A pair of excellent individual performances in key wins on back-to-back nights at the same venue, Belgrade Arena, has seen Zalgiris Kaunas guard Sylvain Francisco and Partizan Belgrade guard Carlik Jones secure Round 27 co-MVP honors. Both players accumulated a 31 PIR, the highest in this round.
Francisco netted 25 points, the most he has scored in a road game in 60 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague appearances, as Zalgiris beat Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade 80-86 on Thursday. Those 25 points came after Francisco made 1-of-2 two-pointers, 6-of-9 three-pointers and 5-of-5 free throws. He also tied his career high with 6 rebounds, dished 4 assists, made 1 steal, had 1 block and drew 4 fouls. His +10 in the plus-minus column was the best of any Zalgiris player against Zvezda. This is Francisco’s first MVP of the Round award in his second season in the competition.
On Friday, Jones matched Francisco in Partizan’s 86-73 win over the visiting Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz. Jones netted 21 points, making 7-of-12 twos while also shooting 0-of-2 on threes and 7-of-7 from the free-throw line. He also had 6 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 steals and drew 7 fouls, while having a +14 in the plus-minus column. Jones, in his first season in the competition, has earned MVP of the Round honors for the second time, after his first one came in Round 22.
Two players recorded a 29 PIR: EA7 Emporio Armani Milan’s Shavon Shields and FC Bayern Munich’s Carsen Edwards. Shields poured in 19 points on 4-of-7 two-pointers, 3-of-4 triples and 2-of-5 free throws as Milan beat AS Monaco 86-80. He came close to a double-double after grabbing a season-high 9 rebounds, while he also posted 5 assists, 1 block and 4 fouls drawn. Edwards, meanwhile, had 29 points – the fourth time he has scored 29 or more this season – on 10-of-13 two-pointers, 2-of-7 threes and 3-of-6 free throws during Bayern’s 93-88 loss at Paris Basketball. He also amassed 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 8 fouls drawn.
Rounding out the list of top performers are Paris guard TJ Shorts and Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens guard Kendrick Nunn, who each had a 27 PIR. Shorts, in his team’s win over Bayern, finished with 27 points on 6-of-15 two-pointers, 3-of-3 three-pointers and 6-of-8 free throws, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, 6 fouls drawn and zero turnovers. In a 93-96 road win over LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne, Nunn scored 24 points on 5-of-6 two-pointers, 3-of-4 three-pointers and 5-of-7 free throws, while dishing 6 assists and pulling down 3 rebounds.
