Roll Call, Round 18: Dadiet, Herrera, Mekowulu, Palmer, Sanan

Here are five players who impressed in Round 18 of the BKT EuroCup Regular Season and deserve special mentions in the weekly roll call.

Ulm’s Pacome Dadiet was at his best against Bourg

Eyes have been on ratiopharm’s uber-talented teenager Pacome Dadiet all season and he has aided the club’s march to the playoffs as a helpful rotation piece off the bench. On Tuesday in his native France, Dadiet featured for the fewest minutes he has played over the past month, 16:32, yet shined bright with season-highs of 15 points and a PIR of 14. He made 6 of 8 two-pointers and was 3 for 3 from the foul line. Dadiet also tied his personal best with 3 rebounds. His best performance to date was even more impressive in that it came in a road game against group champion Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse, with fellow teenage sensation Juan Nunez sidelined, and Ulm needing to win to guarantee fourth place in Group B and a home date for the EuroCup Eighthfinals. He came out hot, entering the game for Karim Jallow after just 2 minutes and then scoring 9 first-quarter points to stake Ulm to a double-digit lead that proved to be too much for Bourg to overcome.

Sebastian Herrera was hot from deep for Paris

Playing alongside the EuroCup’s top scorer on the competition’s best offense, Sebastian Herrera is not often called on to score. However, in Wednesday's blowout of Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana, the German guard let it fly early and had his best game of the season with 14 points and 4 assists and a PIR of 17. The points and index rating were both personal-bests and the assists tied his season-high. Herrera shot 4 of 5 from deep, too. He increased his EuroCup-leading assist-to-turnover ratio to a mind-numbing 26 (He has dished 26 assists this season with just a single turnover!). The 26-year-old native of Chile was among the core group of players that Coach Tuomas Iisalo brought with him this season from Telekom Bonn and his showing against Cedevita showed that, despite averaging 5.1 points and 2.2 assists during the regular season, he is another weapon that opposing teams must watch out for in the playoffs.

Christian Mekowulu lifted Wolves in London

Wolves Vilnius finished its maiden season in the EuroCup with a bang by upsetting the London Lions and big man Christian Mekowulu was at the heart of it with a season-high 18 points. He made his presence felt early with a block in the game’s second minute and then showed off his shooting range in the second quarter with a mid-range jumper and a three-pointer. Mekowulu also impressed on the defensive end, whether it be the aforementioned block, a steal and layup in the second quarter or denying London star Gabe Olaseni with a steal in the third. He powered his way to a key basket with 2:22 remaining that gave Wolves a 77-82 lead. When the final buzzer sounded, Mekowulu was his team’s joint-high scorer with Jeffery Taylor. He made 8 of his 13 shots from the field, grabbed 7 rebounds and tallied 1 assist, 2 steals and 1 blocks for a PIR of 18. He also led his team with a +/- of +10 in 22:09 on the floor.

James Palmer did his part for Turk Telekom to clinch playoff spot

Turk Telekom completed its late-season charge to the playoffs with a 70-86 over Slask Wroclaw on Tuesday. The team's top scorer in the game was James Palmer who scored 15 of his 22 points in the second half, including 9 in the fourth quarter. Palmer was 0-for-2 from three-point range at halftime, but nailed 5-of-6 three-point shots after the break, tying his career-best mark. In just under 30 minutes of work on the floor, Palmer also pulled down 6 rebounds and dished 4 assists, helping Turk Telekom to a win which a day later proved to be a playoff-clinching when the other results went Turk Telekom's way.

Issuf Sanon has career night in a big comeback

Prometey Slobozhanske was one of the biggest winners of Round 18, clinching home-court advantage in the eighthfinals with an 84-70 victory over Joventut Badalona. One of the main protagonists was guard Issuf Sanon, who came off the bench to deliver a career night. In a key game, he scored 23 points, besting his previous high of 19, and also tied his career-best with 4 three-pointers made on 6 attempts. Moreover, 11 of those points came in the fourth quarter, which Prometey won 31-6, turning a 58-71 deficit into a 14-point win. Sanon got Prometey going scoring the first 4 points of the fourth quarter, and his basket during a 20-0 run tied the game at 76-76, as Prometey ran away with a key win.