MIES (Switzerland) - The Quarter-Finals are coming up next week, but before we switch our focus completely, it's time to honor the top performers of the Round of 16.
Marcelinho Huertas (La Laguna Tenerife), Tyson Carter (Unicaja), James Palmer Jr (Galatasaray), Desi Rodriguez (Nanterre 92) and Grant Golden (AEK Betsson BC) were named to the Team of the Round of 16.
Last season's MVP Marcelinho Huertas is showing no signs of slowing down, even with his 42nd birthday approaching.
In the Round of 16, he helped La Laguna Tenerife maintain their perfect record for the season, getting 27 points in 23 minutes against Pallacanestro Reggiana, and following it up with 18 points on the road at BAXI Manresa.
Huertas also had a 9-point, 9-assist performance against Aliaga Petkimspor, and signed out of this part of the season with 22 points and 8 assists on the road in Reggio Emilia.
Tyson Carter is the reason Unicaja sailed through to the Quarter-Finals in the toughest Round of 16 group.
Although the defending champions usually spread their points and minutes equally throughout the roster, Carter took over in this phase, with a memorable 26-point game in 19 minutes against Rytas Vilnius.
He was the game winner for Unicaja against Galatasaray, and against Rytas again, averaging 14.7 points during these six games, done in just 21 minutes per game.
James Palmer Jr powered Galatasaray through from that same group, taking over as the main ball-handler for the Turkish powerhouse.
Palmer flirted with a triple-double against Manisa Basket Divissa, getting 20 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists. He reached double figures in five of the six games in the Round of 16.
He averaged 14.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game during this phase.
Nanterre 92 were the surprise package of Group L, sneaking through to the Round of 16 ahead of last season's Final Four team in UCAM Murcia. Desi Rodriguez played a major role in that success.
Rodriguez scored 20+ points in three of the last four games of the Round of 16, including a stellar 25-point, 8-assist, 7-rebound, 5-steal performance against ERA Nymburk.
He averaged 17.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.0 steals per game during this phase.
Up next for Desi Rodriguez and Nanterre 92 will be AEK Betsson BC. The Queen earned home court advantage for the Quarter-Finals, largely thanks to their big man in the middle.
Grant Golden reached double digits in his last five Round of 16 games, after reaching 10+ only twice across the first seven BCL games.
Golden had 13.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.2 blocks per game during this phase.
The MVP of the Round of 16 will be announced on Friday.