PRESS RELEASE |

Round 1 MVP: Troy Caupain, ratiopharm Ulm

A 7DAYS EuroCup newcomer, do-it-all guard Troy Caupain of ratiopharm Ulm, celebrated his debut by leading a comeback victory and earning the MVP honor for Round 1 of the regular season. Caupain did a lot of everything to help Ulm rally from 14 points behind at halftime to defeat Mornar Bar 84-76. He scored 18 points while missing just 2 shots. He had a team-high 8 rebounds and his 6 assists tied for the best of the game. In the end, his 34 performance index rating was not only tops on a winning team in Round 1, but also tied for Ulm's third-highest in eight EuroCup seasons. With that 34 PIR, Caupain had good company, none other than former EuroCup champ Jamar Smith, whose 25 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists were not enough to prevent UNICS Kazan from losing 85-78 at Umana Reyer Venice. Experienced forward Danilo Andjusic, with a PIR of 32, led JL Bourg En Bresse to a resounding 82-99 road win over Bahcesehir Koleji Istanbul in the EuroCup debut for both clubs. An eight-season EuroCup veteran at age 26, Nikola Ivanovic of Buducnost VOLI Podgorica, came next with a 31 PIR based on his 24 points in a 93-81 home win over Germani Brescia. And the fifth-best performance of Round 1 saw big man Alvin Williams lead Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar to an 89-72 home win over Telenet Giants Antwerp with his 19 points and 9 rebounds, good for a PIR of 30.

Individual highlights: Alpha Kaba, Nanterre, 15 rebounds

The top scorer in Round 1 was Ian Miller of Promitheas Patras with 27 points in a 75-86 home loss to Herbalife Gran Canaria. Headlining the rebounders was Alpha Kaba, whose 15 boards helped Nanterre 92 edge Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana 80-76. The top passers, with 10 assists each were Gary Browne of Dolomiti Energia Trento in an 86-93 road win at Frutti Extra Bursaspor, and Kenneth "Speedy" Smith in Antwerp's loss to Lokomotiv. John Petrucelli's 4 steals for Ulm were the most swiped in Round 1, while in the same game, Taylor Smith of Mornar batted away 4 shots for the most blocks of the week.

Euroleague Basketball (EB) is a global leader in the sports and entertainment business, devoted to running the top European competitions of professional basketball clubs under a unique and innovative organizational model. Owned and administered by some of the most successful and historic clubs in the world, EB manages and organizes the continent’s two premier men’s basketball competitions, the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and the 7DAYS EuroCup, as well as the sport’s premier under-18 showcase, the EB Adidas Next Generation Tournament.

The EB competitions bring the elite of European basketball to all five continents and to the entire sports community through the OTT platform EuroLeague TV. EB also organizes a series of community and educational programs. Its ground-breaking corporate social responsibility program One Team features all EB clubs that have already made a difference in the lives of over 22,000 participants. Its Sports Business MBA trains future professionals in sports management.