By John Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The exciting 2019-20 EuroLeague Regular Season went through Round 12 the past couple of days with the first six teams of the standings moving forward with one more “W”. Perhaps Panathinaikos OPAP was the happiest side of the pack with the victory against arch-rival Olympiacos, which was massively influenced by our MVP of the week.
Eurohoops MVP
Tyrese Rice
In a collision between Greek powerhouses for the ages, Tyrese Rice put up a show with a personal-best 41 points to lead Panathinaikos OPAP to the overtime victory versus Olympiacos. The 32-year-old point guard banked 8/16 shots beyond the arc, was 13/23 from the field, also earned seven fouls and was perfect in seven visits to the charity stripe. Quite a scoring outburst to say the least.
Eurohoops Best Five
1. Shane Larkin: He led Anadolu Efes to a 10-2 W-L tally with 24 points on 8/9 field goals including 5/6 threes.
2. Tyrese Rice: Our MVP poured 41 points in the Greek derby.
3. Kostas Sloukas: A 23-point, 10-assist double-double powered by the Greek international helped Fenerbahce Beko add on its winning streak.
4. Nikola Mirotic: Put up a game-high 28 points and nine rebounds for FC Barcelona’s road win over Khimki Moscow Region.
5. Anthony Randolph: Facundo Campazzo dished 17 assists, but the 30-year-old big posted a team-high 18 points with 4/5 two-pointers in Real Madrid’s latest “W”.
Coach of the week: Dragan Sakota
The new boss, Dragan Sakota has delivered two wins in as many contests for Crvena Zvezda mts building on the overall three-game winning streak. Calling it a great EuroLeague comeback for the 67-year-old head coach would likely be an understatement. The Serbian club is now just one victory away from the playoffs zone with its 5-7 record.
The big issue: Vesely ruled out indefinitely
No room for calm at Fenerbahce Beko. With injured players returning and building a three-game winning streak, Jan Vesely was ruled out indefinitely. Zeljko Obradovic will have to manage to guide his team through yet another tough blow with Turkish rival Anadolu Efes set to visit next week.