Top 16, Week 3 bwin MVP: Nenad Krstic, CSKA Moscow

One of the central figures in what is shaping up to be a season for the record books for CSKA Moscow is center Nenad Krstic. The big man added to his stellar campaign this week by picking up Top 16, Week 3 bwin MVP honors and thus joining teammate Andrei Kirilenko among only three players to claim that title twice this season. Krstic was worth maximum production in minimum time in Thursday’s 85-70 home win over GS Medical Park. He came off the bench for 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting and added 9 rebounds, an assist and a steal en route to a performance index rating of 31, which ironically was the same index rating he achieved when he was previously named bwin MVP after Week 9. Krstic was also named Euroleague Basketball’s MVP for November. The team with the second-most wins in the Euroleague this season, FC Barcelona Regal, produced the player with the second best index rating of the week in two-time All-Euroleague big man Erazem Lorbek. Barcelona beat Zalgiris Kaunas 94-80 behind 19 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals from Lorbek, who finished with an index of 27. Maccabi Electra big man Richard Hendrix also had a 27 index in his team’s 82-74 loss at Bennet Cantu. Hendrix did not miss from the field in racking up 15 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks. Rounding out the list of Top 16, Week 3’s elite performers are Cantu’s Vladimir Micov, Real Madrid’s Sergio Rodriguez and Panathinaikos’s Kostas Kaimakoglou. Micov scored 17 points and dished 9 assists. Rodriguez tallied 20 points and 7 assists as Los Blancos beat Gescrap BB 89-73. And Kaimakoglou posted 19 points and 5 rebounds in the Greens’ 56-77 win at Fenerbahce Ulker. All three featured index ratings of 24. 

Individual highs: Vladimir Micov, Bennet Cantu – 9 assists 

Krstic was joined by Sergio Rodriguez and Montepaschi Siena forward David Moss as the week’s best scorers with 20 points apiece. Krstic is now ranked fourth in the Top 16 in scoring with 17.3 per game. Moss’s teammate Bo McCalebb is the Top 16 leader with 18.7 points per game. Unics Kazan big man Vladimir Veremeenko hauled in 11 rebounds, which was the most of any player this week. Veremeenko’s 9 rebounds per game is second in the Top 16 to Anadolu Efes forward Dusko Savanovic, who is averaging 9.3 per game. Micov’s 9 assists led all Top 16, Week 3 players. We also leads the Top 16 now with 6.3 assists per game. The quartet of CSKA’s Jamont Gordon, Fenerbahce Ulker’s Curtis Jerrells, Galatasaray’s Jamon Lucas and Cantu’s Giorgi Shermadini were the week’s top thieves with 3 steals apiece. Lucas, with 2.7 swipes per game, is the Top 16 leader. And among the six players that rejected 3 shots each this week, Kirilenko, Hendrix and Bilbao’s D’Or Fischer share the Top 16 standings lead with 2.3 blocks per game. The week finished with only one player – Panathinaikos forward Romain Sato – racking up a double-double. Sato totaled 12 points and 10 rebounds.

NENAD KRSTIC HIGHLIGHTS