Just as his team, Mornar Bar, made history with its first 7DAYS EuroCup Top 16 victory ever in Round 1, guard Isaiah Whitehead claimed his first MVP of the Week honor with a stellar performance in that thrilling 100-102 road win against Herbalife Gran Canaria. Whitehead scored a career-high 28 points by making 6 of 11 two-point shots, 4 of 4 three-pointers and 4 of 4 free throws on Wednesday night. He added 5 assists, 3 rebounds, a block and 4 fouls drawn for a PIR of 30, also his career high. Whitehead’s efforts led Mornar to club records of 102 points and 114 PIR. In the same game, guard A.J. Slaughter of Gran Canaria had the highest PIR of the week, 34. Slaughter scored 23 points on 5-for-6 three-point shooting and dished 10 assists in a losing effort. Forward Marco Belinelli and center Vincent Hunter of Virtus Segafredo Bologna came next with PIRs of 29 in their team’s 90-76 home win against Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana. In his EuroCup debut, Belinelli posted 25 points, 5 rebounds and 9 fouls drawn, while Hunter added 22 points on 9-for-12 two-point shooting and 9 rebounds to lead Virtus. Point guards Nikola Ivanovic of Buducnost VOLI Podgorica and Kendrick Perry of Olimpija, each with a PIR of 28, completed the top individual performance in Top 16 Round 1.
Individual highs: William Mosley, Partizan, 4 blocks
Whitehead was the best scorer in the first week of the Top 16, with 28 points, the most by any Mornar player in the club’s two EuroCup seasons. Jaka Blazic leads all scorers still active in the competition with 18.5 points per game for the season. Taylor Smith of Mornar pulled down 11 rebounds, more than anyone in this round. Alan Williams of Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar still leads the rebounding table (12.5 rpg.) despite being lost for the season to injury after eight games. Slaughter and Justin Cobbs of Buducnost dishing 10 assists apiece to lead all passers Top 16 Round 1. Mantas Kalnietis of Lokomotiv (8.0 apg.) is this season’s assists leader so far. Four players — Ivanovic, Xabi Lopez-Arostegui of Joventut Badalona, Kenny Gabriel of Mornar and Zachery Peacock of JL Bourg en Bresse — collected 3 steals apiece in their Top 16 openers. Kevin Hervey of Lokomotiv (2.2 spg.) ranks first in steals for the season. William Mosley of Partizan NIS Belgrade had 4 blocks in a home win over Dolomiti Energia Trento. Matt Costello of Gran Canaria (1.9 bpg.) is this season’s blocks leader. Smith, Hervey, Slaughter, and Wilfried Yeguete of AS Monaco registered respective double-doubles in Top 16 Round 1.
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