Nizhny Novgorod forward Stevan Jelovac has been named the VTB United League May MVP.
The MVP award is presented by ALROSA, a world leader in the diamond industry and Russia’s leading diamond maker. Like a diamond, the MVP has to meet the highest standards in every aspect of the game.
TASS news agency is the official media partner of the MVP award.
Jelovac beat out CSKA guard Sergio Rodriguez and UNICS forward Maurice Ndour for the May MVP.
Nizhny picked up two big wins in May (vs. Avtodor and Lokomotiv-Kuban) to clinch 7th place in the standings. Jelovac was the primary option on offense, leading Nizhny back to the Playoffs.
Stevan Jelovac averaged 20.5 points (45.5% from the field, 36.9% from downtown), 5.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and an 18.0 efficiency rating.
– I’m very happy to receive this award, – noted Jelovac. – I’m not sure I received it so much for my individual stats, as much as for our team’s strong finish to the regular season. I don’t think anyone expected Nizhny Novgorod to beat Avtodor and especially Lokomotiv, plus Zenit before that. But we continued to believe in ourselves and knew that all of the work we put in during the season would pay off eventually. We ended up taking 7th place and didn’t need any help from anyone else. I want this May MVP award to belong to everyone on the team!
