By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
If you expected that the action in the double-games week will start with a twist, you would have been disappointed. Once more, the games went as expected with a notable exception in Moscow and nothing changed drastically in the standings with FC Barcelona Lassa being the last team to achieve the 10 wins milestone.
However, the MVP comes from Piraeus.
MVP
Not only he scored 22 points on six made threes and he registered a 31 PIR, good enough for the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague official award for this round, but he made all the big plays down the stretch, saving Olympiacos with an amazing three and then tipping the balance of the scale for good in overtime against feisty Baskonia. The Reds are still on track for the home court advantage and he was the key for that.
Best Five
- Nick Calathes: He had 14 points on 6/10 FG plus 11 assists, six rebounds, and three steals. When Calathes is playing like that, Panathinaikos OPAP wins and that was the case against FC Bayern Munich.
- Thomas Heurtel: He led Barcelona to the win at Milan with 21 points in 22 minutes of action and he also added six assists. He has up and downs on his game but on a good night, he can’t be denied.
- Kostas Papanikolaou: It was a night to remember for him and his team.
- Adrien Moerman: He tied his career high with 23 points and he also had six rebounds in Anadolu Efes easy road win against Zalgiris Kaunas.
- Tarik Black: In just 16 minutes of action he had 12 points and seven rebounds for a 19 PIR. He can be a game-changer for Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv if he keeps this up.
Coach of the round: George Bartzokas
For the second straight round, he is our pick. Last week he led Khimki Moscow Region to the road win against Herbalife Gran Canaria without Alexey Shved and Anthony Gill. This time around, he had Gill and Khimki beat Fenerbahce BEKO at home and remains one win away from the eighth spot of the standings. Not bad, considering that Shved, the top EuroLeague scorer is still out of action.
Last word: Wilbekin silencing his own crowd
Scottie Wilbekin was the top scorer of Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv, his team got the win and he made a silencing gesture to his own crowd. The same has happened also in Athens recently with Keith Langford, however, Maccabi’s guard didn’t want to comment further his action. One thing is for sure. If Maccabi keeps winning, then the crowd will cheer for Scottie.