By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
The Basketball Champions League Round of 16 is over after an exciting six rounds, and during March, we saw some incredible individual performances.
Therefore, BCL honored the ones who shone the brightest during March with a spot on the Team of the Month. March’s ideal five feature Joe Ragland from Peristeri Bwin, Marcelinho Huertas from Lenovo Tenerife, Jayvon Graves of MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg, Dustin Sleva from UCAM Murcia, and Jaime Echenique from Promitheas Patras.
Peristeri bwin climbed back from a 0-3 record to pick up three straight wins and advance to the Quarter-Finals. Ragland is the biggest reason why, scoring 50 points across three games, averaging 16.7 points per game, dishing out 11 assists, and making 50 percent of his shots from beyond the arc.
Ragland is joined in the backcourt by his rival in Group K, Marcelinho Huertas, who is playing arguably the best basketball of his life at 40. March saw the Brazilian legend score over 30 points in a single game for the first time ever in any European (non-domestic) competition. The Lenovo Tenerife point guard averaged 23.7 points in March, with just over 6 assists per game.
The third player on the March Team of the Month is Jayvon Graves, who announced his candidacy to end the season as the top scorer in the Basketball Champions League. Ludwigsburg’s point guard scored 62 points in three games in March, giving him a total of 263 points this season. He is leading the league in scoring. He is third in points per game with 17.5, trailing only Vernon Carey Jr. (17.8 PPG) and Anthony Cowan (18.6 PPG).
Dustin Sleva has been almost perfect in March, averaging 16 points with just under 8 rebounds per game for an average efficiency rating of 23. Murcia’s power forward shot 13-of-15 from two-point range and 6-of-13 beyond the three-point line in the three games, which led UCAM Murcia to secure the top spot in their group and get homecourt advantage in the Quarter-Finals.
Finally, the center spot on the Team of the Month belongs to Jaime Echenique, who has been consistent throughout the season, providing the backbone for Promitheas Patras’ guards to get most of the highlights and praise. Echenique scored 40 points in 55 minutes on the floor during March, leading Promitheas to a couple of wins and their first-ever appearance among the elite eight in the BCL.