After his most-productive individual effort in his team’s most-important game of the season, Will Cummings of Darussafaka Istanbul captured the title of MVP for Game 1 of the 7DAYS EuroCup Finals. After spending much of the season in a reserve role behind EuroCup MVP Scottie Wilbekin, Cummings stepped into the spotlight on Tuesday with 19 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals to lead Darussafaka to a 78-81 overtime road win over Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar. Cummings's performance index rating of 25 was a personal best and the highest of any player on either team in Game 1. He was at his best after the break, with 16 points, 6 boards and 3 steals over the game's final 25 minutes and was responsible for his team's blazing start to overtime with 4 points, 2 steals and an assist in a 1-6 tear. Wilbekin scored 24 points and dished 5 assists for an index rating of 23, while Lokomotiv's Dmitry Kulagin recorded 18 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists for an index rating of 24 in defeat.
Individual highs: JaJuan Johnson, Darussafaka Istanbul, 4 blocks
Not only the EuroCup MVP, but Scottie Wilbekin is also the EuroCup’s leading scorer and he lived up to his reputation with 24 points in Game 1. In doing so, Wilbekin raised his league-leading scoring average to 19.2 points per game. Will Cummings's 8 rebounds and 3 steals were both career highs and the most in Game 1. Dmitry Kulagin topped the assist list with 7. Darussafaka forward JaJuan Johnson blocked 4 shots, which tied a EuroCup title game record set by Jerome Moiso with DKV Joventut Badalona in 2008.