By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
Nothing else attracted more attention during this Week in Eurocup than the stunning victory of Limoges against Valencia, in Spain. The French “David” brought down the Spanish”Goliath”.
Naturally, the men behind the triumph of the Limoges… monopolize our Aftermath a bit, but there are certainly lots of interesting results in the other games as well. After all, only four teams remain unbeaten as we move forward to the second leg of the Last 32. Things are becoming extra intense and we would not have it otherwise.
Here are our choices on who stole the show, for one reason, or the other in Week 3 of the Eurocup second stage.
Biggest win
What Limoges did in “La Fonteta” against Valencia will be remembered for quite some time. Under the new found, and advanced, guidance by Dusko Vujosevic, the reigning Pro A champions, not only won, but cruised their way, for an impressive final score of… 72 – 92, shooting blazes from behind the arc and destroying the Spaniard’s offensive strategy.
MVP: Nobel Boungou Colo
In one of the most memorable nights of his career, the French small forward pulled his guns from the perimeter and fired at will against Valencia. 5/5 from downtown, with every single one of his shots bringing extra frustration his opponents and 23 points in total. He had 5 turnovers by hey… “who cares”.
Best 5:
Courtney Fortson (Banvit Bandirma)
Banvit had another brilliant scoring night on the road and the American point guard was the one to run the show for his teammates, and not only. 11 assists, 18 points, and 8 fouls won for an evaluation number of 30.
Keith Langford (Unics Kazan)
You know what happens when he feels “in the zone”. Noone can stop him. The American combo guard errupted like a volcano in Tel Aviv against Maccabi, leading Unics Kazan to a strong road victory with his 30 points. He also grabbed 5 rebounds, in one of his best games this season.
Dragan Milosavljevic (Alba Berlin)
His numbers are definitely impressive, since he came so incredibly close to a triple/double (16 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists) yet they do not reveal the passion and energy he put on defense. Both individually and as a part of his team, helping Alba not only win the game vs Aris but also get a solid difference in the end.
Nobel – Boungou Colo (Limoges)
The… redeemer of the French.
Julian Wright (Trento)
He is not just a center for the Italians, but often a one man orchestra. Particularly dangerous in every single thing he decided to do and every time he had the ball in his hands, he finished the victorious game of his team against Pinar Karsiyaka, in Izmir, with 27 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists.
Coach of the Week: Dusko Vujosevic
There can be no other than the mastermind behind Limoges’ victory against Valencia. In his return to the benches, Dusko Vujosevic devised a solid defensive plan that seriously messed the shot creation from the “Bats’” backcourt and urged his players to shoot relentlessly when given the chance. He already makes his beneficial presence in Limoges quite obvious.
Best losing performance: Dairis Bertans, of Bilbao
He did everything for his team on both ends of court, finished the match with 27 points and 4 rebounds, yet Bilbao lost the fascinating match against Bayern Munich, at home.
The disappointment: Maccabi Tel Aviv
After being… downgraded from Euroleague to Eurocup, Maccabi lost its first game in the competition. It would not have been if so bad, if A) This was not a home game, and B) It didn’t came because of an utterly horrible, practically nonexistant defense. Receiving 92 points at home is almost inexcusable, and Zan Tabak now has to face even more pressure than before.