BADALONA (Spain) - The annual Awards Ceremony was held at the Zorrilla Theater in Badalona, Spain in front of nearly 500 attendees, marked as a celebration of not only Season X of the Basketball Champions League, powered by Ameresco SUNEL, but also of the entire decade of the competition.
Frank Bartley of AEK BC was named the Most Valuable Player of the season, earning the most votes from the four constituencies: the fans, an expert media panel that covered the BCL this season around Europe, the club representatives of the teams that made it to the Round of 16, and the BCL officials.
The 32-year-old became the third AEK player to win such an award, following in the footsteps of Manny Harris (Season II) and Keith Langford (Season IV). Bartley put up 18.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.3 steals and an efficiency rating of 16.6 per game, taking AEK back to the Championship Game for the first time in six years.
His high scoring has been the way to win games for AEK all season long, as Greek powerhouse is now 12-0 when Bartley scores 16+ points in a game this season.
Bartley wasn't the only AEK BC member to receive recognition for an outstanding season, as 73-year-old Dragan Sakota deserved the Coach of the Season award, a full 53 years after his first official game as a basketball coach.
Jack Kayil (ALBA BERLIN) was named the Best Young Player of the season, becoming the first German player to win the award, while Kendrick Perry succeeded his Unicaja teammate Alberto Diaz as the Defensive Player of the Season.
Meanwhile, the Season X All-Star Five First and Second Team features several players from the four contenders that reached the Final Four in Athens.
All-Star Five First Team
Frank Bartley (AEK BC)
Ricky Rubio (Asisa Joventut)
Jerrick Harding (Rytas Vilnius)
RaiQuan Gray (AEK BC)
Giorgi Shermadini (La Laguna Tenerife)
All-Star Five Second Team
Marcelinho Huertas (La Laguna Tenerife)
Jack Kayil (ALBA BERLIN)
Errick McCollum (Galatasaray MCT Technic)
Chris Duarte (Unicaja)
Arturas Gudaitis (Rytas Vilnius)
Decade Awards
This season marked the tenth anniversary of the Basketball Champions League, powered by Ameresco SUNEL, and as part of the Awards Ceremony, special Decade Awards were also handed out.
Pierre-Antoine Gillet was the special guest at the ceremony, earning an award for being the only player to appear in each of the 10 seasons of the BCL, spending them with Elan Chalon, La Laguna Tenerife and Filou Oostende.
Two-time MVP of the Season Marcelinho Huertas, two-time champions Kendrick Perry and Kevin Punter, ERA Nymburk's legendary scorer Vojtech Hruban, and the all-time leader in points Giorgi Shermadini were named to the Team of the Decade First Team.
There were no surprises when it came to the Coach of the Decade award, as the only man with more than 100 BCL wins to his name was called to the stage. La Laguna Tenerife's mastermind Txus Vidorreta dedicated the Coach of the Decade award to all his players and coaching staff.
Joe Ragland, Levi Randolph, Vitor Benite, Tim Abromaitis and Dejan Kravic were included in the Team of the Decade Second Team.
The Basketball Champions League Season X, powered by Ameresco SUNEL concludes on Saturday, May 9, as AEK BC and Rytas Vilnius face off in the Final of the Final Four in Badalona, Spain.