By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
And while having CSKA leading the race is not unusual, the fact that they are tied with Khimki Moscow Region deserves a special mention.
It was a week full of big games and when all is said and done, it’s obvious that this version of the EuroLeague is getting more and more hard to predict. And that brings us to our MVP.
MVP
Didn’t you see that coming? He has a career night with 22 points and 8 rebounds as Anadolu Efes Istanbul finally got their first win of the season on the road against FC Barcelona Lassa. He is established as a role player but this week he was much, much more.
Best Five
- Lukas Lekavicius: In his first game against Olympiacos he scored 14 points and he was one of the key players in the road win of Panathinaikos. Not bad at all…
- Nando De Colo: Once more he was amazing as CSKA Moscow got the win over Valencia. It’s not only the fact that he scored 23 points, but he did it with 8/10 field goals.
- DeShaun Thomas: While Alex Tyus made big plays in crunch time, Thomas continued his hot streak being the main offensive force of Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv against Real Madrid with 21 points and 5 rebounds.
- Anthony Gill: He proved that Khimki is not only Shved. With 20 points, 7 rebounds and one block he had the best performance of the night against Baskonia Vitoria Gasteiz.
- Vladimir Stimac: He was the main reason for the continuation of Barcelona’s woes.
Coach of the week: Sarunas Jasikevicius
Zalgiris Kaunas destroyed AX Armani Exchange Olimpia Milano on the road and of course, this was a game with the stamp of coach Sarunas Jasikevicius all over. Not only the weaker on paper Zalgiris dominated, but Saras kept eleven of his players at least for 14 minutes on the floor, taking something big from everyone.
Last word: Panathinaikos rules
So far the Greens had their issues and they don’t play that well on the road. However, this was their second win of the season at the gym of Olympiacos – the first was the opening game of the Greek league – and they seem to have the number of the Reds. Yes, Spanoulis was missing, but falling twice to the same opponent is not what everyone was expecting from Olympiacos.
And that’s why after five weeks of action. there are 11 teams with at least a 3-3 record as you can see in the standings and anything can still happen. You can visit also our GameCenter for the boxscores of round 6.