EuroLeague Playoffs, Game 1 MVP: Bogdan Bogdanovic, Fenerbahce Istanbul

Bogdan Bogdanovic saved his best game of the season for the biggest stage so far in leading Fenerbahce Istanbul to a come-from-behind 58-71 road win over Panathinaikos Superfoods Athens on Tuesday night. In doing so, he claimed MVP honors for Game 1 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs. Bogdanovic starred with a fantastic all-around game that saw him tally 23 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks for a performance index rating of 35, which – like his block total – represented a career-high. Bogdanovic made 5 of 6 three-pointers in amassing the highest index rating of any player in the playoff openers. Real Madrid star Sergio Llull had the second-highest index rating of Game 1 with a 23 in his team’s 83-75 series-opening victory over Darussafaka Dogus Istanbul. Llull scored 23 points on 3-of-6 shooting from downtown plus 8-of-9 from the free throw line. He also delivered 6 assists. Among the other top performers in Game 1 were Milos Teodosic of CSKA Moscow and Anadolu Efes Istanbul forward Tyler Honeycutt. Teodosic led CSKA to a 98-90 victory over Baskonia Vitoria Gasteiz with 22 points and 5 assists. Honeycutt posted 17 points and 10 rebounds in an 87-72 loss at Olympiacos Piraeus.

Individual leaders: James Augustine of CSKA Moscow, 4 steals

Bogdanovic shared the top spot in scoring for Game 1 of the playoffs with Llull, each with 23 points. Olympiacos Piraeus veterans Georgios Printezis and Vassilis Spanoulis topped the Game 1 charts in rebounds and assists, respectively. Printezis collected 11 boards and Spanoulis dished 7 assists. Big men James Augustine of CSKA Moscow and Ekpe Udoh of Fenerbahce were the respective leaders in steals and blocks for Game 1 with 4 each. Only two players had double-doubles in Game 1 and they were opponents: Printezis (11 points and 11 rebounds) and Honeycutt.