Playoffs Game 5 MVP: Ersan Ilyasova, Regal FC Barcelona
Ersan Ilyasova - Regal FC BarcelonaA player who started the season as the first monthly MVP has ended it in the best way possible, earning Quarterfinal Playoffs, Game 5 MVP honors to send his team to the Final Four! Power forward Ersan Ilyasova was a driving force on Thursday in the only Game 5 of the playoffs as Regal FC Barcelona overwhelmed Tau Ceramica 78-62 to win their series 3-2 and advance to the Final Four in Berlin from May 1 to 3. Ilyasova was tied among Game 5's best scorers, with 19 points, including 8 in a row that started with a third-quarter buzzer-beater and put Barcelona way ahead until the finish. He also pulled more rebounds, 10, and dished more assists, 4, than any other player on the floor. Ilyasova made all 3 of his three-point shots on the night and 5 of 9 two-pointers, but didn't get to the foul line for any free throws. It all added up to an index rating of 26, the most for Game 5. Tau center Tiago Splitter followed with a 24 index rating based on his 19 points and 7 rebounds. Third, with a 20 index rating, was Barcelona guard Juan Carlos Navarro, who also scored 19, on 5-for-8 three-point shooting, and dished 3 assists. Tau's Pete Mickeal and Barcelona's Jaka Lakovic completed the Game 5 best performances with index ratings of 14 each.

Individual highs: Igor Rakocevic, Tau Ceramica, 4 steals

Ilyasova, Navarro and Splitter tied with 19 points each for Game 5's best scoring efforts, but the playoffs leader remained Terrell McIntyre of Montepaschi Siena, who finished with 24.8 points per game. Ilyasova's 10 rebounds brought him as close as second place for the round, but the playoffs kind on the boards was Felipe Reyes of Real Madrid with 8.6 on average. Even though Ilyasova had a career high with 4 assists, the undisputed playoff leader in that category was Theodoros Papaloukas of Olympiacos, with 6.25 per game. Tau guard Igor Rakocevic picked up 4 steals in Game 5, his career-high in that category, while Shaun Stonerook of Montepaschi swiped 2.5 per game to lead all playoff stealers. Splitter and Lubos Barton of Barcelona were credited with 2 blocks each in Game 5, but the playoffs lead of 1.8 per game by Antonis Fotsis of Panathinaikos remained intact.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Euroleague.net
PrintPrint Send to a FriendSend to a Friend ShareShare

Special Features

Interviews
Henry Domercant - Unics
Two weeks after telling Euroleague.net that the veterans on his newcomer Turkish Airlines Euroleague team were... MORE
Blogs
Stratos Perperoglou - Panathinaikos
This is the third edition of my blog with Euroleague.net and I hope that the third is a charm, too, since on both... MORE