To the surprise of few, Juan Carlos Navarro of FC Barcelona was named Euroleague MVP for April; after all, “La Bomba” was The Bomb in March for the Blaugrana. The award was essentially based on a pair of games put in by the one-time Memphis Grizzly against Barça’s no. 1 rivals this season, Real Madrid. As the official site reported:
Juan Carlos Navarro, the Euroleague’s choice as Sportingbet MVP for April, proved unstoppable while leading Regal FC Barcelona to back-to-back road victories and a return to the Final Four. In Game 3 and Game 4 of the playoffs, playing each night before 13,500 fans of archrival Real Madrid, Navarro calmly posted his highest point totals of the Euroleague season, outscoring everyone on either team. What’s more, he did so with remarkable shooting accuracy. Navarro shot as close to perfect as anyone could imagine in a playoffs setting, needing just 25 field goal attempts and 7 free throws to average 22.5 points over the two games despite playing just 27 minutes in each. He did more than score, too, posting his season highs for rebounds in one game and for steals in the other. Most importantly, Navarro kept Barcelona in control enough during two pressure-packed road games to win both and clinch a ticket to Paris for the 2010 Final Four. All of which made Juan Carlos Navarro an easy choice as Sportingbet MVP for April.
Navarro can now place his newest trophy on an increasingly packed mantle which now bears his 2009 Euroleague regular-season MVP award, and his EL Playoffs Week 3 “Player of the Day” prize.
The full Euroleague writeup can be read here and highlight clips celebrating all three honors amassed by Navarro follow the break.
