By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The Basketball Champions League decided on the January Team of the Month and the choice includes Dogus Ozdemiroglu, Tomas Dimsa, DJ Kennedy, Levi Randolph, and Giorgi Shermadini.
Per Basketball Champions League:
Darussafaka, Filou Oostende, Nutribullet Treviso, Prometey and Lenovo Tenerife have their players on the team of the month in January. One of those five players will also be selected as the MVP of January.
With the Regular Season group winners having almost an entire month off, it’s no wonder that the lineup is made of those who were shining the brightest in the Play-In series, helping their respective teams through to the Round of 16.
Dogus Ozdemiroglu led Darussafaka to a 2-1 series win over the defending champions Hereda San Pablo Burgos, doing the damage on both the offensive and the defensive end, averaging 15.8 points and 2.5 steals per game in January.
He rounded up a fine month with a near triple-double against Tofas Bursa, getting 18 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists to start his Round of 16 campaign.
Tomas Dimsa continued his marvelous season for Nutribullet Treviso by leading the Italian side to a sweep over Lavrio Megabolt, scoring 18.5 points and hitting 8-of-13 three-pointers in the Play-In series.
Dimsa is playing arguably the best basketball of his career, the 28-year-old is in the Top 10 in scoring with 16.1 points per game this season, while also dishing out 4.3 assists and grabbing 3.4 rebounds per game. The Lithuanian is shooting 40.8 percent from beyond the arc on seven attempts per game.
D.J. Kennedy joins the team of the month as one of Prometey’s heroes in the dramatic series against Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem. The 32-year-old is the all-time BCL leader in double-doubles, and he was close to getting another one twice in the Play-In series.
Kennedy had 20 points and 9 rebounds in Game 2, while doing a bit of everything with 17 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists in the decisive Game 3 win in Jerusalem to send the Ukrainian champs to the Round of 16.
Levi Randolph is one of the main reasons why Filou Oostende are a contender in Season Six of the BCL. The 29-year-old’s 17.9 points per game are currently the fourth best scoring mark of the competition, and he went over 20 twice when facing elimination.
Igokea owned a 1-0 lead in the series, but Randolph went off for 21 points in Game 2; and 22 points in Game 3, on the road, to book a place among the sweet sixteen. With Phil Booth, he formed one of the toughest one-two punches in the BCL.
Finally, at center, it’s the man who is back to his best after early season injury struggles. Giorgi Shermadini missed a couple of months of basketball with an injury to his back, but played January like a superstar for Lenovo Tenerife.
The Georgian center held his ground against Pinar Karsiyaka, reaching double digits in all three games, and finishing the month with two double-doubles in four January games. Those two double-doubles are even more impressive when you consider he didn’t have a single double-double in any of his previous 33 appearances in the League.