Plenty of players came to the fore in Round 4 of the 2023-24 BKT EuroCup Regular Season, as they enjoyed big performances that in several cases led to victories for their teams.
Round 4 roll call: Perfect games and curses broken
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Hoard kept leading Hapoel
Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv remains undefeated in Group A after it downed Veolia Towers Hamburg 72-111 in Round 4. Once again, Jaylen Hoard stepped up with a near-perfect performance. He finished the game with 18 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and 4 fouls drawn, amassing a PIR of 26 in just 22 minutes on the floor. Hoard only missed from the foul line, hitting his 6 two-pointers and his only shot from beyond the arc. He has been rock solid until now, getting a PIR of 23 or higher in each of his three appearances. In other words, he has been one of the best players, if not the best, in the EuroCup this season.
Sy delivered a perfect game
Statistically speaking it is not easy to see a player have a perfect performance, but that is what Bandja Sy did by leading Paris Basketball to a 102-108 double-overtime road victory against the London Lions. Sy had 11 points, hitting his 4 shots inside the arc and his only attempt from downtown, in addition to adding 6 rebounds, 3 steals and block for a PIR of 21. He had no missed shots, picked up no fouls and had no turnovers in almost 24 minutes on the floor, which is a remarkable feat in modern basketball. Above all, Sy allowed Paris to keep its unbeaten record intact in Group A.
Biligha helped Trento break curse
Dolimiti Energia Trento was on a 24-game road losing streak in the competition, but that streak came to an end with a last-second victory against 7bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys, 92-93. Starting center Paul Biligha is a big reason why the Italian side came out on top. He was very effective down low, getting 13 points on 6 of 10 two-pointers, while he also added 3 rebounds, 2 steals, a season-high 4 blocks and 3 fouls drawn for a PIR of 17. Quinn Ellis got all the attention, hitting the game-winning floater in the very last second of the game, but Trento could not have broken its EuroCup road curse without Biligha's efforts under both baskets.
Pelos delivered against former team
Adjusting to a new team is not easy, especially if your new squad is the reigning champion. Pierre Pelos joined Dreamland Gran Canaria last summer and on Wednesday night he played against his former team, Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse, for the first time since leaving. Pelos had a impressive game, coming off the bench to get 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting. What’s more, he amassed 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and a block for a PIR of 21 in just 17 minutes. Gran Canaria made a lot of frontcourt changes in the offseason, but Pelos, Ben Lammers and Ethan Happ are proving that the Spanish side is once again one of the teams to beat this season.
Delgado shined in losing effort
Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul registered its first loss in shocking fashion. Despite leading 80-87 with 23.3 seconds left on the road at Wolves Vilnius, the Turkish side ended up falling to defeat, 90-88. Center Angel Delgado had a strong performance in the losing effort, hitting 8-of-8 two-pointers on his way to a personal-best 18 points. He grabbed 6 rebounds, dished 3 assists, had 1 block and drew 9 fouls to amass a season-high PIR of 29. Despite his team's loss, Delgado proved he is arguably one of the best centers in the competition, having helped Besiktas record a 3-1 record in Group A.
Prepelic's promising return
Klemen Prepelic is back in his native Slovenia to wear Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana's jersey for at least two months. He could not help his team get a victory on his EuroCup return, however, as Cedevita registered an 83-90 home loss against Prometey Slobozhanske. Prepelic had a very promising performance, finishing the game with a 16-point, 11-assist double-double. It was his first EuroCup double-double in his 83th game in the competition. Prepelic drew 12 fouls, a new EuroCup season high, a club record and just 2 away from matching the competition's all-time record. Prepelic had a PIR of 20.