By John Rammas/ irammas@eurohoops.net
All five of them were, if not the top scorers, then among the best players for their team and contributed greatly to their first win.
KEVIN PANGOS
Zenit St Petersburg | Guard | January 26, 1993 | Canada
We all want to put last year behind us and Kevin Pangos has one more reason. Due to an injury, he played in just three games in his second season with FC Barcelona: two in the Supercopa and one in the Spanish League. The offseason found him on a plane to Russia and now he’s a member of Zenit St Petersburg. The Russian team could not be happier about that. Already in the opening game, they saw him lead the way past Anadolu Efes Istanbul 69-73 in Turkey. In the game’s last 5 minutes, he scored 11 points and finished with a career-high 23 points. He made 5 of 5 two-pointers, 3 of 9 threes and was perfect on 4 free throws tries in addition to 1 rebound, 7 assists and 1 steal in 28:07 minutes. With those numbers, it’s easy to ignore his 5 turnovers.
ALEC PETERS
TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz | Forward | April 13, 1995 | USA
Alec Peters is in his third season in the EuroLeague with a third different team (CSKA Moscow, Efes, Baskonia). Is the third time the charm? The answer will be given at the end, but Peters made the best possible start in that direction. His presence on the court for Baskonia was decisive in its 76-63 win over Real Madrid in Vitoria. His 18 points were the second-most in his career (career-high is 20) in 64 games in the competition. He also had 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 0 turnovers in 24:22 minutes. Baskonia made a lot of changes from last season and with more performances like his, it will have changed for the better.
Alec Peters higlights vs Real Madrid
18p
6r
21v@petersalec #Euroleague#Baskonia pic.twitter.com/GPj6f9HDhA— Hirukoa (@hirukoa80) October 3, 2020
MALCOLM DELANEY
AX Armani Exchange Milan | Guard | March 11, 1989 | USA
‘When the going gets tough, the tough get going.’ That could easily be one of Malcolm Delaney’s tattoos. In a season when the moves made during the offseason were such for AX Armani Exchange Milan that the demands and aspirations increased exponentially, the opening game almost found them in the opposite role, that of a defeated team. Delaney, who played for FC Barcelona last season, made sure to change the outcome. He scored 6 of his team’s 11 points in overtime and had 2 assists in the last minute and a half, the second of which was to Shavon Shields for the game-winning three-pointer 9 seconds to the end. Overall, he had 17 points on 2-of-5 two-point shooting, 3-of-6 three-pointers and 4-of-5 on free throws plus 4 rebounds, 8 assists and just 2 turnovers in 32:14 minutes. When the going gets tough, Delaney gets going.