By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
The final standings are set, the bracket is ready and the MVP of the last regular season round is the guy who led his team to the playoffs.
MVP
Bradley Wanamaker
He set the tone early in the game and finished it with 22 points, 5 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals and also 4 turnovers. He is the leader of Darussafaka Dogus and proved it again in a do or die game against Crvena Zvezda. It remains to be seen if he can do damage in the playoffs against Real Madrid.
Best Five
- Bradley Wanamaker: Born to lead.
- Bogdan Bogdanovic: According to the numbers he had better nights, but he scored 15 crucial points, made all the big plays and had also 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals as Fenerbahce beat Barcelona after overtime.
- Jaycee Carroll: In a warm up game for the playoffs against Anadolu Efes, the sharp shooter of Real Madrid scored 29 points on 10/11 shots, 7/8 of them threes.
- Chris Singleton: You can argue that Mike James also had a great game, but he was once more everywhere with 13 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 6 steals and 2 blocks as Panathinaikos sealed the home court advantage with the win over Maccabi Tel Aviv.
- Latavious Williams: He saved the best for last, having 20 points and 12 rebounds in the road win of Unics Kazan over EA7 Emporio Armani Milano. This does not mean much in the big picture, but those numbers are impressive.
Best losing performance: Shane Larkin
He had one more big night with 20 points and 6 assists, but it was not enough for Baskonia against Zalgiris. Still Larkin is ready to be a real court general for his team and he will have the chance to demonstrate his abilities in the playoffs against the backcourt of CSKA Moscow.
Coach of the week: Sarunas Jasikevicius
The win of his team practically decided the playoffs couplings, sending among others his former coach Zeljko Obradovic to play against their former team Panathinaikos. In a game without any motivation for his team, Jasikevicius’ unit managed to get the road win. It’s one more sign that a great coach was born this season.
Biggest win and last word: Darussafaka Dogus
This does not need any real explanation. It was a game with no tomorrow for both teams and the winner took the prize. Still Darussafaka Dogus will need a lot of luck in order to play in the Euroleague next season, while Crvena Zvezda can win the Adriatic League, where they have already qualified for the finals against Cedevita, and be again part of the 16 top teams of Europe.