Monaco knocks out Villeurbanne and replaces itself
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Villeurbanne (AFP) – AS Monaco, clear winner of Asvel (100-75) Tuesday at the Astroballe in the duel of the two clubs of the French Championship engaged in the Euroleague, replaced themselves in the race for qualification for the final phase.
This meeting, disputed in front of 2,000 spectators out of 5,500 possible due to health restrictions, scheduled for the 19th day. It had been postponed on January 7 due to cases of Covid in the workforce of Asvel.
Villeurbannais and Monegasques have faced each other three times this season.
In Euroleague, Asvel had won the first leg at the buzzer on a final throw from William Howard (85-84) but in the league ASM had, on the other hand, won (84-82), both times at the Gaston-Médecin de Monaco room.
Since the dismissal of its coach Zvezdan Mitrovic, replaced by Sasa Obradovic on December 13, the Roca Team has won four victories for two defeats in the Euroleague, thus moving from 13th to 10th place and now ahead of Asvel, which has not won, against Fenerbahçe (84-82), only one of his last seven European meetings.
The quartet formed by Mike James (20 points), Donatas Motiejunas (22 pts) and Dwayne Bacon (21 pts) and Alpha Diallo (17 pts), hurt the champions of France, still deprived of Raymar Morgan, David Lighty, Victor Wembanyama and William Howard, injured, and who concede 100 points for the first time this season in the Euroleague.
Motiejunas and Alpha Diallo were the two best players of the match.
Superior in rebound, defensive in particular, but also on outside shots (10/17, 58.8%, against 7/19 and 38.8% for Asvel), Monaco, without the former Villeurbannais Léo Westermann, has mastered the encounter. ASM limited the two Rhone spearheads, Elie Okobo (10 pts) and Chris Jones (9 pts) and gained up to 22 points ahead (75-53) in the 29th minute.
A gap that TJ Parker’s men were never able to fill in the last quarter, on the contrary with a deficit increased to 25 points in the end (100-75).
© 2022 AFP
