Roll call Rounds 18 and 19

Ponitka makes history on offensive glass

Panathinaikos Athens forward Mateusz Ponitka had a remarkable offensive rebounding performance in his team's Round 18 overtime loss against Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul. Ponitka's 10 offensive rebounds matched the third-highest total in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague this century, and he became the first player under two meters tall to do it. It is the first time a player had double-digit offensive rebounds in a game since Ponitka's current teammate, Arturas Gudaitis, did so while playing for EA7 Emporio Armani Milan in December 2018. Interestingly, in both cases, their teams suffered defeats on their home floor.

Colson's monster week

No player has performed better in this past week than Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv forward Bonzie Colson. The EuroLeague rookie first impressed with 19 points, 7 rebounds and 2 steals in a 90-81 win over Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade, then 48 hours later he took it to another level on the road against Panathinaikos. Colson amassed 29 points, making 7-of-7 two-pointers and 5-of-6 threes, and grabbed 14 rebounds for a PIR 41, the highest of any player in Round 19. Colson scored 19 points in the second half, yet Maccabi came just short, falling to an 88-86 defeat.

Trifunovic steps up for Partizan

Seldom-used Partizan forward Uros Trifunovic had a coming-out party on Friday night. Before this week, Trifunovic had played 10 minutes or more only once this season. Entering Round 19, the 22-year-old had scored a total of 15 points in as many appearances. However, in an 83-65 win over Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, he played nearly 26 minutes and had 15 points after going 2-of-3 on two-pointers and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. He even got post-game praise from Partizan head coach Zeljko Obradovic: "Trifunovic had a great game and it’s now important for him to keep up the good work. He was the key man defensively, alongside Ioannis Papapetrou."

Puerto's career game against the champs

Valencia Basket registered a resounding come-from-behind 81-71 win over Anadolu Efes Istanbul in Round 18, a game that saw Josep Puerto have a career-best performance. Puerto, who played a career-high 29 minutes, finished with a personal-best 15 points, which is even more impressive given the fact that he had scored a combined 14 points in his 11 appearances since Round 7. The 23-year-old entered this week having never hit more than 2 three-pointers in a single game, but he shot 4-for-4 from deep against the two-time champs and also pulled down a career-best 7 rebounds.

Markovic orchestrated Zvezda offense

Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade veteran point guard Stefan Markovic turned back the clock in Rounds 18 and 19 as he enjoyed one of the best playmaking weeks of his EuroLeague career. The 34-year-old first dished 7 assists in a home loss against Real Madrid, before following that up 48 hours later with 8 dishes in a 25-point win over AS Monaco. Zvezda finished the game having tied a club record with 28 assists, and those 8 by Markovic were not just the most by any player in Round 19 but it also equaled a team season high, too. Meanwhile, only one player in the double-round week had more assists than Markovic's 15.

Teodosic sets new club mark

That one player is his former teammate, Milos Teodosic, who had a combined 16 assists in two Virtus Segafredo Bologna losses. Teodosic set a club-record 12 assists in a Round 18 defeat to Zalgiris Kaunas, becoming the first Virtus player this century to dish more than 10 assists in a single game. He followed that up with 4 against Olympiacos Piraeus two days later. Teodosic also shone with his scoring by contributing 21 points in each of those two games, hitting 8-of-18 three-pointers and all 12 of his free throw attempts across the two rounds.

Smith's hot week from downtown

Jaleen Smith continued his strong play in the double-round week, during which ALBA Berlin had a win and a loss. Smith scored a total of 38 points in two games and knocked down 9 triples on 19 attempts this week. He first paced ALBA with 16 points on 4-for-8 three-point shooting in a 20-point win over EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, then he tied his career high with 5 triples made on 11 attempts in a loss against Real Madrid.