A pair of inspired performances that allows their teams to continue dreaming of early access to the playoffs made [Gabriel Deck](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/gabriel-deck/009005/) of Real Madrid and [Chima Moneke](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/chima-moneke/012201/) of AS Monaco the co-MVPs of Round 28. Their mutual PIRs of 26 were the best among winning players in the round.

Deck rallied Real to a 95-91 home victory against Valencia Basket by scoring 10 of his 18 points in the final quarter. He made 5 of 8 two-pointers and 8 of 8 free throws to go with 7 rebounds and 2 assists. Although he posted higher PIRs six times previously in his career, this marks Deck's first MVP nod in 118 EuroLeague games. Moneke was a force of nature in just his eighth EuroLeague game, ripping a Monaco club-record 13 rebounds to go with 14 points in a thrilling 93-102 victory at Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz. He also had 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 block while shooting 6-for-6 on free throws.

The week's highest PIR belonged to Baskonia guard [Darius Thompson](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/darius-thompson/011078/) in his team's losing effort against Monaco. Thompson posted a personal-high 20 points, 12 assists, 2 steals and 1 block. Valencia guard [Chris Jones](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/chris-jones/010568/) also posted a PIR of 26 in his team's loss in Madrid. He hit 4 of 5 two-pointers, 3 of 3 threes and 2 of 2 free throws for 19 points. [Isaac Bonga](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/isaac-bonga/006760/), whose FC Bayern Munich team lost 102-74 at Olympiacos Piraeus, had a personal bests of 24 PIR, 16 points and 4 assists in that game.

A pair of inspired performances that allows their teams to continue dreaming of early access to the playoffs made Gabriel Deck of Real Madrid and Chima Moneke of AS Monaco the co-MVPs of Round 28. Their mutual PIRs of 26 were the best among winning players in the round.

Gabriel Deck & Chima Moneke | Round 28 co-MVPs | 2022-23 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

Round 28 co-MVPs: Gabriel Deck and Chima Moneke

[Wade Baldwin](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/wade-baldwin-iv/009863/) of Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv was Round 28's top scorer with 23 points in a 64-86 road win at Anadolu Efes Istanbul. [Sasha Vezenkov](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/sasha-vezenkov/003469/) of Olympiacos Piraeus is the overall scoring leader with 17.9 points per game.

Round 28 co-MVP [Chima Moneke](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/chima-moneke/012201/) of AS Monaco had a round-high and club-record 13 rebounds in his team's 93-102 road win at Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz.  Vezenkov continues to top those rankings with 7.2 per game.

[Darius Thompson](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/darius-thompson/011078/) of Baskonia led all passers in the round with 12 assists and took over the season-long lead with 6.5 per game.

[Thomas Walkup](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/thomas-walkup/008855/) of Olympiacos was among eight players with 3 steals in this round, preserving his first ranking overall with 1.8 per game.

[Matt Costello](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/matthew-costello/010444/) of Baskonia and [Alex Tyus](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/alex-tyus/004119/) of LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne led all Round 28 shot-blockers with 3 each. [Walter Tavares](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/walter-tavares/005791/) of Real Madrid is the overall leader at 2.4 blocks per game.

There were three double-doubles in Round 28: [Josh Nebo](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/josh-nebo/011199/) of Maccabi, with 10 points and 11 rebounds; Thompson, with 20 points and 12 assists; and Moneke, with 14 points and 13 rebounds for AS Monaco.

Round 28 individual highs: Darius Thompson, Baskonia, 12 assists

Turkish Airlines EuroLeague fans, we have our 28th winner in the EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge, powered by Ardu Prime! Ernest Ce beat everyone else in Round 28 as his team Bc slc had a whopping Fantasy Challenge score of 204.8.

 

Ernest used the following lineup: Sasha Vezenkov (team captain) of Olympiacos Piraeus, Darius Thompson of Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, Chris Jones of Valencia Basket, Nikola Mirotic of FC Barcelona and Donta Hall of AS Monaco, all as starters. Gabriel Deck of Real Madrid was his sixth man.

