker amassed 24 points and 5 rebounds.
Playoffs Game 2 individual highs
Panathinaikos playmaker Sloukas scored 29 points, which not only led all players in Game 2 but is the most by any player in the 2023-24 EuroLeague Playoffs so far.
Real Madrid center Walter Tavares grabbed 9 rebounds, more than any other player in Game 2. Tavares also posted 3 steals in Thursday’s win over Baskonia, which means he led all Game 2 players in that category, too. Real center Vincent Poirier delivered 4 blocks in Game 2. He improved his season average to 1.6 blocks per night, the best in the league.
Miller-McIntyre of Baskonia finished with 8 assists, the most in Game 2 action. He continues as the league assists leader, averaging 7.2 per game.