Euroleague: Spanish teams fail in Monaco
After Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, AS Monaco conceded a third defeat in a row against a Spanish team, Baskonia Vitoria (66-78).
3/26. This poverty in the success behind the arc is one of the major explanations for the failure of AS Monaco in the Basque country, even if Baskonia was not much brighter in the exercise (4/20) . But the Esoagnols were able to count on the mastery of the Italian Simone Fontecchio (20 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists), while Mike James greatly spoiled the cartridges (18 points but 1/9 behind the arc).
It was in the third quarter that Vitoria made the difference, getting up to 18 points ahead (50-42). The Monegasques attempted a comeback, but the task was too important …
Dusko Ivanovic, Vitoria coach: “I think we played a good defense. We had an aggressiveness in defense that we did not have in other games. And generally we have had patience on offense, looking for the best option. For three minutes we didn’t play like that, and Monaco came back. But I think we ended up playing like we have to. It is perhaps our best performance in Euroeague this season. I think we played a lot, very important. “
Zvezdan Mitrovic, Monaco coach: “I think it’s a totally deserved victory for Baskonia tonight. They showed good energy, especially in the third quarter when the five players played very aggressive defense. We couldn’t find a good answer in attack, and I think we shot really bad at three-pointers. These are some of the fundamental reasons why we lost the game. On a comeback, on did not surrender, but on a failure a few free throwers. But against a defense like Baskonia, you have to put the shots open. “
Simone Fontecchio, Vitoria: “It feels good to beat a home win, especially this crowd. It was quite an incredible atmosphere; it was fun. We played a good game, staying focused for 40 minutes. We had a good run in the fourth quarter, and we were able to keep the advantage even when they came back. It was a good job. It was difficult because when they came back they were a good team, of course, and we struggled a bit in attack. “
The box score is HERE.
Photo: Simone Fontecchio and Danilo Andjusic (FIBA)