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Nadir Hifi Earns First Career EuroLeague Round MVP With 39 PIR In Paris Win At Efes

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Nadir Hifi in his Paris Basketball jersey during the win at Anadolu Efes
Nadir Hifi of Paris Basketball. Photo via EuroLeague.

Paris Basketball went into Istanbul and came out with a statement road win, and Nadir Hifi was the reason — a career first Round MVP performance built on 28 points, nine assists and a round best 39 PIR against Anadolu Efes.

A stunning individual performance in a big road victory allowed Nadir Hifi of Paris Basketball to earn Regular Season Round 10 MVP honors with a PIR of 39.

The Paris star produced a round-best PIR of 39 to lead his team to victory in Istanbul.

Hifi led Paris to a 90-95 road victory over Anadolu Efes Istanbul with 28 points on 6-of-9 two-pointers, 3-of-5 three-pointers and 7-of-7 free throws, adding six rebounds, nine assists and seven fouls drawn for a PIR of 39, the highest in Round 10. Hifi earned MVP of the Round honors for the first time in his career, and became the third Paris player to get it, after TJ Shorts (four times, plus 2025 play-in MVP) and Justin Robinson.

Elijah Bryant of Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv had a PIR of 35 in his team’s 90-93 home loss against FC Barcelona. He led his team with 25 points on 5-of-7 two-pointers, 1-of-3 three-pointers and 12-of-12 free throws, three rebounds, an assist and 12 fouls drawn, a new EuroLeague season-high.

Austin Wiley of FC Bayern Munich amassed a PIR of 32 in his team’s 95-99 road victory over LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne. He had 22 points on 8-of-9 two-pointers and 6-of-8 free throws, nine rebounds, two assists, three blocks and four fouls drawn.

Kendrick Nunn of Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens, with a PIR of 31, and his teammate Mathias Lessort, who reached a PIR of 30, complete the top individual performances in Round 10. Nunn led Panathinaikos to a 112-115 overtime road win over Real Madrid with 33 points on 8-of-8 two-pointers, 3-of-5 three-pointers and 8-of-8 free throws in less than 24 minutes. Lessort had 20 points on 8-of-10 two-pointers and 4-of-4 free throws, nine rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Individual highs: Kenneth Faried of Baskonia, 15 rebounds

Nunn and Cameron Payne of Efes were this week’s top scorers with 33 points against Real and Paris, respectively. Hifi leads the overall standings at 22.1 points per game.

Kenneth Faried of Kosner Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz grabbed 15 rebounds, a new EuroLeague season-high, in his team’s 84-65 road loss against Fenerbahce Tarfin Istanbul. Jonas Valanciunas of Zalgiris Kaunas ranks first overall at 8.4 rebounds per night.

Hifi was first in assists, dishing nine against Efes. Carlik Jones of Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade leads the overall standings at 6.0 assists per game.

Dan Oturu of Hapoel had five steals, more than anyone in Round 10. Luca Vildoza of Partizan keeps leading everyone at 1.9 steals per night.

Wiley and Lamar Stevens of Partizan each had three blocks to lead this week’s ranking. Aliou Diarra of Virtus is the competition’s top shot blocker at 2.0 per night.

Five players registered a double-double in this round: Faried (10 points, 15 rebounds), Jonas Valanciunas of Zalgiris Kaunas (12 points, 11 rebounds), Jordan Nwora of Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade (18 points, 13 rebounds), Josh Nebo of FC Barcelona (12 points, 10 rebounds) and Bruno Fernando of Efes (14 points, 10 rebounds).

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Canada Red Downs Canada White 8-4 To Win Bronze At The 2026 U17 World Challenge

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Canada Red and Canada White face off during the 2026 U17 World Challenge bronze medal game in Oakville
Canada Red celebrates bronze at the 2026 U17 World Challenge. Photo via Hockey Canada.

Canada Red closed its week in Oakville with the medal it could still win, beating Canada White 8-4 on Saturday afternoon after a seven goal first period, with captain Liam Pue scoring twice and Owen Loftus making 36 saves to secure bronze at the 2026 U17 World Challenge.