 

The bench featured Matt Costello of Baskonia, Isaiah Canaan of Olympiacos, Roman Sorkin of Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv and Elijah Bryant of Anadolu Efes Istanbul. His coach was Kazys Maksvytis of Zalgiris Kaunas.

 

The prize for finishing first in Round 28 is a free subscription to Euroleague TV for the 2023-24 season!

 

Ilias Kosmas is the new leader atop the EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge overall standings. Ilias leads everyone else with a score of 4,745.12 fantasy points.

 

Trades are now open for Round 29. Remember, three trades are allowed before each round until the end of the regular season, and you can also trade your head coach.

 

The first game in Round 29 is Efes vs. Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade, scheduled on Thursday, March 16 at 18:30 CET, making that the next round's deadline for trades.

 

Try to improve your teams and challenge for more prizes at the EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge, powered by Ardu Prime!

EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge: Round 28 winner!

AS Monaco arrives to its Round 28 showdown at Buesa Arena without superstar guard Mike James, but it ended up playing arguably one of its best games of the season, downing Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 93-102 to go up to 18-10 in the standings.

Without James, who leads the team in scoring (16.8 ppg.) and assists (4.7 ppg.), its most experienced guards had to step up big. Jordan Loyd and Elie Okobo had really solid performances, and they stepped up in the final three minutes. Howard nailed a three-pointer off a steal to give Baskonia a 91-87 lead. Okobo and Loyd each made free throws to tie the game again, 91-91. Okobo took over with a wild three-point play and a driving layup, Loyd followed that with a five-meter jumper and Okobo's fastbreak dunk sealed the outcome.

Monaco finished the game with a 2-15 run, in which Loyd and Okobo combined for 13 points. Okobo finished the game with 18 points on 7-of-11 two-point shots and 4-of-5 free throws, 4 assists, 5 fouls drawn and a PIR of 17. Loyd had 19 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and a PIR of 18. They knew they had to carry their team without James, and they delivered in the final three minutes to give Monaco an important road victory in one of the toughest arenas in the EuroLeague, as Baskonia was now 11-2 at home this season coming into Round 28.

Game Videos

Game News

Loyd, Okobo stepped up for Monaco in James's absence

Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz v AS Monaco (2023-03-10T19:30:00.000Z)

FC Barcelona center Jan Vesely received a standing ovation from Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul fans before and after a rip-roaring contest between the two sides on Friday evening, as he marked his first return to the Turkish capital since leaving for Spain last summer.

Vesely had spent eight seasons at Fenerbahce and was one of the key players when the club lifted its maiden Turkish Airlines EuroLeague title in 2017, winning a place in the fans’ hearts with his never-say-die attitude.

However, it was the home team’s big man, Johnathan Motley, who earned all the plaudits after a memorable second-half performance which propelled Fenerbahce to an 81-73 victory against Barca in Round 28, keeping alive its hopes of gaining home-court advantage in the post-season.

The 27-year-old Motley, who joined Fenerbahce from Russian side Lokomotiv Kuban last June, emerged as the unlikeliest player of the game after a modest first-half performance, having made little to no impact in 4 minutes on the court. He finished the game pacing his team with 16 points as he fired on all cylinders in the second half, posting 16 points and 3 assists.

“First quarter I was trash, so I had to come back in the second half and help my team win,” a humble Motley said in a flash post-game interview. “It was a team effort. We wanted this game, we needed this game to get back in rhythm and I think we did a good job in the second half."

The best plays of Johnathan Motley in Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul's 81-73 win against FC Barcelona in Round 28 of the 2022-23 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season.

Johnathan Motley's best plays vs. Barca

With Fenerbahce trailing 37-40 at halftime, Motley turned on the heat in the second half as he made the 32-year-old Vesely look like his understudy. Motley used his superior athleticism to devastating effect and garnished a superb individual performance with a pair of slam dunks, as Barca was simply unable to contain him in the paint.

