Euroleague Top 16, Round 11: Sportando Team of the Week

MVP – Rudy Fernandez (Real Madrid)

In the huge home win against CSKA (93-79), Fernandez plays with astonishing energy and scores in many different ways. He’s particularly effective in transition, as he forces a lot of turnovers, can make the right pass and is unstoppable when getting to the rim thanks to his athleticism; but he also heats up from long range and can scores off screens, driving in the paint with ease and taking a lot of contacts. He finishes with 28 PTS, 3 AST, 4 STL, 5 FD and 33 EV.

Dimitris Diamantidis (Panathinaikos)

In the home win against Fenerbahçe (76-67) Diamantidis dominates the game on pick and roll plays thanks to his ability in turning the corner and hitting the open man, and is really aggressive in attacking the rim both off the dribble and moving off the ball. He also plays one of his best defensive games of the season, as he seems to have more freedom to double-team or play in the passing lanes. What’s more, he hits his only three with a shot off the pick and roll which gives to his team the decisive lead in the third quarter. In the game he has 15 PTS, 6 RBS, 6 AST, 4 STL, 11 FD and 31 EV.

Sonny Weems (CSKA Moscow)

Just as Fernandez, Weems is unguardable in Madrid: he has sometimes some defensive woes, but he keeps CSKA in the game by scoring and creating in a too still offense. He makes plays in transition thanks to his quickness and his athleticism, can create off the dribble and beat his defender with ease, moves well without the ball and can also throw the entry pass to his teammates. He finishes with 28 PTS on an 11/14 shooting, 5 RBS, 6 AST and 35 EV.

Joffrey Lauvergne (Partizan Belgrade)

The French big man plays as usual a tough, physical game, always fighting for position in the low post and going after every rebound. He has a key role in the fourth quarter comeback which gives to his team a tight home win against Maccabi Tel Aviv (72-70): he scores 6 of his 8 points in the last 5.30 of the game and plays good defense both in the post and when has to close out on the perimeter, finishing with 8 PTS, 12 RBS and 20 EV.

Ante Tomic (FC Barcelona)

Another outstanding performance for Tomic in the road victory in Malaga (77-61), particularly on the defensive end: his presence keeps the opponents off the paint, as he brings intimidation and helps with perfect timing, and he’s also able to switch properly on the perimeter. As usual he’s also a constant threat in rebounding, and can hardly be cut off thanks to his size and nose for the ball, while on offense he’s often double-teamed opening better looks on the perimeter. He has 12 PTS, 10 RBS, 2 BLK and 18 EV in only 17 minutes on the court.

di P.Villa