Eurocup Round 8 MVP: Errick McCollum, Lokomotiv

Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar guard Errick McCollum was unstoppable on Wednesday, leading his team to a 101-94 win in a back-and-forth affair against Partizan NIS Belgrade, and earned his second MVP of the Round award this season. McCollum netted a career-high 33 points, making 4 of 8 two-pointers, career-best 5 triples on 7 attempts, and also 10 of 12 free throws. He also had 5 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal and drew 7 fouls, accumulating performance index rating of 37, the highest in Round 8. In the process, McCollum moved into second place all time in career EuroCup PIR with 1,532, and also in scoring with 1,404 career points. Two players with PIR 31 sit behind McCollum on the list of this round’s best performers, Jaka Blazic of Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana and Justin Cobbs of Buducnost VOLI Podgorica. Blazic led Cedevita to an 85-97 upset of Valencia Basket with game-high 24 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and 10 fouls drawn. Cobbs led Buducnost’s 82-86 win over Mincidelice JL Bourg-en-Bresse with a game-high 24 points, 6 assists, 2 rebounds and 7 drawn fouls. Next best PIR, 30, belongs to Maik Kotsar of Hamburg Towers, who had 15 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals in a road win over Dolomiti Energia Trento. Rounding out the list of this week’s top performers are Jakub Karolak of Slask Wroclaw and Vladimir Brodziansky of Joventut Badalona, each with PIR 29.