By Antigoni Zachari / info@eurohoops.net
After 34 rounds of spectacular action, the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague regular season came to an end Friday, though the playoffs race is extended for just a few more days. Real Madrid was the latest team to advance and only one ticket remains up for grabs and is set to be decided between Valencia and Zenit St. Petersburg when the latter hosts Panathinaikos next week.
MVP
Nicolas Laprovittola, Real Madrid
Real stood strong against Fenerbahce with an outstanding performance in a do-or-die game to advance to the EuroLeague playoffs on Thursday with a 93-67 win on the road. The Argentinian guard tapped 18 points on 6-10 FG along with a new career-high of 10 assists in 31 minutes to lead the Whites alongside Fabien Causeur and Gabriel Deck.
Best Five
- Nicolas Laprovittola: Our MVP for the final game day of the regular season!
- Iffe Lundberg: The Danish guard erupted with a new career-high of 23 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists as CSKA Moscow defeated ASVEL to end the regular season on a good note.
- Derrick Williams: Valencia did its part and now has to wait for Zenit’s results in order to determine the final ticket for the playoffs and Williams paced his team to a big victory over Baskonia on the road with 16 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals.
- Sasha Vezenkov: He logged 20 points and 11 rebounds as the Reds bid goodbye to the regular season with a win over Khimki at home.
- Jalen Reynolds: Bayern finished the regular season strong with the help of Reynolds, who had a new career-high with 26 points to lead his team to win over Barcelona on the road.
Coach of the Week: Ettore Messina
Olimpia Milano stormed past Anadolu Efes on Friday with a big win to clinch homecourt advantage in the playoffs as the team to finish in the 4th place of the overall standings. Shavon Shields and Kevin Punter dropped 19 and 18 points respectively for Messina’s squad, to stop Efes‘ three-game winning streak. The Italian side will face Bayern in the upcoming playoffs after the latter defeated Barcelona.
Playoffs pairs… thus far!
The playoffs race is extended to just a few more days when the final pair is decided, and here is what Round 34’s action has determined so far:
Pair 1: Barcelona (1st) vs. Zenit / Valencia (8th)
Pair 2: CSKA Moscow (2nd) vs. Fenerbahce (7th)
Pair 3: Anadolu Efes (3rd) vs. Real Madrid (6th)
Pair 4: Olimpia Milano (4th) vs. Bayern (5th)
Pau is back
The end of the regular season not only marks the countdown for the playoffs, but it will also be remembered as Pau Gasol’s return to the EuroLeague after 20 long years!
Gasol contributed 9 points and 4 rebounds under the guidance of his former teammate and current Barcelona coach, Sarunas Jasikevicius, as Barca fell to Bayern in the last game of the round.
Welcome back, @paugasol! pic.twitter.com/w9myDxgoQn
— Eurohoops (@Eurohoopsnet) April 9, 2021
Photo: EuroLeague