Elegar, Cooper dominate Regular Season statistical categories

MUNICH (FIBA Europe Cup) - The FIBA Europe Cup reached its first cut-off point with the completion of the Regular Season last week and more than a third of all 37 participating teams had to end their international campaigns.

However, most of the outstanding players of the competition across various different statistical categories progressed to the Second Round, where they will have a chance to continue the work they started in the first phase.

Efficiency – Frank Elegar (Enisey)

Frank Elegar of Enisey reigned supreme in the efficiency category in the Regular Season of the FIBA Europe Cup, sweeping the field away with a whopping average efficiency ranking of 27.8.

Having averaged 17.8 points, 11.8 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 2.2 blocks per game in the four games he played, Elegar did not finish a single game with a lower efficiency index than 23.

His best performance came against Sigal Prishtina when he scored 19 points, grabbed 16 rebounds, registered 3 steals and 2 blocks for a total ranking of 35.

The leading scorer of the competition, Sodertalje Kings forward Toni Bizaca, ranked second in average efficiency at 26.5 per game, while Lamb Autrey registered an average efficiency of 24.2 in the six Regular Season games he played for Pardubice.

Points – Toni Bizaca (Sodertalje Kings)

There are six players in the competition who average at least 20 points per game, but no one comes close to Sodertalje Kings big man Toni Bizaca who leads the field with an average of 25.5 points with great shooting percentages across the board.

The sharp-shooting Croatian power forward, who has made 16-of-32 from beyond the arc in four games, reached the 30-point mark twice in the Regular Season, scoring 32 points against both Group C opponents: Belfius Mons Hainaut and Telekom Baskets.

Second on the list is Terry Allen of Kormend with 22.0 points per game, while Pardubice guard Lamb Autrey and Donar Groningen playmaker Lance Jeter share the third spot, averaging 20.2 points per game.

Interestingly enough, all of the aforementioned players qualified to the Second Round, where they will continue to compete for the FIBA Europe Cup scoring title.

Rebounds – Frank Elegar (Enisey)

Frank Elegar sat out the last two games of the Regular Season for Enisey, but it did not prevent him from staying atop the rebound leaderboard despite a solid challenge from Martynas Echodas of Siauliai down the stretch.

The three-time Top Performer nominee Elegar averaged a league-leading 11.8 boards per game, while Echodas, who double-doubled a league-best four times, finished with an average of 11.0 rebounds per game.

However, the unsung hero of the category is the Tsmoki Minsk big man Djordje Gagic. The center from Serbia averaged 10.4 rebounds, but did so in just over 22 minutes per game. This is by far the best rebounding rate among all players with significant minutes.

Assists – D.J. Cooper (Elan Bearnais)

There was no match for D.J. Cooper in the assists category, with the Pau-Lacq-Orthez point guard being the player in double-digit territory with 12.7 dimes per game.

It is therefore not at all surprising that the season-high mark of 16 assists also belongs to the 25-year-old American playmaker, who registered it against Redwell-Gunners Oberwart early in November.

Mures guard Goran Martinic from Montenegro was one step off the ladder below with an average of 9.5 assists, while Tsmoki ball-handler Dru Joyce averaged 8.5 dishes per contest for the third-best result in the competition.

Steals - Multiple 

The triumvirate of Torey Thomas, Andell Cumberbatch and D.J. Cooper rules the steal leaderboard, as all three players had an identical and identically impressive average of 3.0 takeaways per game.

Petrolina AEK guard Thomas and Pau-Lacq-Orthez point guard Cooper are both co-authors of the single-game high of 6 steals this season.

Meanwhile, Redwell-Gunners Oberwart swingman Cumberbatch achieved the same result with consistently solid play on the defensive end throughout the Regular Season, rather than big-hitting performances.

Blocks – Frank Elegar (Enisey)

Frank Elegar was not only one of the focal points of Enisey's offensive plan, but also the backbone in coach Oleg Okulov's defensive schemes. The 29-year-old big man did an excellent job on the final line of defence and also leads the entire FIBA Europe Cup field in blocks with an average of 2.3 swats per game.

Having played in all six games of the Regular Season, Maksym Korniienko of Lukoil Academic and Mathias Lessort of Nanterre 92 finished with a higher total block count than Elegar, but it averaged out to 2.0 blocks per game and could not match the Enisey big man's mark.

FIBA