By Antigoni Zachari / info@eurohoops.net
Fenerbahce became the first team to officially qualify to the playoffs after a blow-out win over Panathinaikos and its constant domination in the standings.
Some results have been surprising in this round, while some others brought joy to the respective fans of each team, and Maccabi is a big example of that, all thanks to Giannis Sfairopoulos’ contribution to the revival of the team.
MVP
Round 22 kicked off on the best note with Krunoslav Simon sealing his weekly MVP award early on for his incredible performance against Gran Canaria. The Croatian combo guard added a season-high of 25 points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals to sum up for a PIR of 34, the best of any other player. And if there’s a Kruno Simon fan club, sign us up.
Best Five
- Nando De Colo: With 21 points against reigning champions Real Madrid, he paced CSKA to a victory that earned them the second spot in the standings, at least for now.
- Krunoslav Simon: Our weekly MVP did everything for Efes.
- Mindaugas Kuzminskas: He posted 19 points and eight boards against visiting Darussafaka, pushing Milano to a crucial win.
- Nicolo Melli: His 14 points and seven boards, and four assists helped Fener seal its playoffs ticket early.
- Jordan Mickey: With 25 points and four rebounds, he executed Buducnost’s defense.
Coach of the week: Giannis Sfairopoulos
When a coach meets his former team, you know it will always get sentimental, especially after spending so many seasons with it. In Sfairopoulos’ case, his emotion didn’t control his actions, as his game plan was merely executed and took down visiting Olympiacos in Tel Aviv in an important victory for Maccabi.
Last word: Baskonia gets the tie-breaker over Bayern
The Spanish team is en route for the playoffs after getting a key victory over Bayern. Not only that, but Baskonia overcame the six-point deficit from the first-round loss (77-71) to the German team to get the tiebreaking advantage. Two birds with one stone!