Ilyasova continued his hot streak against Tau
I'm not expecting Ersan Ilyasova to return to Milwaukee next season, as the Bucks will have a tough time coming up with the money to beat out the dollars he can earn as one of Europe's best players. Still, the Bucks continue to keep close tabs on him and he continues to play well, leading Barcelona to the Euroleague Final Four next month.
With Barcelona trailing 2-1 in their best of five series against Spanish rivals TAU Ceramica, Ilyasova helped Barcelona fight back to win the final two games with 11/8 and 19/10 performances. Last week Ersan was named MVP of the decisive game five (see video above). Barcelona will be joined at the Final Four by European heavyweights CSKA Moscow, Olympiakos, and Panathinaikos. They begin May 1 in Berlin. In 20 Euroleague games, Ersan is averaging 11.2 ppg and 7.3 rpg on .458/.425/.833 shooting.
In the Spanish ACB, Ersan is averaging 10.3 ppg and 7.4 rpg (third overall) while shooting .482/.444/.755. Barca won again today 86-64 with Ersan scoring 15 points (5/5 fg, all threes), but they still trail TAU by 1.5 games atop the ACB standings.