His approach personified a roaring fightback by the hosts, which trailed by 17 points in the opening period, 13-30, when they committed 4 turnovers. Yet, they only had 3 through the next three quarters and their steely defense forced 11 turnovers from Barcelona, with the visitors unable to feed Vesely when the game was starting to slip away.

Despite outplaying his more heralded rival, Motley had all the respect in the world for Vesely after a captivating battle which kept fans on the edge of their seats right down to the wire.

“I am motivated every game, but \[Vesely\] has a special bond here and I have a big pair of shoes to fill,” said Motley. “I respect what he did, he played with some of my guys and they won the EuroLeague championship together. Hopefully I am doing okay, and I’ll just try to keep building.”

Motley overshadowed Vesely to lift Fenerbahce past Barcelona

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul v FC Barcelona (2023-03-10T17:45:00.000Z)

AS Monaco improved to 18-10 in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season by downing Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 93-102 at Buesa Arena in Round 28. Shooting the ball more often had a lot to do with it.

Monaco outrebounded Baskonia 25-37, pulling down as many as 17 offensive rebounds. Baskonia only had 19 defensive boards, which means Monaco grabbed 47.2% of all possible rebounds under the hosts' rim. Monaco boxed out much better, as Baskonia had 6 offensive rebounds against the guests' 20 defensive boards. Baskonia only grabbed 23.1% of all possible offensive boards. That gave Monaco 11 extra possessions in the game.

Turnovers also made the difference, as Baskonia finished the game with 17 and Monaco limited those to 9. That gave the guests 8 extra chances to score. In fact, Baskonia (72.0% 2FG, 48.5% 3FG) had superb shooting percentages, much better than Monaco's (60.7% 2FG, 26.3% 3FG). The guests, however, took 17 extra field goal attempts and went to the foul line 22 times, 9 more than Baskonia. Monaco scored 34 two-point shots, the most by any EuroLeague team this season.

Monaco's extra possessions helped it beat Baskonia

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv grabbed its fourth road win of the season on Friday evening, downing Anadolu Efes Istanbul 64-86 at Sinan Erdem Sports Hall in Round 28. An outstanding first half paved the way for a crucial victory for Maccabi.

Oded Kattash's team buried 10 of his opening 13 shots from downtown to build a 20-45 lead, and it kept a double-digit lead all the way until the final buzzer. Maccabi reached halftime with 11 first-half three-point shots, a new club record. The visitors were extremely effective in the first half, hitting 10-of-15 two-pointers (66.7% 2FG), 11-of-19 three-pointers (57.9% 3FG), dished 14 assists and limited turnovers to just 3.

On the other hand, Efes hit 7-of-16 shots inside the arc (43.8% 2FG) and 3-of-13 from downtown (23.1% 3FG), getting more turnovers (7) than assists (5). Maccabi took a 21-point lead at halftime, 33-54. That tied the biggest halftime of any road team against Efes. Back on March 29, 2018, FC Barcelona led 34-55 after 20 minutes en route to an 83-107 victory. Maccabi finished the game with 15 three-pointers, a new season high.

Maccabi's record-breaking first half against Efes

Anadolu Efes Istanbul v Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv (2023-03-10T17:30:00.000Z)

Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade could not have played better than the final quarter of Wednesday night’s highly impressive 94-75 victory over Anadolu Efes Istanbul, when the reigning champ was blown away with a 26-8 partial score to keep Zvezda’s playoff hopes alive. Two days later, though, it was the same story in reverse, as the Serbian team lost a 16-point lead by imploding in ugly fashion on the way to a 75-66 loss at Panathinaikos Athens.

Leading 37-53 nearly midway through the third quarter, Zvezda then – in the succinct words of head coach Dusko Ivanovic – “stopped playing basketball.” The remaining 15 minutes of the game delivered only 13 points, 6 of which came in the final 71 seconds when the outcome was already decided. And at the other end, Zvezda suddenly had no answers to a Panathinaikos offense which had previously been stone-cold, as the Greek team more than doubled its points tally from the first 25 minutes.

