7DAYS Eurocup Round 3 MVP: Johnathan Motley, Lokomotiv

For the second time in the first three rounds of the season, Johnathan Motley of Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar locked up MVP of the Round honors. He led Lokomotiv to a 99-85 home victory against Boulogne Metropolitans 92 with a PIR of 38, which was the highest of any player in Round 3 of the regular season. He finished the game with 30 points on 12-of-16 two-point shooting and 1-of-2 three-pointers plus 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks. Motley already earned Round 1 MVP honors with a PIR of 39, which tied Lokomotiv’s club record. Motley became the fourth Lokomotiv player to reach the 30-point mark in EuroCup history, after Derrick Brown (34), Dmitry Kulagin (32) and Nigel Williams-Goss (31). Will Cummings of Metropolitans and Aaron Harrison of Turk Telekom Ankara each had PIRs of 34 in Round 3. Harrison led Turk Telekom to an 89-73 home win against Slask Wroclaw with 25 points on 3-of-5 two-point shooting, 4-of-8 on three-pointers and 7-of-7 on free throws. he also produced 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 7 fouls drawn. Cummings shined against his former team with 24 points on 5-of-7 shooting from downtown, 7 rebounds, a personal-best 9 assists and 3 fouls drawn. Rounding out the list of Round 3’s top performances were Kevarrius Hayes of Frutti Extra Bursaspor (33 PIR), Eric Mika of Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse (32) and Vince Hunter of Metropolitans (32).

Individual highs: Maxime Roos of Bourg, 4 blocks

Johnathan Motley was also the round’s top scorer with 30 points. He leads the 2021-22 EuroCup in scoring with 25.3 points per game. Vince Hunter’s 12 rebounds against Lokomotiv topped the Round 3 charts. Cyril Langevine of Slask Wroclaw is averaging 8.3 boards per night, which leads the competition. Darius Thompson of Lokomotiv and Codi Miller-McIntyre of MorabBanc Andorra each had 11 assists in Round 3. Miller-McIntyre’s name sits atop the season-long standings witht 9.3 assists on average. Three players – Kyle Weems of Virtus Segafredo Bologna, Derek Needham of Bursaspor and Wesley Saunders of Dolomiti Energia Trento – collected 4 steals apiece in Round 3. Ray McCollum of Hamburg Towers had 3 steals in his first game of the season and that gives him the best average in the competition. Maxine Roos had 4 blocks in his Bourg’s home win over Promitheas Patras. Octavius Ellis of Turk Telekom leads the standings at 2.7 rejections per game. Eight players – Motley, Thompson, Hunter, Miller-McIntyre, Mika, Hayes, Kerem Kanter of Slask, and Kendrick Ray of Promitheas – registered respective double-doubles in Round 3.