EUROLEAGUE - MVP Rodriguez now goes for team glory

MILAN (Euroleague) - Real Madrid's Sergio Rodriguez confirmed his status as one of basketball's top point guards in the world on Thursday by scooping the honor as the Turkish Airlines Euroleague MVP.

Now the former NBA guard, who will be one of the start attractions at this summer's FIBA Basketball World Cup as a member of Spain's national team, wants to achieve something else.

He wants to capture a Euroleague title for the first time after coming up one victory shy last year.

After a runners-up finish to Olympiacos, Rodriguez and Real are knocking on the door again but they have to beat Barcelona and then overcome either CSKA Moscow or Maccabi Tel Aviv.

"I'm happy," said Rodriguez, who averaged 13.5 points and five assists while also shooting a scintillating 48.8 percent (60 for 123) from long range this season in the Euroleague.

"(But) Any of my teammates could have been chosen because everyone has done a great job.

"I want to thank the players and coaches of Real Madrid that have helped me become a better player."

Anyone that has seen Real in action will know that Rodriguez has been the main man, especially with his playmaking.

He is the Euroleague assists leader this season on a per-minute basis with a prorated average of 8.8 assists per 40 minutes of action.

He also has the second-best per-minute performance index rating at 27.7 per 40 minutes.

As good as Rodriguez has been, Real's biggest strength is their depth.

The team has suffered a bitter blow with the loss of point guard Dontaye Draper to injury, yet it remains arguably the most talented in Europe.

From an offensive standpoint, no team was better in the Euroleague.

Coach Pablo Laso's side led all teams in scoring with 85.2 points per game, a performance index rating of 104.9 per game, free-throw shooting percentage of 80.2, and an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.74.

They were second in three-point accuracy (39.7%).

Real also have stars like Rudy Fernandez, Sergio Llull, Nikola Mirotic and Felipe Reyes.

Fernandez, Llull and Reyes are all expected to play for Spain at the World Cup.

Real Madrid are expecting a war against Barcelona, a team they edged in this season's Spanish Copa del Rey with a Llull basket with less than a second remaining.

Only last week, Barcelona beat Real in the Spanish Liga Endesa.

Real haven't won the Euroleague since 1995, when they won on home soil against Olympiacos.

Barcelona, meanwhile, have won it twice since, in 2003 and 2010.

There is much to like about Barca, a team that swept Galatasaray in the playoffs to advance.

They work the ball for good shots, getting Croatia national team center Ante Tomic plenty of touches.

The Catalans lead the Euroleague with a 57.1 percent of made field goals inside the arc.

Barca have plenty of firepower, too.

Their veteran shooting guard, Spain international Juan Carlos Navarro, is going to be remembered as one of Europe's all-time greats.

He is just four three-pointers away from tying J.R. Holden for the most shots from the arc made at Euroleague Final Fours. Navarro has made 26 threes on 66 attempts in seven previous Final Fours.

Navarro will be a star attraction at the FIBA Basketball World Cup, too, as will his Slovenia teammates Erazem Lorbek and Boki Nachbar, and Croatian Tomic.

Alex Abrines also has an outside shot of making Spain's team while Kostas Papanikolou will suit up for Greece.

CSKA Moscow are favorites heading into their semifinal clash with Maccabi Tel Aviv, yet the coach of the Israelis, David Blatt, won't care about that.

If Maccabi execute and play their best basketball, he believes can beat any opponent in Europe.

Add to the fact that Blatt knows very well at least three CSKA players - Sasha Kaun, Vitaly Fridzon and Viktor Khryapa since he used to coach them in Russia's national team and there won't be many secrets.

CSKA beat Maccabi twice this season, including a 100-65 thumping in Moscow.

Their coach, Ettore Messina, also has experience of working with a player in the Maccabi side in David Blu.

The two were together at Benetton Treviso.

The Israeli player says the experience made him better.

"The main thing I remember about him was his honesty," Blu said.

"Sometimes it wasn't the kindest of opinions, but it made me tougher as a professional athlete and as a man."

The Russians are going after their first title in the competition since 2008 while Maccabi last won in 2005.

FIBA