AVELLINO (Basketball Champions League) - Ask Week 2 MVP Joe Ragland which part of his inspirational all-round performance on Wednesday night he enjoyed the most and the player who came up with a double-double of 16 points and 10 assists and added six rebounds and three steals will reply modestly that the best thing about that night was the fact Sidigas Scandone Avellino 'fought back and won the game despite trailing by quite a few points'.

The Italian team trailed visitors SIG Strasbourg 48-33 midway through the third quarter but stormed back to claim a 72-69 victory in their Group D clash. "We made a huge effort to take a very big home win that we definitely needed to move to 2-0 in the group," Ragland told www.championsleague.basketball. "Being the MVP of the week is an honour for me but there are really no individual goals here, what matters is that the team has to win, that´s first and foremost for me so I am just happy we got the win."

"A lot of things on the scoresheet filled up because I played with energy and the ball just found me." - Ragland

It’s true that it required a collective effort for Avellino to pull off their comeback. Forward Levi Randolph for example was unstoppable offensively and led the hosts with 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting, ending up accompanying Ragland on the Team of the Week. But it is not an exaggeration to state that the Italian side would not have accomplished the feat without Ragland’s ability to do whatever was needed on both ends of the floor.

"I am just trying to play with energy, stay aggressive, rebound the ball, try to always be in positions where I can help my team-mates," Ragland said. "When you put a lot of energy on the court, you will often find yourself anywhere where the ball is. I guess this is what happened in that particular game, a lot of things on the scoresheet filled up because I played with energy and the ball just found me."

The American point guard who turns 27 in a couple of weeks has significant experience in Europe as he has also played for the likes of Pinar Karsiyaka, EA7 Emporio Armani Milano, Cantú and Murcia since crossing the Atlantic, but he knows that Avellino collectively are a young team with many pieces joining the roster this off-season.

"[The Wednesday game] will serve as a lesson, when you are down by so much and you fight back and win the game, it means that if you find yourself in a similar position another time later in the season, you will know what it means to have to climb back from a deficit like that," the Gameday 2 MVP said.