Monaco resists Paris Basketball and wins at Roland-Garros
In front of 10,000 spectators standing 15 seconds from the buzzer, Paris Basketball was one possession away from overthrowing Monaco and punctuating the reunion between the orange ball and Roland-Garros with a feat. But a risky transmission between Axel Toupane and Kyle Allman was stolen by Elie Okobo to send Mike James to the circle and pinch the match on Philippe-Chatrier (91-95).
Between the leader of Betclic Elite – alone in charge with five victories in five days – and the players of the capital club, always fanny and last with Le Portel, the poster seemed unbalanced. But for the premiere of their coach Will Weaver, the Parisians held up. In a rough start to the match on both sides, Tyrone Wallace (18 points) widened the first gap of the match in favor of Paris with an award-winning basket (28-18, 14th).
But the Monegasque awakening was brutal: a 10-0 in just over a minute to equalize (28-28, 16th) on an acrobatic action from Jordan Loyd (11 points). In the ropes, Paris took advantage of the speed of Juhann Begarin on quick play to stay in the match (39-40, 20th). Back from a shoulder injury, the young winger is close to his career points record (28, against 29 against Nanterre last season).
Seven wins in seven matches for Monaco
His efforts weren’t enough after the break. Worst defense of the elite, Paris confirmed its shortcomings in the sector by offering a wagon of open shots behind the arc to the players of the Rock, converted by Adrien Moerman (17 points, 5 out of 6 from three points) to finally detach the Roca Team (57-66, 27th). Still eight points behind in the middle of the last quarter (78-86, 34th), Will Weaver’s team ignited their kop present in the stands with an award-winning basket from Axel Toupane (14 points, 6 rebounds, 5 passes) then two lightning counter-attacks concluded by the same Toupane and Begarin (90-91, 38th).
But the first then missed the opportunity to pass in front and Mike James (29 points, 9 assists) gave the Monegasques some air before a counter from Alpha Diallo on Toupane then a Decisional interception from Okobo. Sole leader of Betclic Elite, Monaco will return to the Euroleague on Tuesday (8:05 p.m.) on the floor of Maccabi Tel-Aviv. At stake: an eighth straight win in a smooth start to the season.