Scottie Wilbekin's stellar performance in a narrow home victory has earned him the MVP honor for Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Round 1.
Wilbekin scored 13 of his team's 15 points in the fourth quarter, including the go-ahead free throws with 29 seconds left. Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv managed to get a nail-biting W over FC Bayern Munich 69-68.
The 28-year-old finished the game with 28 points, matching his career-high and outscoring any other Round 1 player.
He made 4 of 7 two-point shots, 4 of 6 long-range shots, and 8 of 8 free throws. Wilbekin also added 3 assists, 3 steals and 6 fouls drawn, while his performance index rating reached 32, the best among winning players in Round 1 and the second-best of his 141 EuroLeague career games.
Shane Larkin of Anadolu Efes Istanbul had the week's highest PIR, 35, but despite his 21 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, the defending champs lost 82-69 at Real Madrid.
Nikola Mirotic was after the mentioned ones. He had a perfect shooting night with 22 points in less than 18 minutes, leading FC Barcelona to a blowout victory over ALBA (96-64).
After Round 1, we can look at league leaders in individual categories.
Wilbekin was the top scorer with 28 points. Walter Tavares had the most rebounds with 12. Barcelona's Nicolas Laprovittola dished the most assists (7). Pierria Henry of Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul stole 5 balls. Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz's member Landry Nnoko blocked 4 shots to lead all blockers.
Besides Tavares, the only other double-double of the week belonged to Luke Sikma of ALBA with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
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Maccabi Tel Aviv
FC Bayern Munich
Crvena Zvezda Belgrade