Canada Red has won the bronze medal at the 2026 U17 World Challenge after doubling up Canada White 8-4 in the bronze medal game on Saturday afternoon.

After a combined seven-goal opening period, Reid Nicol (Brandon, MB/Everett, WHL) netted the eventual game-winner for Canada Red just over two minutes into the middle frame. Captain Liam Pue (Langley, BC/Regina, WHL) and Jakob Royer (Trois-Rivières, QC/Victoriaville, QMJHL) led the offence for the winning side, with Pue finding the back of the net twice and adding an assist, and Royer contributing three points (1-2—3) of his own.

“It is a good feeling to end our tournament with a win, but obviously it is not the medal we were hoping to win coming into the week. We had a great group, so it was important for us to show up today, and I think this tournament will be a little more memorable for us because of this bronze medal,” Pue said. “We knew there was a medal on the line tonight, so I have to give credit to our group for showing up and finishing the week on a positive note.”

Both teams struck early in the first period, and the teams traded goals throughout the opening frame as Landon Roulston (Oakville, ON/Peterborough, OHL), Royer, Kash Kwajah (Etobicoke, ON/Sudbury, OHL) and Pue scored for Canada Red. Canada White got on the board with goals from Maddox Schultz (Regina, SK/Regina, WHL), Adrian Sgro (Alliston, ON/Sarnia, OHL) and Madden Daneault (Red Deer, AB/Kelowna, WHL) to make it a 4-3 game after the first period.

Sgro buried his second power-play goal of the game just before the halfway mark of the second period, making it a 5-4 game after Nicol’s early second-period marker, but Zaac Charbonneau (Gatineau, QC/Muskegon, USHL) and Drew Bate (Union, ON/Saginaw, WHL) beat Canada White goaltender Dylan Mingo (Peachland, BC/Moose Jaw, WHL) to give Canada Red a three-goal lead heading into the final frame. Pue scored 5:30 into the third to secure the bronze medal for Canada Red.

“We were pretty disappointed last night after yesterday’s [semifinal] loss, but our team did a great job of responding today. I am proud of the way our guys handled themselves today because we battled hard and we played with dignity,” said Canada Red head coach Dan DaSilva (Saskatoon, SK/Saskatoon, WHL). “This experience was a lot of fun. These players and staff are all special people that were fully committed to doing whatever it took to win a medal, and we are happy to go home with bronze.”

Canada Red goaltender Owen Loftus (Toronto, ON/North Bay, OHL) made 36 saves, while Mingo made 40 stops in relief of Zachary Lainesse (Lévis, QC/Rouyn-Noranda, QMJHL).

A full game summary can be found on HockeyCanada.ca.

Schultz finished as the tournament point-leader with 16 (6-10—16) while also leading in goals (six) and assists (10). He concludes his under-17 career with 25 points (12-13—25) in 10 games played at the U17 World Challenge.

“We were battling for a bronze medal and unfortunately things did not go our way. It is not the best feeling to lose with a medal on the line,” Schultz said. “I feel very privileged to lead my country as captain. This was such a close group that bonded so quickly, and it is a special group that I will remember for a long time.”

“The bronze medal game can be a tough game to play in because of the disappointment of a semifinal loss, but I thought we showed a lot of character,” said Canada White head coach Dylan Smoskowitz (Richmond Hill, ON/Barrie, OHL). “Our guys never stopped working even when we went down four goals against a familiar opponent, and I am really proud of this team for the way their character was on display today against a good Canada Red team.”

Following the gold medal game, Hockey Canada announced the 2026 U17 World Challenge all-star team:

  • Goaltender – Mason Martin, United States
  • Defence – Drew Daley, United States
  • Defence – Adrian Sgro, Canada White
  • Forward – Kash Kwajah, Canada Red
  • Forward – Maddox Schultz, Canada White
  • Forward – Dominik Zelezny, Czechia

For more information on Hockey Canada and the U17 World Challenge, please visit HockeyCanada.ca.

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