Monaco is relaunching, Asvel still stuck
Monaco had to win on Kaunas. The “Roca Team” did it, not without difficulties (98-107). Coached by Sasa Obradovic – back on the Monegasque bench, after the ouster of Zvezdan Mitrovic pronounced on Monday – she had to go into extra time to come after the red lantern of the Euroleague. But she showed a sacred character, with a last gasp that allows her to put an end to her black streak of five consecutive Euroleague losses.
Expeditious Monaco
in overtime
Faced with the worst attack in the championship, the Monegasques are sometimes permissive, but they were able to get out of this trap at the end of an extension that they have, for once, closed in a double turn. Gray and Bacon quickly sounded the charge (95-101) and if Strelnieks planted a three points in mid-overtime, the team of the Rock did not tremble to win this final round 3-12.
The Monegasques could nevertheless be able to avoid this last standoff. Authors of a catastrophic third quarter (27-13, 70-61), they rectified the situation at the cost of an excellent fourth quarter (25-34), led in particular by Mike James, fully back (20 points , 14 assists), but also Dwayne Bacon (19 points) and Alpha Diallo (13). Only, they could not avoid this final offensive rebound followed by a basket from Edgaras Ulanovas, alone in the circle (95-95).
The smothered Asvel
For Asvel, the evening is not completely missed insofar as the defeats of its direct competitors allow it to stay in contact with the top 8. However, Villeurbanne, in its room, was suffocated by the Zenit Saint-Petersburg (61-71). With a third consecutive defeat in the Euroleague, the sixth in the last seven European games …
More combative in defense than last week in Vitoria, TJ Parker’s team this time lost their basket offensively, like Elie Okobo who had a difficult evening (3/9 shooting ).