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Sportingbet MVP for March: Viktor Khryapa, CSKA Moscow
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  By clinching its spot in the quarterfinals, seizing first place in the Top 16 and registering the biggest victories yet in the Playoffs round, CSKA Moscow roared through March taking no prisoners and winning every game in sight. One player who seemed to be always in the right place for whatever job CSKA needed to get done, veteran forward Viktor Khryapa, is the Euroleague's choice as Sportingbet MVP of the Month for March. While other players had higher numbers, none contributed all over the court quite like Khryapa did during the team's last four victories - just as he has done all season. In fact, Khryapa is on pace to become the first Euroleague player all decade to finish the season ranked among the competition's 10 best in rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. His performance in March was typical of that versatility. Khryapa turned his forward position into a candy store for whatever good things CSKA wanted at a given moment. In a road win at Unicaja that put CSKA in the playoffs as their Top 16 group winner, it was 8 assists, tying Khryapa's career high. In the opening game of the Playoffs against dangerous Caja Laboral, it was his 4 three-pointers made, also matching his previous best. In Game 2 against Caja Laboral, it was some of everything as CSKA registered its second consecutive 20-point victory, a first since by any team since the playoffs round started in 2005. Beyond numbers was Khryapa's constant presence as an all-purpose defender, guarding almost any position or flying in to block shots. After four games in March in which he played almost every important minute, CSKA had four victories and needed just one more to make the Final Four in a season when it has a new head coach and is without its three top-scoring big men from a year ago. Khryapa, the Sportingbet MVP of the Month for March, has everything to do with CSKA's remarkable success so far.
The Sportingbet MVP of the Month honor is in its sixth season. Although statistics and performance ratings are taken into consideration for the award, they alone do not determine who is honored. The winner is named by Euroleague Basketball based on his and his team's performance. The award for March was decided considering the last two Top 16 games and the first two Playoff games played during that month. Game 3 of the Playoffs, which falls on March 31, will be included in the choice of the Sportingbet MVP for April. Sportingbet, a Euroleague Basketball partner, is this season's sponsor of the MVP of the Month award. Just as the best Euroleague player each month combines performance and leadership for success, so does Sportingbet's sponsorship communicate its conviction to be the best betting brand in European basketball.
 CSKA opened March on the road in Malaga, Spain facing host Unicaja, which needed a victory to survive. Without scoring a point, Khryapa launched CSKA to huge early leads with 5 assists in the game's first 8 minutes. When Unicaja rallied at the end, Khryapa was ready with a dunk and free throws to ensure a 70-76 victory that not only got CSKA into the playoffs, but gave it first place in its Top 16 group and homecourt advantage in the next round. Khryapa finished with 11 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals and a block in 38 minutes for a team-high performance index rating of 25. After he blocked 3 shots as CSKA finished the Top 16 with another home win against Zalgiris in a game that affected neither team's standing, Khryapa helped his team put the homecourt advantage to work like no one ever has in the playoffs. When Caja Laboral came to Moscow, Khryapa was waiting with more of his many talents, as his three-point shooting and defense helped CSKA take a 20-point lead at halftime of Game 1. By the end of three quarters, Khyrapa had hit 4 shots from downtown - equalling his previous best, back on opening night of the 2003-04 season - and CSKA was on its way to an unexpectedly large 23-point victory, 86-63. Khryapa finished with 14 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals for an index rating of 16. Just 48 hours later, in the rematch, Khryapa was even more efficient and CSKA ran away again from Caja Laboral to a near-identical 83-63 home win. Khryapa's 14 points on 4-for-5 two-point and 2-for-3 three-point shooting, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks added up to a team-high index rating of 22. Most important, CSKA was in complete control of the series with a 2-0 record.
Khryapa finished CSKA's four victories to start March with averages of 10.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 2 steals and 1.8 blocks. Combined with the rest of the season, he is close to becoming the first Euroleague player ever to average 10 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals in a single season this decade. Khryapa was with CSKA when it started to dominate that decade by reaching the Final Four in 2003. The team has not missed a Final Four since, and his leadership this month could make it eight in a row. That would double the next-best team, which coincidentally is Caja Laboral, in consecutive Final Four appearances, a record that may last a long time, in part thanks to the Sportingbet MVP for March, Viktor Khryapa, who will receive his award at an upcoming game.
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Euroleague.net
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