To the surprise of few, Dimitris Diamantidis was named MVP of the 2010-11 Euroleague season last night, thereby completing an individual triple crown in bagging MVP, All-Euroleague first team and Best Defender nods. Equally unsuspenseful was the naming of the All-Euroleague teams – hey, if BallinEurope can go five for five, it must have been obvious, eh?
Official press release follows.
(Euroleague.net) – The best players of the 2010-11 Turkish Airlines Euroleague season were honored on Saturday night at the annual EFES Pilsener Euroleague Awards Ceremony, held this year at the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (MNAC) in Barcelona.
Less than twenty-four hours before a new Euroleague champion would be crowned, a who’s who of world basketball elite came together to celebrate another exciting season in a one-of-a-kind setting, the MNAC, that already hosted this event back in 2003.
Panathinaikos point guard Dimitris Diamantidis was voted the 2010-11 Euroleague MVP after an outstanding season for the Greens and became the first player ever to win three end-of-season awards – MVP, Best Defender Trophy and All-Euroleague First Team – since the awards structure was established in 2005.
Diamantidis was joined on the 2010-11 All-Euroleague First Team by Juan Carlos Navarro of Regal FC Barcelona; Caja Laboral swingman Fernando San Emeterio; San Emeterio’s Panathinaikos teammate, forward Mike Batiste; and center Sofoklis Schortsanitis of Maccabi Electra. It is a first-time honor for San Emeterio, Batiste and Schortsanitis.
Navarro was named first team for the fifth time and Diamantidis for the second time. The All-Euroleague Second Team featured Jeremy Pargo of Maccabi; Sergio Llull of Real Madrid; Vassilis Spanoulis of Olympiacos; Ksistof Lavrinovic of Monepaschi Siena; and Dusko Savanovic of Power Electronics Valencia.
Igor Rakocevic, the Alphonso Ford Top Scorer Trophy winner, and Nikola Mirotic of Real Madrid, the Rising Star Trophy winner, also received their respective awards. The EFES Pilsener Euroleague Awards Ceremony was attended by hundreds of VIPs and media on the night before Sunday’s title game between Maccabi and Panathinaikos, tipping off at 4.30pm CET (10.30am EST).
