Monaco one step away from a historic Final Four
After equalizing Friday in the Euroleague playoffs against Olympiacos at 2-2 (78-77), AS Monaco offered themselves the right to play a match 5 in Greece evening (8:30 p.m.), in the boiling room of Peace and Friendship, to hope to win a ticket for a Final Four that no French team has reached since 1997. The performance would be immense.
A white-hot audience of 11,800 people ready to make them live a nightmare on each possession: this is what awaits Sasa Obradovic’s men on Wednesday evening, at 8:30 p.m. in Piraeus. “We know we’re going to live in hell,” admitted Yakuba Ouattara on Friday, a few minutes after winning match 4 in extremis. “But I’m confident, he continued. We’ve already won there with the way, we know that we are capable of doing it and doing it again”.
“We are all excited to play in such an atmosphere, admits Léo Westermann for his part. We know that it will be against us but that is why we play basketball, to have emotions like these. it’s easier to motivate yourself in these kinds of matches”. If ignoring the crazy atmosphere that will be hostile to them is difficult, it will be necessary to try to control it “by making as few mistakes as possible, by justifying the least amount of fast play to them and above all not bringing them into this match” , summarizes the captain.
During match 1, the Monegasques had been overwhelmed by the atmosphere, frustrated, too, by a few refereeing decisions to finally sink (71-54). “The second game was completely different” for retired Sasa Obradovic. ASM had indeed won a huge success (72-96) while Olympiacos had lost only once in their room during the entire regular phase. “I think we can learn from these two games, from the experience we had there but also from the start of the Euroleague. We should be more prepared now”.
Never has a team won away in a match 5
It will be necessary if Monaco wants to make the oracle lie. Since 2009 and the establishment of a match 5 in the Euroleague quarter-finals, all the teams playing on their floor during the last fight have qualified for the Final Four, this having happened thirteen times.
“I think we’re good at this kind of thing, smiles Léo Westermann, aware of the statistics. We’ve had a lot of firsts this year and we hope to do another one”. First season in the Euroleague, first French team to qualify for the playoffs since 2001 and who knows, tomorrow, maybe the first team from France to reach the Final Four since 1997.
For that, it will be necessary to rely on two words assures Will Thomas, monstrous Wednesday: “Effort and energy. This is the last match of the series, it will be for whoever wants it the most”. While he has the opportunity to play in the Final Four in Belgrade, in his hometown, there is no doubt that Sasa Obradovic will find the words to make his players hoplites. Uncertain for this meeting after being injured in match 1, Alpha Diallo still made the trip to Athens. It is there that the Roca Team will have to be Herculean, aware that they have the sword of Damocles above their heads.