Picking the perfect time for his first Turkish Airlines Euroleague double-double, center Gustavo Ayon led Real Madrid to a come-from-behind 80-71 victory over Anadolu Efes Istanbul in Game 1 of their playoffs series in the Spanish capital on Wednesday. His dominance in the paint against Efes also meant that Ayon has earned the Game 1 bwin MVP honor. Ayon scored 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field and made 4 free throws without a miss. He added 10 rebounds, 4 steals and 1 block in amassing a performance index rating of 29, which was the highest of any player in Game 1 of the playoffs. Jan Vesely of Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul and Milos Teodosic of CSKA Moscow also starred in Game 1 victories for their teams and tied for second-best index rating, 25 each. Vesely scored 23 points on 11-for-14 shooting plus 7 rebounds in Fenerbahce's 83-72 victory over Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv. Teodosic tallied 18 points and 8 assists to lead CSKA over Panathinaikos Athens 93-66. Rounding out the week’s top performers were Maccabi Electra Tel Avivs’s Jeremy Pargo and Madrid’s K.C. Rivers. Pargo scored 25 points and dished 8 assists for an index rating of 22. Rivers made 6 three-pointers, matching the third-most in playoffs history, for a career-high 21 points and a 21 index.
Individual leaders: Emir Preldzic of Fenerbahce Ulker, 5 steals
Maccabi’s Jeremy Pargo was the top scorer in Game 1 of the playoffs with 25 points. Nemanja Bjelica of Fenerbahce, who is second in the Euroleague in rebounding this season with 8.5 per game, did even better than his average with 12 on Tuesday to lead all participants in Game 1 of the playoffs. Efes playmaker Thomas Heurtel came within 2 assists of tying the playoffs single-game record with 11. Fenerbahce forward Emir Preldzic’s 5 steals were the most in Game 1. And FC Barcelona center Ante Tomic topped the Game 1 charts with 2 blocked shots. Three players recorded double doubles in Game 1 of the Playoffs: Ayon (14 points, 10 rebounds), Bjelica (13 points, 12 rebounds) and Alex Tyus of Maccabi (11 points, 11 rebounds).