By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
What a beginning for the knock-out series. Everything is open in six out of the eight games in the third stage of Eurocup. Heck, we even saw a tie happening!
In the other two battles we witnessed many quite noteworthy performances that gave some specific teams the upper hand for the re-match. But, generally, the protagonists during this Week shined both in games that were judged by a lucrative offense, and in the ones were tight defenses dominated the stage.
MVP of the Week:
Victor Rudd (Nizhny Novgorod)
He set the foundations for Nizhny’s probable qualification in the Quarterfinals. Why? Well simply because thanks to his 28 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists, his team didn’t only beat Zenit, but destroyed them, 102 – 76, taking a huge advantage for the upcoming match in St. Petersburg.
Best 5 of the Week:
- Sasu Salin (Gran Canaria)
His sharpshooting became the tool with which Gran Canaria sliced through Limoges’ defense, right from the start of the match. Salin began the game by dropping 3/3 three pointers and 11 points in almost 4 minutes, pushing the Spaniards’ offense which later dominated Limoges in Beaublanc. The Finnish player continued providing for his team, finishing the match with 18 points.
- Rickey Paulding (EWE Oldenburg)
Simply unstoppable against Strasbourg on the road. Being a force for his team in its first Eighth-Finals venture, the veteran swingman was raging with 24 points, that arrived via great shooting (8/10 field goals), and 5 rebounds
- Krunoslav Simon (Olimpia Armani Milano)
In a hot arena during the intense game against Banvit, Krunoslav Simon had the best evaluation numbers for Milano. His team managed to get an important advantage for the re-match in Italy and Kruno had an all-around game input of 15 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists.
- Elmedin Kikanovic (Alba Berlin)
Bayern Munich’s 6′ 11″ walking nightmare. Yet another match in which Alba’s big guy does almost everything he wants against the Bavarian team. This time he scored 24 points and won 6 fouls. He has almost built a tradition with Bayern. Let’s see if he can keep it in Munich.
- Colton Iverson (Pinar Karsiyaka)
You can see, again, why Pinar Karsiyaka was not exactly eager to let him go to any Euroleague team, although many great offers arrived in the club’s offices. The American center was a force to be reckoned with against Galatasaray by scoring 16 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. 6 of them on offense. The damage he brought came in multiple ways, since he also won 7 fouls by his opponents.
Biggest Victory: Nizhny Novgorod
Coach Ainars Bagatskis said in his post game comments that “If one team can beat another by 26, there is no reason why it can’t happen vice versa. Honestly, we can’t see how such a determined team Nizhny, can let its guard down in the re-match. Putting a tremendous offensive show on court, Nizhny Novgorod didn’t only defeated Zenit St. Petersburg but completely outplayed them, winning 102 – 76. If its players kept the same intensity in their game in the fourth quarter as well, we would have talked about an annihilation. But anyway, this is a victory of great magnitude, and Nizhny now has an immense advantage for the re-match.
Coach Of The Week: Aito Reneses
On Sunday, Gran Canaria faced Real Madrid in an incredible Final for the Copa Del Rey. They put up an incredible fight against their opponents, but ultimately lost the title. The Spaniards had four games ahead of them in order to lick their wounds, and recover mentally, psychologically and physically. And they did it quite successfully, presenting great basketball on the road and taking a win that is half a qualification against Limoges. The reason for all the above? Aito’s guidance.
Best peformance by a player in a defeated team: Errick McCollum
In a game during which Galatasaray incredibly struggled on offense, McCollum was the only safe scoring source for the “CimBom”. His 21 points might be proven to be life saving for his team, since Pinar Karsiyaka won only by three points, 67 – 64. Oh…. and he was also the first rebounder for Galatasaray with 13. Quite the amazing number for a guard.
The Disappointment: Limoges
Limoges had all the time in the world to prepare for this game against Gran Canaria, but was taken aback right from the beginning of the match. Dusko Vujosevic’s players could not respond to anything their opponents threw on them. When their scoring output was finally increased and manage to play some good defense, they had to cover lots and lots of ground. They were ultimately defeated with a large difference, 65 – 82 and will have to accomplish something similar of a miracle in Las Palmas, to advance.