On an individual level, it was a particularly sorry night for Zvezda’s star Argentine guard combo of Facundo Campazzo and Luca Vildoza. Campazzo, so dominant in Wednesday’s win over Efes, did not score a single point all night, finishing with 4 assists and 4 turnovers for a PIR of minus 1. It was a little better for Vildoza, who had 7 points and 4 assists without a turnover, but he was unable to establish any offensive rhythm as the game disappeared from Zvezda in the final 15 minutes.

An exasperated Coach Ivanovic admitted he had no idea what had happened to his team, saying: “After five minutes in the third quarter, I don’t understand it but we stopped playing on defense, we lost confidence on offense, and Panathinaikos played more aggressive than we did in the last quarter.”

And as it leaves Zvezda three wins away from the playoff places with just six games remaining, it could well turn out to be a collapse that effectively ends its hopes of post-season action.

From sublime to ridiculous: Zvezda’s fourth-quarter meltdown

Panathinaikos Athens v Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade (2023-03-10T19:00:00.000Z)

### Sasa Obradovic, AS Monaco head coach

"The highlight was our togetherness, our team spirit, our wish to stay together and to play together. I am happy for this, maybe this year in the EuroLeague, \[this is\] the win I liked the most. It \[five players in double digits\] means that we were a team, that's it. Every time you win on the road, it is great, so we are still aiming as high as possible.

"First of all, I think it was a great basketball game. We even spoke about it with the guys, it was a great promotion for basketball tonight. You could see Baskonia with full confidence, which they had from the previous game, playing at home, in this wonderful gym and with their fans. And the way we played all game long, I also said before: this one is maybe the EuroLeague game I liked the most from us. The way we played, the way we stayed together, the way we played as a team; we never gave up in any moment. We were up and down during the game, but this togetherness – all the guys from the bench – helped us win this game, to get this important win. We still continue to dream big after this win. I think it was important, and I don't think there will be many teams that win here."

### Joan Penarroya, Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz head coach

"The game, in the last minutes, we didn't control the 2+1 and 3+1. These are small details, and it is a game. In our last game against Real Madrid, we had very good percentages in the last minutes, and we didn't today.

"First, congratulations to Monaco, they played a good game. All the physical situations tonight went the way of Monaco. They controlled the offensive rebounds, they had their rhythm, because we had 17 turnovers. I think they took 22-23 more shots than us, and it is very difficult to win with this big difference. But in the last 3-4 minutes, we had a chance to win the game. I remember three consecutive situations in which they had a 3+1, we missed an easy three-point shot and in the next offense, Monaco got another 2+1. These are small things, but they are very important in the last few minutes. Monaco played better tonight. Monaco is one of the most athletic teams in the competition, if not the most athletic, and they were better at that. I don't know if have problems against this type of team; I think that the team is performing well throughout the season. We can see that the athleticism helped them dominate us. They scored a lot of point in the paint off offensive rebounds and driving layups, in which we were not as solid as we should have been. We didn't have scoring problems, but didn't control, in some moments, our defensive rebounds and that stopped us from running the floor. Our best moments came when we played defense and got in transition. Despite not having a good day, we had a 3-4 point lead with three minutes left, \[which put us\] in a good position to win the game."

### Jordan Loyd, AS Monaco guard

"Hell of a EuroLeague game! This is a great team, especially here at their home. Props to them, they are having a great season, but this is a huge team win, big for the club. We are super, super excited about this one. Everybody contributed. This is not my first time diving into the stands, but it is probably my last. But yes, we are good. I hope the gentleman is okay; I talked to him and he is good, and everybody else."

### Chima Moneke, AS Monaco forward

"I feel amazing. I love winning. I love playing in Spain, and I feel like this was obviously my best game here \[since joining Monaco\]. It took some time, it is still going to take some more time, but the fact that it happened in a win, on the road, against a team like that, without Mike \[James\], yes, it was incredible. We know what it is, we are getting close \[to securing our place in the playoffs\] and let's take it one game at a time. Hopefully, there is more of that to come, and hopefully many more wins."