Monaco won with difficulty in Roanne to start their season in Elite
The Monegasque ogre, big favorite of the season, almost missed his entry into the Elite on Saturday, importing him with great difficulty in the very last moments in Roanne (80-75) for the 1st day of the French basketball championship.
Without their star leader Mike James, left to rest after their victory Thursday in the Euroleague against Panathinaikos of Athens, and quickly deprived of Leo Westermann, who has “Party»His return to France by exclusion after two technical faults at the end of the first half, the Monegasques struggled to distance themselves from Roanne who were still in contact at the very end of the match.
Led by 3 points to 27 seconds from the siren with the ball, the Roannais however missed the opportunity to equalize, letting Zvezdan Mitrovic’s men go to victory, carried in particular by the MVP of the last Eurocup final, absent against Panathinaikos, Rob Gray (19 points).
For his first match at the head of the Metropolitans de Boulogne-Levallois, the coach of the Blues, silver medalists in Tokyo Vincent Collet suffered a heavy 83-65 defeat at Le Mans, where his players were notably weighed down by a faulty address (38 %, 1 in 14 at 3 points).
In the other meetings of the evening of Saturday, Bourg-en-Bresse went to win 79 to 71 on the floor of Pau-Lacq-Orthez, and Cholet won by a small point 74-73 in Strasbourg.
In the afternoon, against CSP Limoges, Nanterre came very close to defeat at home, but a number from its leader Nick Johnson – 6 points in the last 40 of the match – also allowed the Ile-de-France residents to win. from a small point 88-87.
Friday, the promoted Paris Basket – the first 100% Parisian club in the first division since 2007 – missed its comeback: the team, which aims for the play-offs for its return to the elite, was widely used 94-78 by the finalist of the last season, Dijon, and his American leader David Holston (31 points, 7 assists).
Also on Friday, Châlons-Reims, at the promoted Fos-sur-Mer, had not done in detail, winning by 30 points (88-58), and Le Portel had won at home 89-72 against in Orleans.
Last match of this first day: the double defending champion, the Asvel of the sensation Victor Wembanyama, obtained by Tony Parker, who also succeeded in his return to the Euroleague on Friday against Kaunas, receives Gravelines on Sunday.