Win or lose, some of the standout performances of Round 6 in the BKT EuroCup featured players 27 or younger making things happen for their teams.
Roll call: 20-somethings are stepping up
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Alviti stepped up to guide Trento past Slask
Dolomiti Energia Trento secured its third straight BKT EuroCup win on Wednesday night after beating Slask Wroclaw 75-84 on the road, with small forward Davide Alviti playing a key role in the triumph. The 27-year-old finished with 15 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block and 0 turnovers in what was a near-perfect performance. As a result of his heroics, Alviti recorded a 25 PIR, more than double his previous best. There are many reasons behind Trento's recent uptick in performances, and the play of Alviti is certainly one of them.
Ward did it all for undefeated Paris
The appeal of a player like Tyson Ward is that he can do it all on the floor, and in Paris Basketball's 114-87 romp over previously undefeated Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv, Ward did exactly that. In 24 minutes on the floor, he posted 20 points on 4-for-8 three-point shooting for a PIR of 20, which were all personal bests in his debut EuroCup campaign. Ward, 26, played to his strengths, shooting either close to the basket or from behind the arc on the left wing, thus stretching the floor for his teammates or taking advantage of openings inside. He also grabbed 5 rebounds and posted a team-high plus/minus of plus-22. When Ward puts it all together at both ends like he did on Wednesday, Paris is a very dangerous team.
Aris rookie Bankston left his mark in Podgorica
Kris Bankston has only played a handful of games in his professional career. He was still playing in college last season and signed for Israel club Hapoel Beer Sheva over the summer. After the Israeli League was delayed due to the war there, Bankston was loaned to Aris Midea Thessaloniki, and in just his third game he played a key role against Buducnost VOLI Podgorica. Bankston, 24, did not miss a shot in scoring 14 points and grabbing 6 rebounds in 19 minutes. His PIR of 18 was the best on his team. Bankston did most of his work in the first half, but the effort he put forth in the paint and on the glass not only kept Aris close when it was struggling, but paid dividends when his teammates completed the comeback.
Brussino channeled his inner playmaker
In a rematch of last year's EuroCup Final, Dreamland Gran Canaria managed to once again down Turk Telekom Ankara, winning 69-82. Sylven Landesberg may have been the only Gran Canaria player to reach double figures in points, but one member of Jaka Lakovic's squad who really stood out was Nico Brussino. The Argentinian international scored 8 points, the joint-third most on the team, but he also grabbed 3 rebounds and dished a career-high 7 assists, while not committing a single turnover. In just 18 minutes on the floor, it was a good night's work by Mr. Brussino.
Despite defeats, Slask's Miletic keeps impressing
He keeps showing up in the roll call because center Dusan Miletic keeps putting up special numbers despite Slask Wroclaw falling to its sixth loss in as many games with a late collapse to lose 75-84 against visiting Trento. It certainly wasn't for lack of effort by the 25-year-old Miletic, who posted one of the most impressive lines of the season: 19 points on 8-for-9 two-point and 1-for-1 three-point shooting to go with 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and a EuroCup season-high 5 blocks. It has been nearly a year since anyone has blocked that many in the EuroCup. With his 34 PIR on Wednesday, Miletic now has 25 or higher in half of this season's games and 15 or higher in all six of them.