ASVEL and Monaco easy!
Very nice evening for the French clubs this Thursday in Euroleague, with the victory of ASVEL over the co-leader Fenerbahce (91-77) and that of Monaco against the red lantern Milan (101-88). Nando De Colo took the opportunity to become the second best scorer in the history of the competition.
It is rare for ASVEL and Monaco to play at the same time in the Euroleague, and it is even rarer for the two Betclic Elite teams to win at the same time! This Thursday, ASVEL received the co-leader Fenerbahce and Monaco welcomed the red lantern Milan, and they all won quite easily.
Monaco, who have become accustomed to winning at home and losing away from home lately, continued on their stride, beating Milan 101-88 in a game that was almost from start to finish. From the first quarter, the Monegasques had widened a small gap, winning it 29-22, with a 10-3 to finish. Then they led throughout the second, with a four-to-nine point lead, to return to the locker room leading 57-50. But the Italians, delivered by the Frenchman who passed through the NBA Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot (19pts, 3rbds, 3pds in total), came back little by little and ended up equalizing at 70-70 thirteen minutes from the end. A short-lived scare for Roca Team, who finished the quarter with a 10-4, then unrolled their basket in the last quarter, winning 21-14, with a lead that climbed to +16. It is therefore a rather easy victory for the Monegasques, who were able to count on Elie Okobo’s 19 points and 7 passes and on Mike James’ 18 points and 10 passes. Here they are fifth in the standings, one victory behind leaders Real Madrid, before going to the penultimate, Berlin, next week. Now would be a good time to finally win away…
Monegasque markers: Okobo (19), Brown (15), Moneke (3), Loyd (11), Blossomgame (4), Diallo (11), Motiejunas (7), Ouattara (2), Hall (11), James (18)
ASVEL extinguished Fener
ASVEL, penultimate in the standings, had the difficult task of receiving Fenerbahce, which remained on three wins in a row. And she won 91-77 by leading the match from start to finish! The Villeurbannais could say a big thank you to Nando De Colo. Author of 26 points, 9/14 on shots and 4/4 on free throws against his former team, the 35-year-old has become the second best scorer in the history of the Euroleague, ahead of Vasilis Spanoulis, and just nine points behind Nick Galis, who he could therefore overtake in the next game. Driven by its leader, ASVEL delivered an excellent match. She had a near-perfect first quarter, winning 25-12, and that set the tone for the rest of the game. The gap increased to +18 in the second, and it was +15 at halftime (48-33). ASVEL did not crack at all in the second half, still counting around fifteen points ahead throughout the last twenty minutes. The Fener did not exist at the Astroballe! Besides De Colo, rookie Dee Bost was also excellent, with 15 points and 9 assists on the clock. However, ASVEL remains 16th in the standings, three wins from eighth place. Next match: on the Partizan Belgrade floor, where Nando De Colo could write a page of history…
Villeurbannais markers: Noua (5), Bost (15), Kahudi (8), Tyus (8), Risacher (10), De Colo (26), Fall (3), Obasohan (10), Pons (6)