By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Sergio Llull is one of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague signature stars and the Real Madrid guard had practically done it all in his career.
This week came a new first: on the same night he set a career-high in scoring with 30 points in an 87-84 victory over Panathinaikos Superfoods Athens, Llull also earned his first weekly MVP award!
Llull is the MVP for Round 7 of the EuroLeague Regular Season as his performance index rating of 27 was the highest among all players on winning teams in the round. Llull made 4 of 6 threes and dished 4 assists in the win that brought his side within one victory of first place.
The player with the highest index rating for the week was another point guard, Shane Larkin of Baskonia Vitoria Gasteiz. Larkin amassed 21 points, 9 assists and 4 steals for an index rating of 36 in an 88-76 loss at EA7 Emporio Armani Milan. Unics Kazan center Art Parakhouski also put up dominant numbers in a losing effort; Parakhouski tallied 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks in compiling an index rating of 34, but his team came up short at Anadolu Efes Istanbul 104-99. Rounding out the top performers for Round 7 were Thomas Heurtel of Efes, Darussafaka Dogus Istanbul guard Brad Wanamaker and Fenerbahce Istanbul’s All-EuroLeague big man Jan Vesely, who each had index ratings of 26. Heurtel went for 24 points and 8 assists, Wanamaker had 18 points, 7 rebounds and 4 steals in his team’s 91-83 upset of the champs and Vesely posted 16 points, 8 boards and 3 steals in an 87-77 loss at Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv.
Individual leaders: Milos Teodosic of CSKA Moscow, 10 assists
In addition to being the Round 7n MVP and setting a career-high in scoring, Lull was also the round’s top scorer. His 20.1 points per game rank third in the league behind a reigning and a former Alphonso Ford Top Scorer Trophy winner; Nando De Colo of CSKA Moscow is second with 21 points per game and Unics’s Keith Langford leads the league at 24.6. Nicolo Melli of Brose Bamberg and Parakhouski were the Round 7 rebounding leaders with 10 apiece. Melli is averaging 8 rebounds per game, which is second this season only to Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade center Ognjen Kuzmic’s 8.3. October MVP Milos Teodosic of CSKA remains atop the standings this season after dishing a Round 7 high 10 assists and raising his average to 8.4 assists per game. Four players – Gustavo Ayon of Real Madrid, Larkin, Yogev Ohayon of Maccabi and Wanamaker – shared the top spot for Round 7 with 4 steals each. Wanamaker’s teammate Scottie Wilbekin leads the league with 2.0 steals per game. Alex Tyus of Galatasaray Odeabank Istanbul remains the league leader in blocks with 2 per game after rejecting a many shots on Wednesday. Three players recorded Round 7 double-doubles: Melli (16 points, 10 rebounds), Parakhouski and Teodosic (15 points, 10 assists).