By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
American point guard Tyrese Rice was named MVP of the Week in the Spanish Liga Endesa after leading Barcelona to a 94 – 82 victory over Valencia and registering the highest evaluation number among all players.
Rice finished the match with 25 points and 4 rebounds for a total of 29 PIR but these numbers don’t do total justice to the impact he delivered team. His baskets arrived in a timely fashion to propel Barcelona towards victory.
With the score 59 – 56 and two minutes to go for the end of the third quarter, the American guard fired multiple torpedoes from beyond the arc, scoring twelve points to help the hosts make it 74 – 58 early in the fourth period. Barcelona never looked back after this flurry.
He was generally sizzling from downtown, dropping 21 out of his 25 points via three-pointers (7/10). No wonder he received a standing ovation at the end of the game by the fans in Palau.