Published on : 19/05/2023 – 19:08Modified : 19/05/2023 – 20:57
Despite a twelve-point lead at half-time, squandered in a nightmarish third quarter, Monaco lost in the semi-finals of the Euroleague basketball against Olympiacos (76-62), for their first participation in the Final Four, Friday in Kaunas, Lithuania.
French basketball will have to be content with having brought a representative back to the last four of the C1 for the first time since Asvel in 1997, but will have to wait to find a successor in Limoges, the last club to have reached the final and to be crowned European champion in 1993.
Read also Monaco in the Final Four of the Euroleague, symbol of a French basketball which takes on colors
ASM, still in the French third division nine years ago and participating in only its second Euroleague season, will try to get on the podium on Sunday against the loser of the other semi-final, disputed in the evening between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid.
A disastrous third half
After winning her two regular season meetings against the Greeks, she lost the double or quits after experiencing a huge air hole in the third quarter (from 41-29 at the break to 43-56) .
She only scored two points (27 conceded), after almost six minutes and on a counterattack.
Faced with the Greeks who returned boosted like their numerous and noisy supporters, more aggressive and who found their game inside (Fall, Vezenkov) and their address outside (three award-winning shots).
Behind by 13 units at the start of the last quarter, she could not catch up even if she stopped the bleeding, falling back below the bar of ten points (55-64) five minutes from the end, a comeback quickly annihilated by Olympiacos (70-57 two minutes from the end).
The Roca Team will be able to remember for the future its first almost perfect period, where it thwarted the Greeks (eight stray balls) by an aggressive defense (eight stray balls) who were not very skilful (4/12 at two points and only 50% on free throws ).
She had gained her 12-point lead after a high-level end to the second quarter.
While Olympiacos was tied at 22-22, Jordan Loyd restarted the Rock machine with an award-winning shot, then Elie Okobo finally returned to his match (5 pts in the last two minutes) and Mike James (13 pts at halftime) put the lid on by returning his three free throws (41-29).
But, like all of ASM, the Monegasque rear triplet died out after the break.
With AFP
