By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
VITORIA-GASTEIZ– Shane Larkin was carrying a couple of brilliant performances from the EuroLeague playoff series against Barcelona, in his bags en route to his maiden Final Four. It was the peak of the season for him, and the best he had probably ever played in his EuroLeague career.
In the EuroLeague semifinal though, Larkin was bound to simply outdo himself. In a phenomenal, record-breaking fashion.
Against Fenerbahce Beko, Larkin scored 30 points (4/5 2-pointers, 5/9 3-pointers, 7/8 f.t.), grabbed seven rebounds and dished out seven assists in 30:50 to lead Efes to the win and the championship game. His output of 43 PIR is the most in EuroLeague Final Fours this century.
“That’s special right there. I didn’t have any idea…” was Larkin’s reaction when he saw his name at the first place of the table with the top Final Four performances, at Euroleague.net.
Which names are below Larkin in this list? Guys like Dejan Bodiroga, Manu Ginobili and Anthony Parker… among others.
“I give all credit to my teammates, trainers and coaches to make me be available at the right moment to be able to play my game,” Larkin told Eurohoops.
Larkin has been playing with a chip on his shoulder in the second half of the season. He had a 37-point display in a regular season win over Barcelona and, later in the quarterfinals, he “massacred” the Blaugrana by averaging 19.6 points in the series.
There’s a specific reason for all this.
“My determination. Early in the year a lot of people were doubting my game. Doubting me. That’s always driven me. Since I was a young kid. Whenever someone doubts me, it gives me a little of extra energy and a little extra boost to go out there and just make plays. And show them that I can do this at a very high level.”