By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
The completion of Week 6 in Eurocup saw four teams advancing to the next stage of the competition. And one of them didn’t even need to win to check its ticket.
Gran Canaria may have stained its perfect record, falling to the new and improved Cedevita in Zagreb but still, they clinched a spot in the Eurocup Top 16. The other three teams who are already thinking about “phase two” are Valencia plus competition newcomers Lietkabelis and UCAM Murcia. Some serious history in the making here.
The MVP
Gintaras Leonavicius
A veteran of Lithuanian basketball delivered what might be the best game of his career, given the competition’s status and the significant character of the match. Thanks to a stunning performance of 19 points (with a sublime 6/7 from the field & 4/4 from the line) plus 9 rebounds he paced Lietkabelis to a superb road win vs MZT Skopje that earned them a place in the Top 16. The 33-year-old guard and his team are both Eurocup newcomers so this is kinda huge, isn’t it?
Best Five of the Week
- Gintaras Leonavicius
- Taking his game and his team to literally another level.
- Mardy Collins
- Lokomotiv Kuban needed this victory. BADLY. For more reasons than one. A new coach (Sasa Obradovic) is there while the team was arriving from a series of bad results. The much anticipated “restart” took place with the victory against Union Olimpija and Mardy Collins did everything on court for the win to happen. How? Dropping a season-high 15 points along with grabbing 8 rebounds and dishing 6 assists for 21 PIR.
- Marko Tomas
- The “when” is key here. With Pierre Jackson out, Cedevita had to fight a difficult battle against undefeated Gran Canaria at home, a crucial game regarding the team’s future in the competition. In the beginning of the fourth quarter, things looked a bit dark for the Croatians until Marko Tomas came to the rescue. The experienced forward took it over from his teammates kicking off the comeback attempts, scoring 12 points in three minutes to help his team make it 91 – 87 from 77 – 81, pacing Cedevita towards a crucial victory. He finished the game with 22 points.
- Arturas Gudaitis
- Lietuvos Rytas narrowly beat Khimki Moscow thanks to a buzzer beater by David Logan, but we really can’t overlook the brilliant efforts of the young Lithuanian big guy. He registered a double-double consisted of 12 points and 15 rebounds (a Eurocup career high). His contribution means so much more than what numbers imply since his team was still outrebounded throughout the whole game and if not for Gudaitis, Rytas would have been in trouble. And perhaps not able to claim (and subsequently win) the game in the last possession.
- Vitor Faverani
- Murcia accomplished something new in the club’s history, by advancing to the Eurocup Top 16. With a road victory no less against Buducnost in Montenegro. And Faverani was almost perfect dropping 21 points (new personal best in Eurocup) hitting 10/10 (!) two-pointers and grabbing 7 rebounds. Most importantly, he helped his team remain close to its hosts for the first 30 minutes, when Murcia wasn’t really safe.
Coach of the Week
It’s the second time we pick him and the reason is nothing less than special now. With Oscar Quintana at the helm Murcia made history by advancing to the second stage of a continental basketball competition for the first time ever in the history of the club, during its premiere participation in such a competition. A grand accomplishment for the franchise which was sealed with a road victory against a seasoned and tough team such as Buducnost.
The Hero
David Logan kept Lietuvos Rytas still in “qualification orbit” thanks to a buzzer-beater that granted his team victory over Khimki Moscow. If his team didn’t win that match, its chances for advancing to the Top 16 would have been significantly reduced but now, Rytas is in the game for good!