Basketball/Euroleague. Monaco with home advantage against Olympiakos in the quarter-finals
In the history of French basketball, only two clubs have tasted the intoxication of a Euroleague Final 4. And it was in the previous century, in the 1990s. Limoges went there three times (1990, 1993, 1995), for a coronation in 1993, and Villeurbanne once (4th) in 1997, the latest. By tackling matches 3 and 4 on Wednesday and Friday on their floor equally (1 victory everywhere), Monaco has an opportunity in or to join this very closed club.
“On our side, we must not burn ourselves out with the pressure of wanting to write something very important for the French basket. We have done an amazing job so far, now there is a chance to go through, we can’t run away from this chance,” revealed Monaco coach Sasa Obradovic.
“We are all very excited and we have to control that to be smart in the next game”, he commented, after Sunday’s victory in the league against Fos-sur-Mer (93-66), which allows Monaco to stick to the Basques de Boulogne-Levallois leading the Elite.
Winner of the Eurocup last year, a coronation which allowed it to climb into the Euroleague, Monaco suffered for its first play-off match at the Stade de la Paix et de l’Amitié, stuck in the Greek defense in only scoring 54 points. “In match 1, Olympiakos smothered us with superior aggression. They will try to do it again. We know that this kind of pattern should not be reproduced. The motivation is very high for this meeting, with the support of our fans which will be very important”, revealed Yakuba Outtara.
“Be mentally ready”
The “Roca Team” then regained their attacking game, which makes them a serious outsider for the semi-finals of C1, by correcting Olympiakos in match 2 (96-72). “We had the two match models: the one that shouldn’t be and the second one which is exactly how we should play. We have to repeat it and be mentally ready, as much as possible, ”warned Obradovic.
“Winning is all that matters. It doesn’t matter in the play-offs, you just have to win. You never know what the match brings us: a lot of points or sometimes few points, sometimes Mike James, the other guys. We just want to win,” concluded the coach. Left to rest for the championship match against Fos-sur-Mer, Mike James will once again be the most followed player of the “Roca Team”. The 31-year-old American star, silent for the first six quarters of the series against Olympiakos, caught fire for a quarter of an hour to score 23 points.
Opposite, the old veterans Georgios Printezis (37 years old) and Kostas Sloukas (32 years old), winners of the Euroleague with Olympiakos in 2012 and 2013, were much more withdrawn during match 2, against the intractable defense of Monaco.