By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The VTB League Playoffs Phase 1 was without any major surprises but packed with a no small amount of memorable performances. From players that had shined bright throughout the whole season and also from others that emerged as leaders for their teams when they were needed the most.
Like Taylor Rochestie, our choice of MVP from the quarterfinals who was sensational for Lokomotiv Kuban gainst Unics Kazan, leading his team to the semifinals after a 3 – 1 score. The team from Krasnodar was generally the most triumphant squad of the quarterfinals, considering that the series against Unics was the one with the least predictable outcome.
The other three VTB powerhouses had no problem not only advancing but sweeping their opponents in the process. Still, they needed key action from their superstars (or not) to achieve their goal.
MVP: Taylor Rochestie (Lokomotiv Kuban)
Taylor Rochestie saved his best performances in the season so far for the heat of the playoffs arena. Never before this year he had scored more than 19 points, but tuned up his rhythm when it matters the most, averaging 24.3 in the three games Lokomotiv Kuban won against Unics Kazan to advance in the semifinals. He also dished out 3 assists per game in this matches being the main focal point in his team’s offense.
Best Five:
Taylor Rochestie (Lokomotiv Kuban)
Unics was unable to constraint him as paced his team towards the next round of the playoffs.
Nando De Colo (CSKA Moscow)
He carried an extra burden in light of Milos Teodosic’s absence during the playoff series against Astana and, naturally, he delivered. Not only in scoring (15.3 points per game) but also in creating for his teammates with 5.3 assists per game, as CSKA Moscow swept its way to the semifinals past the Kazakh team.
Alexey Shved (Khimki Moscow)
The Russian combo guard brought the full spectrum of his firepower down on Enisey, trailblazing Khimki’s path to the semifinals with a 3 – 0 sweep. Not only did he averaged 27 points in the quarterfinals but also 4.7 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1 steal for a complete impact.
Aaron White (Zenit St. Petersburg)
After a regular season with some ups and downs in his performances, Aaron White skyrocketed his numbers in the first round of the playoffs. He was the top scorer and rebounder for Zenit St. Petersburg with 17 points and 6.3 boards per game, appearing pretty much way too aggressive to be stopped by his opponents.
Ian Vougioukas (Lokomotiv Kuban)
He had a more than challenging task against one of the most dangerous duo of centers in the league (Artsiom Parakhouski and Latavious Williams) in the series vs Unics Kazan but he stood his ground and then some. In the three consecutive victories Lokomotiv took to qualify in the semis he averaged 14.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and eight (!) fouls won, a showcase of how difficult it was to stop him.
Top Coach: Sasa Obradovic (Lokomotiv Kuban)
His hands got tied almost right from the start since he watched Kevin Jones – his main guy on both ends – getting injured less than three minutes in Game 1 vs Unics Kazan and being ruled out for the rest of the series. Loko was defeated in this match and became the underdog from favorite, yet coach Obradovic and his players managed to completely tip the scales, winning three games, to of them on the road to qualify.
Obradovic turned on the offensive and used Rochestie to a great extent in order to punish Unics’ lackluster pick n’ roll defense. In what was generally considered as the most open to any result series, he and his team prevailed and in the end, received praise from opponents on how well coached Loko was in the quarterfinals.