By Antigoni Zachari / info@eurohoops.net
Week 20 was completed with five games taking place in the VTB League. CSKA Moscow had a starring role once again this week with a huge victory on the road, while teams like Kalev saved up lots of surprises in the battle of the playoffs.
Let’s get into more detail about this past week’s action:
MVP
Sergio Rodriguez, CSKA Moscow
As CSKA stormed past Zielona Gora, Rodriguez shined for the team with his 21-point performance. The Spanish star shot on 7-8 FG, while he also had eight assists and one rebound for a total PIR of 30, the highest of any other player this week. Along with his impact in CSKA in the past few weeks, and the team’s course in the league, he’s rightfully named our weekly MVP. One thing is for certain, you can trust in Rodriguez at any time.
CSKA dominates Zielona Gora
The Army Team got the job done on the road while visiting Poland on Monday as El Chacho and Will Clyburn (18 p.) stepped up for Dimitris Itoudis’ team, with the former earning our MVP honor. CSKA remains first in the standings with an 18-3 record and has no fear as UNICS follows far behind with 14-4.
Zenit climbs up with a huge win over Avtodor
The St. Petersburg side shouldn’t worry about its place in the standings at the moment, though they still have time to make their efforts for possible homecourt advantage. That being said, their victory over Avtodor helped them move up to an 11-7 record, while the news for Avtodor wasn’t as positive, with its 8-11 record pushing them off of the playoffs zone at this point.
Kalev stops Astana’s winning streak
Prior to visiting Tallinn, Astana was on a roll. However, Kalev not only did get the win but for the moment also pushed for the eighth place in the standings, combined with Avtodor’s loss. Paced by Arnett Moultrie’s star performance of 20 points and 10 rebounds, the hosts moved up and can still hope for a spot in the off-season.
Nizhny Novgorod strong over Enisey
Nizhny is yet another team that fights for the playoffs, surrounded by Zenit and Kalev in the standings. With its strong victory at home over Enisey this past Friday, Zoran Lukic’s team has no fear at the moment, though they should keep up their two-game winning streak in order to ensure a better position ahead of the playoffs. Hard as it might be, anything could happen, as long as Vladimir Dragisevic (18 p. vs. Enisey) is protecting the paint!