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| MVP of October: Tornike Shengelia, Virtus Segafredo Bologna |
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After collapsing late in its season opener at home, days before learning that a key new player required surgery for a tumor, Virtus Segafredo Bologna could have descended into negativism. Instead, Virtus came together around the iron will and positivity of veteran Tornike Shengelia, Euroleague Basketball's choice as MVP for October 2023, to become the biggest early-season surprise in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague standings.
Remarkably, Virtus held leads for all except one possession over the next three games and capped off the month with a thrilling road victory to finish October sharing second place at 4-1. Shengelia was nothing short of excellent the whole time, posting the EuroLeague's highest accumulated performance index rating and second-best point total so far, making him a resounding choice to open the MVP of the Month award's 19th season.
The winner of MVP of the Month award is named by Euroleague Basketball based on his and his team's performance during the month in question. The award for October was based on the five games that most teams played during the month. This marks the second time that Shengelia has been honored as MVP of the Month. His first such award came in March of 2018 while playing for Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz.
From sadness to euphoria
Two weeks after Sergio Scariolo left the bench suddenly and was replaced by Luca Banchi in the late stages of preseason, Virtus blew a 15-point lead to lose 79-82 to visiting Zalgiris Kaunas in Round 1 despite Shengelia combining 17 points with 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Much worse news dropped five days later, however, when Shengelia's fellow power forward, Achille Polonara, was found to have a testicular tumor and was soon operated on in advance of chemotherapy treatments.
On the road at AS Monaco in Round 2, Virtus responded by handing the hosts their wort-ever EuroLeague home loss, 59-83, after which Polonara's teammates brandished his jersey to show they had him at the center of their thoughts while playing so well. Shengelia had the team's highest PIR, 18, based on 12 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. It was Virtus's widest margin of victory in a EuroLeague road game since 2002.
Virtus kept it going with a double-round sweep the next week. In leading ALBA Berlin from tipoff to the final buzzer for an 87-76 victory, Shengelia scored 26 points on near-perfect shooting – 8-for-9 on two pointers, 1-for-2 from downtown and 7-for-8 at the free-throw line – and also had 4 rebounds and 3 assists for a 32 PIR that made him MVP of Round 3. Two nights later, Virtus again did not trail as it downed visiting Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade 85-79, with Shengelia posting a team-high 19 points, as well as 6 rebounds and 5 assists en route to a PIR of 18.
In October's final game, Virtus visited LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne and never trailed by more than 4 points on the way to an 84-87 win, its fourth in a row. Shengelia's 4 points in a row broke a late 79-79 tie and he finished with 18 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals for a PIR of 29.
Leading by example
From a one-possession 5-4 deficit early in Round 3 at Monaco to the end of its Round 5 win against Zvezda, Virtus went a stunning 113 consecutive minutes without being behind on the scoreboard, a monument to the team's mental toughness in the face of adversity. Shengelia had his fingerprints all over that effort.
The 32-year-old from Georgia, in his 11th EuroLeague season with a total of 227 games played, finished the month with a 23.6 PIR average, ranked second overall, and 18.4 points per night, ranked third. His 4.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game were the second-best marks among Virtus’s players during the month. Most remarkably, he converted 75.0% of his two-point shots, 52.9% of his three-pointers and 85.0% of his free throws in October.
For his efforts, Virtus fans not only see their team near the top of the standings, but they will be able to serenade the club's first-ever MVP of the Month honoree, Toko Shengelia, at an upcoming home game.
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