By John Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
EuroLeague Regular Season Round 3 is in the books. Only FC Barcelona and CSKA Moscow made it to 3-0, and only Valencia remains without a win. The rest of the field is between 2-1 and 1-2. However different situations surface for various sides, especially those on the wrong end of early upsets.
As for the players, no real need to search any further than Fenerbahce Beko to draw our MVP of the Week.
Eurohoops MVP
Nando De Colo
A scoring performance for the ages by Nando De Colo in his home debut as member of Fenerbahce Beko. Not many players of Zeljko Obradovic enjoy outings of this kind, but 39 points behind 15/21 from the field comfortably led Fener to its first 2019-20 victory and himself to the MVP title. His 39 points was a career-high, so was his 44 PIR.
Eurohoops Best Five
1. Vasilije Micic: Another great performance, another double-double with 15 points and 12 dimes for Anadolu Efes on the road.
2. Mike James: 28 points including three made shots beyond the arc, 5 assists for undefeated CSKA.
3. Nando De Colo: Our MVP of the Week seems like he’s been playing under Obradovic for years.
4. Omri Casspi: Nice to be home, even better with 15 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists in Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv’s overtime win over Crvena Zvezda mts.
5. Zach LeDay: Following a couple of off-games and Zalgiris Kaunas losses, the American forward/center destroyed Real Madrid posting 26 points and 9 rebounds.
Coach of the week: Ettore Messina
A week of big wins all around the field was highlighted by AX Armani Exchange Milan road victory against Panathinaikos OPAP. Ettore Messina took over to return the Italian club to past glory and will get the job done sooner rather than later if he keeps on securing such impressive results.
The big issue: Valencia dropping fast
The only team without a victory in the first three rounds of action is Valencia. Aside its 0-3, the upcoming road matches versus Maccabi and Barcelona might lead to a 0-5 start. Tough times but not yet irreversible, still a long way to go.