By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
The “One team” Week that is celebrated all over Europe began today with players in various courts welcoming at-risk local groups and putting them in the spotlight before taking the stage in some fascinating EuroCup matches.
When GameDay 8 reached its end four more teams found themselves in the Top 16 stage of the competition. Khimki Moscow made the start by defeating Alba Berlin, Nizhny Novgorod followed after narrowly beating Lietkabelis at home and then accepting from Cedevita’s win vs MZT Skopje. Hapoel Jerusalem took a second stage clinching victory over Union Olimpija in front of a record-crowd of 9.720 fans and Lokomotiv Kuban also advanced, despite losing to Ratiopharm Ulm in a thriller of filmic nature, decided in overtime.
Our selections of the players that got distinguished this Week naturally have to do with the teams that began thinking about Eurocup “phase two”. And yes, once again we picked a small-ball squad
MVP: Ivan Strebkov
In a highly crucial game for Nizhny Novgorod, the 25-year-old Russian guard simply presented one off his top performances… ever. Strebkov dropped Eurocup career-highs in points (31) and PIR (36), shooting the ball exceptionally with 5/8 2-pointers and 4/6 from downtown, while also dishing 4 assists. Nizhny couldn’t have hoped win vs Lietkabelis and pave the way for its subsequent qualification in the Top 16 without such an enormous output by him. Rightfully the MVP of the Week.
Best Five:
- Stefan Markovic
- The “double-double” master among point guards in this season’s Eurocup. Markovic has been given the baton in Zenit St. Petersburg by coach Vasily Karasev and he’s absolutely making the most out of it. In the road victory over Murcia, he conducted the “music” of his team beautifully once more, scoring 14 points and dishing 11 assists. His third double-double of the season, while his opponents struggled to stop his raving action, being forced to foul him 10 (!) times.
- David Logan
- He has “walked the walk” countless times in his career so it’s not surprising that he has been leading Lietuvos Rytas through its recent winning streak in Eurocup. Logan “talked” volumes with his game tonight dropping 23 points and dishing 6 assists to his teammates as his team beat Bilbao in Vilnius. Third and much important consecutive victory for the Lithuanians who drew closer to the Top 16.
- Ivan Strebkov
- Record night that came in a timely fashion.
- Nobel Boungou-Colo
- The French forward has shown many times that he is lethal when making one bucket after the other but his usefulness as an all-around tool can make him even more dangerous for his opponents and precious for his team. Like in the game against Alba Berlin where he produced his best performance in the Eurocup season so far with 18 points, 5 assists, 5 steals and only 1 turnover in 32 minutes. He played more than anyone as he led the Russians to a victory that brought them to the Top 16.
- Arturas Gudaitis
- Second player by Lietuvos Rytas but hey, we can’t overlook Gudaitis new dominant output inside the paint. Plus we needed a big guy for our “Best Five”. Any-whoo, the 23-year-old Lithuanian went beastly against Bilbao’s frontline, with 16 rebounds and 2 blocks to go with his 11 points. Also, he often made his opponents suffer to score against him as Rytas grabbed a much needed win.
Coach of the Week: Vasily Karasev
Even though Zenit St. Petersburg had already advanced in the Top 16, that didn’t stop it from playing like their lives were on the line vs Murcia. Coach Karasev is obviously responsible for keeping his players extremely alert and subsequently efficient enough to take a comfortable road win against a tough team that can become really threatening if it gets its rhythm going. Zenit made sure to “cut” their appetite right from the start and then remain consistent in its offense to leave Spain victorious.
Best performance in a losing team: Mardy Collins
Once again he was here, there and everywhere on the floor for Lokomotiv Kuban vs Ratiopharm Ulm, with an all-around spectacle of 26 points, 6 rebounds 6 assists and 4 steals. He also forced an overtime with a buzzer beating bomb from beyond the arc but ultimately, his team lost in overtime. Nevertheless, Lokobasket players got the ticket to the Top 16 and can definitely look for an overall improvement, knowing that Collins’ incredibly versatile performances have their back.
The Disappointment: Murcia
Second defeat in a row at home for Murcia in Eurocup, against Zenit this time, and it can’t be justified that easily. Especially since it came in a hands down manner. The players of the Spanish team looked disoriented when the game began, getting off to a negative start and never succeeding in claiming something from the match. Obviously the team’s qualification to the Top 16 is a success and it came relatively early but it doesn’t allow any form of relaxation until the regular season is over, nor gives cause for excuses in loose behaviors. Especially in front of the team’s fans.