Monaco equalize against Strasbourg, Pau-Lacq-Orthez in the last four
Monaco has not yet said its last word. Surprised on its floor by Limoges in the first leg, the “Roca Team” showed character to stay alive in the Betclic Elite play-offs. A meeting that the Principality club got off to a good start, leading by eight points in the first quarter, but the SIG finished these ten minutes better to take the lead with a two-point lead. The indecision was total during a second quarter which saw John Roberson’s teammates (25 points, 5 assists) race in the lead. However, in the free throw game just before the break, Monaco fell behind to return to their locker room with a parity score. The Alsatians, once back on the floor of the Rhénus, took control of the operations but without taking more than eight points in advance. On the brink of elimination, the teammates of a precious Mike James (30 points, 6 assists) held firm so as not to sink and snatch the extension in extremis. It is this same Mike James who, at the last second, offers victory to Monaco (95-97 ap), who will receive Strasbourg this Monday for a support match which promises to be boiling.
😱 WINNER OF THE EQUALIZE GAME THEN 😱
THE MOST INCREDIBLE END OF THE MATCH OF THE SEASON!#PlayoffsBetclicELITE pic.twitter.com/t7lSjgxhZy
— LNB (@LNBofficiel) May 28, 2022
Pau-Lacq-Orthez ends the Boulogne-Levallois season
Long at the head of the regular season, Boulogne-Levallois will not go further than the quarter-finals of the play-offs. Beaten on their floor in the first leg by Pau-Lacq-Orthez, the Metropolitans were unable to reverse the trend in Béarn. The Palois raced in the lead from the start to conclude the first quarter with a lead of six lengths. But the Ile-de-France residents, under the impetus of Vince Hunter (23 points, 9 rebounds), held on not to stay above the ten-point lead, reached at the very start of the second quarter, which eventually saw both teams neutralize each other. Again approached from eleven lengths on the return to the floor, Vincent Collet’s players responded with a 12-0 to go ahead on the scoreboard for the first… and only time of the match with a small point lead. From there, Elan Béarnais regained control and never let go. Thanks in particular to Brandon Jefferson (28 points, 5 assists) and Jérémy Leloup (21 points, 6 rebounds), Pau-Lacq-Orthez did not give in and won by ten points (81-71) to validate his ticket for the last four, a first for no less than sixteen years.
👊 | History!
16 years later, the Palois qualify for the semi-finals 🔥
📸 ©Studio Eric Traversié#ELANation #NewChapter #PlayoffsBetclicELITE pic.twitter.com/F4d6iVhJLb— EBPLO (@EBPLO) May 28, 2022
BASKET – BETCLIC ELITE / QUARTER-FINALS RETURN
Friday, May 27, 2022
Cholet (8) – ASVEL (1) : 66-82 >>> A victory everywhere in the series
Limoges (4) – Dijon (5): 70-68 >>> Dijon qualified (2-0)
Saturday May 28, 2022
Pau-Lacq-Orthez (3) – Boulogne-Levallois (6): 81-71 >>> Pau-Lacq-Orthez qualified (2-0)
Strasbourg (7) – Monegasque (2) : 95-97 (ap) >>> A victory everywhere in the series
SUPPORT MATCHES
Sunday, May 29, 2022
7:00 p.m.: ASVEL (1) – Cholet (8)
Monday, May 30, 2022
8:00 p.m.: Monaco (2) – Strasbourg (7)