first title ball for Monaco
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Paris (AFP)- Monaco has the opportunity to be crowned French basketball champion for the first time on Wednesday (8:30 p.m.) if it beats Asvel at the Astroballe, where the defensive level of the two teams will be the key to the match.
On Tuesday, the Roca Team took the advantage in the final which opposes the two French teams which were engaged in the Euroleague this season by winning 83 to 80 after a close match.
A victory in the room of his opponent to the twenty titles of champion of France would therefore crown the ASM for the first time and would reward the ambitions of the club which only returned to the elite in 2015.
The victory of the Roca Team on Monday looked very much like a turning point in the series of matches, as long as it was obtained at the end of a disputed meeting, unlike the first two confrontations.
At the end of the match, the two opponents came to the same conclusion: the team that defends the best will win the fourth opposition.
“On Wednesday, the team that makes the most saves will win,” said ASM winger Dwayne Bacon, his team’s top scorer with 19 points, before promoting that the club would be “even more aggressive” in the fourth game.
His coach Sasa Obradovic also praised the “solidity” of his players during the victory on Monday.
Opposite, the leader of Asvel Elie Okobo announced the same color: “It will be tight on Wednesday. Tonight Monaco put 83 points, it will take more stops. This fourth match will be played on the ability to defend well .”
Asvel must be more skilful
But to focus solely on the defensive aspect would be to elude the Villeurbannais’ disastrous three-point address in the defeat on Monday. Only three winning shots were successful out of 22 attempted, far from the address of the Roca Team (9 out of 17).
“It is sure that it is played a little on it”, recognized the Rhone coach TJ Parker.
“We have to admit that we weren’t skilful enough,” confirmed Okobo, who also insisted on the need to “fine-tune the small details” before Wednesday’s meeting.
The record of opposition between the two teams this season does not give him an offense, as long as it shows the little margin they have: Monaco have won four of the seven games played.
Monaco therefore does not have a clear advantage before the match, especially since the Roca Team had been crushed in the heat of the Astroballe in the second match (91-54).
It was by playing with more intensity and taking more rebounds that Asvel had then succeeded. She also took advantage of the premature exit of Monegasque leader Mike James (only six points), sanctioned by the referees.
More altruistic than usual, the former Brooklyn Nets player recorded ten assists on Monday and scored sixteen points. His performance will be the other determining factor for ASM, which has relied heavily on his Euroleague exploits this season.
If Asvel wins on Wednesday, a decisive fifth match will be played on Saturday. Monaco therefore has two possibilities of writing a new line in its history by ending this season with the Elite title.
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