By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
There was definitely some rich basketball material written οn the page of Week 2 for this season’s Eurocup. Not only thanks to noteworthy individual performances that granted some teams valuable road (and not only) victories but because of the thrill, intensity and quality of certain games.
Apart from the ballers that caught the spotlight’s attention, the upsets, the blowouts and the… barnburners, this Gameday was also marked by the Eurocup debut of the one and only Amare Stoudemire. Without a doubt the absolute star of the competition who has already begun leaving his mark. Not just with the sparkle of his name, but through his floor presence as well.
MVP: Jerome Dyson (Hapoel Jerusalem)
The experienced combo guard showed right from the season’s premiere that he is bound to mean danger in the competition. In the hot and unfriendly atmosphere of “La Fonteta” he dropped 17 points, grabbed 7 rebounds and draw a no small amount of fouls (6) leading Hapoel to an important victory against Valencia, one of the most powerful Eurocup teams and a possible title contender.
You might wonder what makes him extra distinguishable from all other top performers this Week? Apart from all the above, it was his touch of clutch, since he buried the basket that made it 77 – 80 in favor of his team, 17 seconds before the final buzzer. He then added 1/2 from the line, “locking” the win for the Israelis.
Best Five:
- Peyton Siva (Alba Berlin)
- Crunch time, game-winning delivery by the 25-year old point guard. He scored 11 out of his 14 points in the fourth quarter vs Bilbao, plus the basket that made it 75 – 79 in favor of his team with 25 seconds to go. He then sank 2/2 from the line to keep his opponents at a distance safe enough for the German team to make it 2/2 in Eurocup by bringing the Basques on their knees for the first time in the season.
- Marko Popovic (Fuenlabrada)
- The Croatian guard was merciless and coldly unwelcoming against his former team, hurting Khimki Moscow with 22 points and forcing his opponents to foul him six times as Fuenlabrada celebrated its first victory in the competition after 14 years. He also threw the dagger from behind the arc that, more or less, sealed a positive result for his team when he made it 88 – 82 with 48 seconds to go.
- Kyle Kuric (Gran Canaria)
- One more offensive show for the American sharpshooter: 20 points, 6/8 from downtown that “burned” Nizhny Novgorod to the ground in Russia. Quite possibly the hottest offensive player right now in the competition but also someone who didn’t neglect his defensive duties, stealing the ball four times.
- Vladimir Lucic (Bayern Munich)
- An almost perfect game of 19 points, 6/6 shots (4/4 from downtown) and only one turnover in 26 minutes by the Serbian forward. The majority (13) of his points arrived in the first half, when the Bavarians recorded 62 points while receiving only 35 by Murcia. A lead which ultimately led to victory.
- Ksistof Lavrinovic (Lietkabelis)
- On November 1st he will blow 37 candles on his birthday cake, but that doesn’t stop him from bringing some pain to his opponents. That’s what the veteran Lithuanian big guy did in the roadkill of Lietkabelis over Cedevita with a double-double consisted of 15 points plus 10 rebounds, along with 3 steals, 3 assists and 2 blocks.
Best Coach: Ahmet Caki (Alba Berlin)
One of the most notable up-and-coming coaches in the European basketball scene showed why he is considered as such in an emphatic manner. Bilbao came to the game vs Alba being perfect in the Spanish league, having beaten powerhouses such as Barcelona. Yet they were outmaneuvered by the Turkish coach’s plans with the “Albatrosses”. His team performed quite balanced basketball, equally potent on both ends and his players were really concentrated in the decisive moments of the final quarter.
Best performance in a losing team: Rafa Martinez (Valencia)
He did almost everything that passed by his hand, and then some, to turn the tables around in favor of his team against Hapoel Jerusalem. He scored (22 points on 7/11 shots), self-sacrificed his body to recover possessions for his squad and was simply a true captain, leaving his heart and soul on the floor. If he banked that three-pointer to tie the match in the final seconds, maybe he would leave the arena carried by the team’s fans.
The Disappointment: Cedevita Zagreb
It was between them and Murcia but at least the Spaniards fought much harder to come back in their own game during the second half and they were playing away from home. There is no excuse for the ugly way that Cedevita began the match against Lietkabelis, falling behind with 11 points (37-48) at halftime. The Croatian club should have had the “know how” not only to win this kind of battles but greatly show the superiority of their roster on court. Something which didn’t happen vs the Lithuanians and now Cedevita is 0-2 in the competition.
Do we smell trouble? It’s too early, yet this kind of match fell under the “must win” category for Cedevita that will now look forward to a reaction vs MZT Skopje next week.
Awakening the Beast….
Amare Stoudemire debuted in Eurocup tonight and if his output against Valencia was just a prelude of things to come… then we are surely in for a treat of fascinating stuff by him during the season. The former NBA superstar registered a double-double of 10 points/10 rebounds almost effortlessly, propelling his team to a big road victory with key scoring and rebounding down the stretch.