By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Basketball Champions League announced Gameday 4’s best five, including Marco Spissu, Jason Rich, Iahaou Konate, Suleiman Braimoh and Nicolas De Jong.
Marco Spissu, Point Guard
The 24-year-old Italian playmaker is known for his passing and pace-setting skills but on Tuesday he showed another facet of his game, as he scored 22 points in Sassari’s 113-95 win at Polski Cukier Torun, without even a single free-throw.
Spissu got the hot hand from long range and finished with a season-best 6 of 7 three-point shooting, but he didn’t overlook his organizing duties and dished out 8 assists.
The surprising part, however, is that the 184cm (6ft) point guard also came up with 7 rebounds, to round up a performance that registered an efficiency rating of 34.
Jason Rich, Shooting Guard
The veteran American showed in his debut with Gaziantep on Gameday 3 that he was an excellent late addition to the Turkish team’s roster but on Tuesday he went one step further, by inspiring his new team to an unlikely comeback 85-81 win at VEF Riga.
Rich shot 3 of 6 from beyond the arc and 5 of 8 from two-point range to collect 25 points in 29 minutes on the court, also adding 5 assists, 3 steals and 2 rebounds.
The Gaziantep guard registered an efficiency rating of 27 in Riga, identical to that of his BCL career high which interestingly also came at a road game, when he led Besiktas to a 69-64 win at Strasbourg last January.
Lahaou Konate, Small Forward
Just like Rich, Konate was also playing only his second BCL game this season, as he joined Tenerife in late October. The French forward was somewhat shy on his debut on Gameday 3 and didn’t attempt a single shot, but this Tuesday he showed to everybody why the Spanish team thought he would make a good addition.
Konate was tireless in Prague and fueled the great Tenerife defense with his game-high 6 steals and 2 blocks. He also led the visitors on the offensive end with 17 points on 7 of 10 shooting and added 8 rebounds, for the Spanish side to clinch a 78-68 win at ERA Nymburk and stay the only undefeated team in Group C.
The all-round performance of the new Tenerife player was rated at 27 in terms of efficiency and constitutes his new career high in the BCL. His previous best display was rated at 25 and came against Avellino when he was playing for Nanterre 92 in the 2017-18 season.
Suleiman Braimoh, Power Forward
Hapoel Jerusalem looked uncharacteristically subdued at the start of their home game against Anwil Wloclawek on Wednesday night, but Braimoh was roaring to go when he came on three minutes after tip- off.
The Hapoel forward inspired his team’s comeback with the highest-rated display so far in his BCL season and the highest since last January, as he registered an eye-popping efficiency rating of 40.
Braimoh could literally not have shot the ball in a more flawless manner, as he made 12 of his 12 shots from inside the arc, and only missed one of his two three-point attempts. He finished with a BCL career-high 33 points, and also had 6 rebounds, 3 assists, one steal and one block.
His previous best offensive display in the BCL was in the 2017-18 season when he scored 18 points for Enisey Krasnoyarsk against Oldenburg.
Nicolas De Jong, Center
Every player dreams of having the perfect game and receiving the recognition of a standing ovation, but probably nobody has ever dared to dream of earning the adoration of the opposing team’s fans.
Yet the Pau-Lacq-Orthez center pulled of that feat on Tuesday, receiving a standing ovation from the San Pablo Burgos fans after he mercilessly executed their team in the second half of a memorable game in Spain.
The French team were trailing by 14 points at the half-time break but De Jong was simply unstoppable in the second half, pouring in 22 points to lead Pau to their first win in the group, 82-78.
De Jong finished with 35 points on 13 of 17 shooting from the field, including 10 of 11 from two-point range, while he also 4 rebounds for a performance rated at 30.
Photo credit: Basketball Champions League