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To a short list of players who have registered three consecutive double-doubles in Euroleague games this decade, add a new name, the youngest yet: Lior Eliyahu of Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv, the December MVP. At just 23 years old, Eliyahu joined that exclusive club of double-double experts like Mirsad Turkcan, Tanoka Beard and David Andersen, while pacing Maccabi to a perfect 3-0 record and a place in the Top 16. The month started with his career-best Euroleague game, in which he posted the season's highest individual performance index rating, 42, on the way to three-game averages of 20.3 points, 12.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists. Not coincidentally, Eliyahu's explosion coincided with the return of head coach Pini Gershon three seasons after the former first came to Maccabi while the latter was leaving. Their mutual understanding has been almost instantaneous and was an important part of Eliyahu earning the December MVP award.
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(Tuesday, December 16, 2008)
Alba Berlin
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With just three games left in the Euroleague regular season, the Top 16 dream is alive in Berlin. Back in summer, when Aleksandar Nadjfeji saw the tough Group C opponents his team had to face, the situation they find themselves in now would have been welcome.
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(Tuesday, December 09, 2008)
Montepaschi Siena
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He came out of nowhere last season to lead his team to the Final Four, become first-team All-Euroleague point guard and hit the most three-pointers in the competition all decade.
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(Tuesday, December 02, 2008)
Lottomatica Roma
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His was the classic tale of a truly gifted young talent being betrayed by a moment's misfortune. But six years after doctors told Sani Becirovic that he would never play basketball professionally again due to a knee injury, the Lottomatica Roma guard has been chosen the November MVP.
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(Monday, November 24, 2008)
Air Avellino
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With an early-season turnaround of sorts, Euroleague newcomer Avellino has evened its record with consecutive home wins and is now part of the battle for survival in regular season Group A.
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(Tuesday, November 11, 2008)
Partizan
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Three weeks into the 2008-09 season, among the new names at the top of the Euroleague performance charts is a complete newcomer to Europe and the first major pro player ever from the African country of Gabon.
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(Tuesday, November 04, 2008)
Regal FC Barcelona
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If last season he returned from the U.S. looking tentative on-court as he re-learned the European game, one year later Ersan Ilyasova of Regal FC Barcelona seems exactly the opposite: a player who is sure of his every move.
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