Sonny Weems showed fans exactly why Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv brought him to the club over the summer.
Weems starred with an outstanding performance on Thursday to lead his side to an important win that earned him MVP honors for Round 16 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season.
Weems recorded season highs of 24 points and 8 assists for a performance index rating of 33 as Maccabi snapped a six-game losing streak by edging Darussafaka Dogus Istanbul 93-92 at Menora Mivtachim Arena.
His index rating was the highest of any player in Round 16. Freshly crowned MVP for December Nicolo Melli did not slow down at the start of 2017; he helped Brose Baskets beat FC Barcelona Lassa 85-65 with 17 points, 13 rebounds and the second-highest index rating of the round, 30.
Unics Kazan’s Keith Langford was unable to continue his run after claiming MVP honors in both Rounds 14 and 15, but remained among the league’s top performers in Round 16 despite a 102-70 loss at Baskonia Vitoria Gasteiz. He was tied for the third-highest index rating of the round by Panathinaikos Superfooods Athens guard Mike James, each with an index rating of 29.
Langford totaled 19 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. James posted 24 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals in a 77-69 derby loss to Olympiacos Piraeus. Rounding out the list of top performances were Baskonia guard Rodrique Beaubois, Galatasaray Odeabank Istanbul center Alex Tyus and point guard Brad Wanamaker of Darussafaka, who each reached index ratings of 25. Beaubois did so by scoring a career-high 29 points, Tyus tallied 16 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks and Wanamaker produced 16 points, 8 assists and 3 steals.
