By Antigoni Zachari / info@eurohoops.net
The battle for a playoffs spot intensifies in VTB after the All-Star weekend break and while some teams have it easy, some others fight hard to secure a place in the next round.
MVP
Nando De Colo
The always reliable Frenchman stepped up for CSKA in one more game, with a new career-high of 35 points! Not only that, but he had 7 out of 9 attempted threes, which all added up to 31 points of efficiency. It took three periods for De Colo to reach his career-high, while in the final one he set a new scoring record, leading CSKA to glory over Avtodor.
Loko can’t shake Unics
Unics used the break to recharge in order to defend the top spot of the standings and proved so against Lokomotiv in their Kazan clash. The home side was superior in the entirety of the game, while Jamar Smith tapped 25 points to seal the deal for Dimitris Priftis’ squad. Despite the loss, Lokomotiv still ranks high, only behind CSKA and on the third place of the league’s standings.
Historic win for Parma
The team from Perm, Russia, recorded its first-ever 100+ points win over Kalev, a notable achievement in the midst of the playoffs battle. As if this milestone wasn’t enough, Codi Miller-Mcintyre had one of the best performances in the League so far in the season, with a great double-double of 24 points and 17 assists. While we’re at it, enjoy some of his highlights:
Narrow win for Khimki, signed by Alexey Shved
When the game is hanging by a thread, you know that Shved can do the ‘dirty work’. And so it was proved, as the Russian star took charge with 26 points in Khimki’s road win over Nizhny in Novgorod. Trailing 76-75 after a Stevan Jelovac jumper, Shved buried a three to put the visitors in the lead for good, along with a pair of free throws to create a safety net until the end.
February MVP: Justin Robinson
Robinson earned himself the MVP honor for the month of February, that marks him as the youngest player to has ever received it in VTB (the Avtodor star is 22). His team finished perfect in the previous month and even managed to break Lokomotiv’s incredible 26-game winning streak. Robinson averaged 23.5 points, 11 assists, 2.5 rebounds and a 28.5 efficiency rating in February.