By Cesare Milanti / info@Eurohoops.net
MALAGA, Spain – In the beautiful venue of the Unicaja Concert Hall María Cristina, the 2023 Basketball Champions League Ceremony Awards took place, on the eve of the day of the Finals in the Final Four host in Malaga.
As expected, TJ Shorts was named the MVP of the Basketball Champions League, the day after dropping 21 points and 7 assists against Unicaja Malaga to bring Telekom Baskets Bonn to the BCL Final, He has been averaging 18.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 7.1 assists per game.
“The journey has been great, a rollercoaster of emotions. Chima Moneke gave me confidence, I’m grateful to him and everybody who supported me in this journey. Credits to my teammates, and my coaches for putting me in this position. It will be a good matchup against Hapoel”, TJ Shorts said.
The 2023 Basketball Champions League Coach of the Year is Tuomas Iisalo. “This Award is special because it’s probably the most collective. I wanna thank the players for doing all the hard parts. I wanna thank my incredible staff, I really believe that coaching has been a team game. We have very well-defined roles”, the Finnish leader said.
Galatasaray‘s Sadik Emir Kabaca won the Best Young Player Award, while Alberto Diaz was named the Defensive Player of the Year. “This award is for my teammates and for my coach. I voted “, the Spanish point guard said.
Lenovo Tenerife’s Marcelinho Huertas, Telekom Baskets Bonn’s TJ Shorts, Unicaja’s Dario Brizuela, AEK’s Akil Mitchell, and Hapoel Jerusalem’s Zach Hankins were named into the All-Basketball Champions League First-Team.
“I just try to keep improving and help my team, keep competing. I’m still here, able to help the team achieve. I have to be thankful to my team, my fans, and my family, which is my biggest strength. This award means a lot to me. There’s no need to think about retiring”, Marcelinho Huertas said.
Rytas Vilnius’ Marcus Foster, Unicaja Malaga’s Kendrick Perry, SIG Strasbourg’s DeAndre Lansdowne, Hapoel Jerusalem’s Levi Randolph, and Lenovo Tenerife’s Giorgi Shermadini were named into the All-Basketball Champions League Second-Team.
PHOTO CREDIT: Basketball Champions League