By Stefan Djordjevic / sdjordjevic@eurohoops.net
The Basketball Champions League has successfully navigated through all the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic and completed the regular season.
With the new format of eight groups with four teams, the competitive aspect increased as every game meant advancing or getting eliminated. And the teams stepped up to the occasion.
There were a bunch of interesting clashes and quite a bit of electrifying big displays by the players.
Nine players logged a 30-plus-point performance while three of them went for eight or more triples. Three players managed to grab 13 rebounds for a game while four guys delivered 13+ assists.
While the teams are getting ready for the playoffs, which will start on March 2nd, here are the ten top-notch performances single out by Eurohoops.
Steven Gray
Steven Gray started the season with Peristeri and his first game was the one for the history books. He banked in a career-best of 39 points on 10 out of 13 from the three-point territory. He also added seven assists and three rebounds in 29 minutes. The ten threes were tie-high in competition history while it all totaled to a record-breaking 47 PIR.
QJ Peterson
Although the Bakken Bears couldn’t make a big upset and advance to the playoffs, QJ Peterson gave them a fighting chance with an explosive BCL campaign. His best outing was the 35 points against Galatasaray when he sank 13-24 from the field, including 6-13 shots from beyond the arc. Add to that seven rebounds, five assists, and three steals.
Sasu Salin
Another big display that came at Galatasaray‘s expense. This time it was the shooting masterpiece of Sasu Salin who’s been a proven sniper for Tenerife. The 29-year-old Finnish guard shot 8-11 from the three-point range on his way to 34 points while also dishing six assists and stealing the ball twice.
D’Angelo Harrison
D’Angelo Harrison set himself up as an MVP candidate this year in BCL as he led Brindisi to the playoffs but he suffered an injury in the last game of the regular season. It remains to be seen what form he will feature after recovering but that doesn’t take away from the shown so far. His best outing was against Oostende with 35 points, seven rebounds, and three assists.
Kyle Wiltjer
Kyle Wiltjer has found a perfect place for himself with Turk Telekom and it shows. The Canadian has been the leader of the team for the second year in a row now and it showed the most in his 33-point game against Hapoel Jerusalem. It was his tie-high scoring performance since moving to Europe at the moment but he broke the number later on in the Turkish League.
Bonzie Colson
Strasbourg has been piecing together a solid season and it has been in no small part thanks to Bonzie Colson who led them to the playoffs in BCL. In the double-overtime clash against Riga, Colson scored 31 points and was responsible for sending the game into overtime with an ice-cold three-pointer.
Alexandre Chassang
Dijon ended up without a playoff ticket in a close race with Tofas and Nymburk as all teams shared a 4-2 record. Alexandre Chassang did all in his power though, especially against Nymburk when he scored 22 points while also logging 13 rebounds (tie-high this season in the competition), five assists and 36 PIR.
Kyan Anderson
Falco Szombathely missed the playoffs but they didn’t make it easy for the opposition either. They handed Zaragoza the only loss in the group and Kyan Anderson was leading the effort with 25 points, nine assists, and four rebounds. He shot 7-11 from the field and logged 34 PIR.
TaShawn Thomas
Before he left for Greece and Panathinaikos, coach Oded Kattashset up a very efficient system at Hapoel Jerusalem that enabled his players to put up impressive numbers regularly. Three of the squad’s players top the all-time lists and TaShawn Thomas is one of them. His best game this season came against Igokea with 26 points on 11-12 shooting, ten rebounds and 33 PIR. Unfortunately for the team, despite beating Igokea both times, the Bosnian team stayed ahead of them in the group to steal the playoff spot.
Marco Spissu
Marco Spissu has completely matured as a player and the Italian point guard took over the floor leadership at Dinamo Sassari. He’s been putting all-around performances constantly, covering all the tasks given to him by coach Gianmarco Pozzecco. He had two performances with higher scoring, however, the one featured here gets teh advantage as he dished 15 assists which is the most by a player this season in BCL. He also scored 14 points, grabbed five boards, and logged two steals.
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League