By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
A new era started in the 7DAYS EuroCup with the opening week of the 2016-17 season, and when the dust settled after eight games, a local hero emerged as Round 1 MVP.
After missing practically the whole 2015-16 season due to a tumor, fan-favorite Kyle Kuric of Herbalife Gran Canaria came back to EuroCup competition in style with a performance index rating of 25 that led his team to the first win of the season and earned him weekly MVP honors in the process.
Kuric led the way with 25 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 assists to become the main pillar of his team’s victory against Cedevita Zagreb. Kuric was the winning player with the highest performance index rating, but three players – all of them on losing sides – had a higher mark, all of them led by FC Bayern Munich’s Devin Booker, with a 38 rating. The other two players following Booker were Drew Gordon (30) of Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius and Moussa Diagne (26) of Montakit Fuenlabrada. Elmedin Kikanovic of ALBA Berlin had the second best individual performance of the week for a winning team with his 24 performance index rating. Kikanovic paced ALBA with 25 points, 6 rebounds and 1 assist.
Individual highs: David Logan of Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius, 11 assists
Booker started the season showing his offensive power as his 27 points with Bayern were the top mark of the opening round. Following him, of course, Kuric and Kikanovic with 25 apiece. Gordon of Lietuvos Rytas was a giant under the glass by pulling as many as 14 rebounds and Boris Savovic of Buducnost VOLI Podgorica was the only other player with double digits with 11 boards. Two more players shined on the assists department: David Logan of Lietuvos Rytas was the best of all passers thanks to his 11 assists while Stefan Markovic of Zenit St Petersburg followed suit with 10. On the defensive end, veteran Albert Oliver of Gran Canaria topped all other performers with his 5 steals, while as many as five players started the season with 2 blocks apiece: ALBA’s Tony Gaffney, Fuenlabrada’s Ian O’Leary and Diagne, Khimki Moscow Region’s Sergey Monya and Cedevita’s Mirza Begic.