Βy Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
With 27 rounds on the books, Anadolu Efes Istanbul and Crverna Zvezda (15-12) are tied at the 7th spot, two wins behind there’s Darussafaka Dogus Istanbul (13-14) and Zalgiris Kaunas (12-15) still has some pretty slim chances.
On the other hand at the top of the standings Real Madrid (20-7), CSKA Moscow (20-7) and Olympiacos (19-8) have secured the home court advantage, while Fenerbahce (17-10), Baskonia (16-11) and Panathinaikos (16-11) have sealed their playoffs tickets. And they did it, thanks to this guy…
MVP
Milos Teodosic
Let’s get things in perspective. He had amazing numbers and a double double with 20 points and 10 assists, missing just two shots and making two turnovers. Of course he led – alongside Kyle Hines and Nando De Colo – CSKA Moscow to the win. And here’s the key. This win against Dogus Darussafaka secured mathematically the playoffs for Fenerbahce, Panathinaikos and Baskonia. Not bad for a day’s work Milos.
Best five
- Milos Teodosic: Great game with great implications.
- Jason Granger: Anadolu Efes is not qualified yet, but has great chances after beating Zalgiris Kaunas on the road and Granger with 25 points, 8 assists and 2 steals got the job done.
- Sylven Landesberg: The only problem with his game is that it doesn’t change anything for Maccabi Tel Aviv at this point. Still he had 22 points, 4/4 threes and the winning shot over Fenerbahce, which is now in danger of losing the home court advantage.
- Kostas Papanikolaou: In a hard fought game at Belgrade he was consistent from the start until the finish line with 17 points, 2/4 threes, 6/6 free throws, 9 rebounds and great defense as Olympiacos got the win over Crvena Zvezda.
- Toko Shengeila: We having a small ball line up this week and he had the numbers of a center, leading Baskonia to the win over Brose Bamberg with 16 points, 8/12 shots, 12 rebounds and 2 assists.
Best losing performance: Scottie Wilbekin
Dogus Darussafaka even with three wins in the remaining three games can’t secure by itself a spot in the playoffs. Wilbekin did his best in order to get the win in Moscow and keep his team out of this position. To be exact he scored 26 points, making eight out of nine threes, but despite his amazing performance, CSKA Moscow was simply better.
Coach of the week: Pablo Laso
When you beat twice in the EuroLeague your arch-rival and in both cases you have an easy night, then you are doing something good. Of course Barcelona is in a pretty bad shape, but with just three games left in the regular season the team of coach Laso is first, having the tie-breaking advantage over CSKA Moscow and that’s not a small feat.
Biggest win: Olympiacos
The game was ugly at times, but the passion in a full house of 18.200 fans can’t be matched by anything. In the end Olympiacos prevailed after overtime thanks to a shot by Giorgos Printezis which was a copy of the most important shot of his career and also secured the home court advantage for the Greeks in the playoffs. Thanks to this win, Olympiacos will be fourth at the worst possible scenario, despite losing last week at home to Galatasaray.
Last word: Llull-dominance
The day that Real Madrid was clinching the home court advantage for the playoffs, Barcelona was already out for the first time after 11 season and Sergio Llull once more put on a show (and by the numbers he is the MVP of the day). For the first time in recent history there seems to be such a gap between the two Spanish rivals and Barcelona needs to change much for next season, as this year in the EuroLeague for the Catalans is officially over.