Aurélie SACCHELLI, Media365, published on Wednesday April 20, 2022 at 9:49 p.m.
Monaco lost 71-54 at Olympiakos Piraeus in Match 1 of the Euroleague quarter-finals, with none of their players breaking the 10-point mark. We will have to do much better in Match 2, which will take place on Friday, still in Greece.
Difficult start for Monaco in the Euroleague play-offs! Roca Team were heavily beaten at regular-season runners-up Olympiakos Piraeus in Match 1 of the best-of-five quarter-finals. The co-leaders of Betclic Elite (with ASVEL and Boulogne-Levallois) lost 71-54 in Greece in an atmosphere of madness. Never since the start of their European campaign have the Monegasques scored so few points, lost so many balls (20) and missed so many free throws (50%). The play-offs are another competition and Sasa Obradovic’s players realized it on Wednesday! Monaco, despite the context, nevertheless managed a good start to the match and led 8-15 at the end of the first quarter. But the Greeks did not tremble for long and quickly equalized (15-15), before signing a 10-0 which allowed them to join the locker room by leading 33-26.
Only 10 points for James and Hall
ASM, then far from being dropped, could hope to return to the recovery, but a 9-0 conceded immediately put them back on the ropes (44-30). Mike James and his teammates failed to return below the ten point mark before the end of the third quarter (50-36, 30th), and the fourth quarter was of the same ilk, with the Greeks who unrolled their basketball and were not worried, thanks in particular to Georgios Printezis (12pts) and Shaquielle McKissic (12pts). Monaco therefore lost this first meeting, the fault in particular of disappointing executives (10pts for Donta Hall and Mike James, the team’s top scorers). Friday will take place Match 2, still in Piraeus, and the Monegasques have an interest in raising their level of play, under penalty of finding themselves at the foot of the wall next Wednesday for Match 3 at Gaston-Médecin.
Monegasque markers: Lee (9), Bacon (2), Westermann (3), Thomas (7), Diallo (6), Motum (5), Motiejunas (2), Hall (10), James (10)
EUROLIGUE (H) / QUARTER-FINALS
Match 1 – Tuesday, April 19, 2022
Milan (ITA) – Anadolu Efes Istanbul (TUR) : 48-64
Barcelone (ESP) – Bayern Munich (ALL) : 77-67
Wednesday, April 20, 2022
Olympiakos Piraeus (GRE) – Monaco (FRA): 71-54
Real Madrid (ESP) – Maccabi Tel Aviv (ISR) : 84-74
