By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
2016 is now part of history for the VTB League with the last game of the year taking place today between CSKA Moscow and Enisey. The victory of the league’s reigning champs isn’t really considered… “breaking news” but Nando De Colo’s return to action is a reason to be jolly (to paraphrase a famous Christmas song).
The French combo guard is back and the “Splash Bros” duo he compiles with Milos Teodosic is ready to make some serious buzz bound to deafen not only VTB but Europe in general.
While CSKA had no problem vs Enisey, Unics Kazan needed an extra period to take down a tenacious Parma on the road. Khimki Moscow didn’t have it easy vs Kalev Tallinn in Estonia and Zenit was probably the only other team apart CSKA that put its superiority to full motion, making short work of Astana.
In all of the matches of the last stretch before 2016 closes its door, the “short guys” were the ones who decided the final outcomes with their exploits. Hence our choice to go… small in this week’s selection of the players who stood out. Heck… even our “center” is not really a 5. Sorry.
The MVP: Orlando Johnson (Unics Kazan)
If he didn’t ravage with in an “all guns blazing” mode against Parma, his team would probably be victim of one of the biggest upsets in the season. Yet the American guard dressed like Santa Claus and responded to his team’s demand for buckets by granting them a 34 points career-high gift.
Throughout his career so far, Johnson had never scored more than 30 points in a game (he did that in 2012 while playing for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in the NBA D League) so you can easily realize the magnitude of his performance.
Best Five of the Week:
Jacob Pullen (Khimki Moscow)
Dropped 24 points on 3/5 two-pointers and 4/9 from downtown, closing 2016 in an ideal manner for himself and, more importantly, his team. Through his leadership, Khimki Moscow managed to overcome Kalev Tallinn on the road, in a quite dangerous match. Pullen is proving day by day that the trust his team gave him by extending his contract to the end of the season was more than well-founded.
Orlando Johnson (Unics Kazan)
Came up big when the clock was ticking in a threatening tone for his team.
Nando De Colo (CSKA Moscow)
Last season’s “MVP of everything” is back and ready to contribute in style plus substance. In his first game since mid November, De Colo scored 19 points and grabbed 6 rebounds for CSKA Moscow almost without a sweat. If it’s a sign of things to come, then be afraid.
Danilo Andjusic (Parma)
An epic performance of historic proportions for the Serbian guard. Take a deep breath: 40 points on 7/10 two-pointers, 6/7 from beyond the arc and 8/10 free throws, plus 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 9 fouls won and only one (!) turnover in 41 minutes. Especially the latter is almost of the unheard of. His 46 in PIR is the third best number ever in VTB League. Alas, his wondrous game wasn’t enough for Parma vs Unics Kazan.
Kostas Kaimakoglou (Unics Kazan)
He is our… “center” in our smallball squad but he gunned Parma from the perimeter as well with 4/6. What brings him to our “Top Five” is mainly the fact that he dropped five crucial points in overtime vs Parma, each and every one of them trimming his opponents’ hopes for a win. But his performance was generally as rich as his beard, since he overall scored 19 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, dished out 3 assists and stole the ball thrice.
Coach of the Week: Vasily Karasev (Zenit St. Petersburg)
Against a team like Astana, which has shown time and again that it can be quite dangerous against those that underestimated, Zenit did more than simply win. Coach Karasev’s guys had an impressive offensive output of 99 points, an exemplary assist/turnover ratio of 22/6 and played quite attractive basketball. All these while its coach divided playing time harmoniously among his players with almost all of them contributing a piece of victory.
The Last Word: All-Star Game Rosters
We decided to create our ideal rosters ahead of the first ever VTB United League All-Star game that is taking place in Sochi on February. With the league overflowing in quality, the choice was a bit difficult, but fair. At least that’s what we like to think. Check them out and don’t forget to VOTE for your favorite players that will participate in the All-Star party.