Shaken by Zalgiris, Monaco still returns with the victory of Lithuania
Monaco had the match in hand before letting Zalgiris ignite the match in the third quarter. But the Roca Team sought victory based on experience at the end of the game, and resumed its march forward in the Euroleague.
Essential victory this evening for Monaco in the Euroleague. After a questionable defeat in overtime on the Partizan floor on Tuesday, the Principality club had to win to maintain a place in the Top. This meant going to win in the Zalgiris Kaunas room, always a complicated mission.
Facing the most skilled three-point team in the competition, the game plan was clear. Although having rotated in the major five for this meeting, Monaco quickly took control. Particularly thanks to an impeccable Jarod Blossomgame on the counter-attack, which improves the opponent’s failures in shooting. But it didn’t last, and the legendary Lithuanian address quickly returned.
But the entries into play of Mam Jaiteh and Petr Cornelie energized La Roca, which took the lead after 10 minutes (19-23). Monaco does not stop there, and presses where it hurts. The impact of Élie Okobo in the 6th man is significant, and allows us to create a gap that is close to ten, even if Kaunas does not give up and survives thanks to his skill in shooting.
The patient Lithuanians tried to eat up their deficit, but lost a few crucial balls which prevented them from really coming back. As often, Mike James carries the attack, takes care of everything, becomes the third best scorer in the history of the Euroleague, and even scores a huge last shot to allow Monaco to return to the locker room with a real gap (37-46), seeming able to come home with victory.
No question for the Zalgiris to surrender so easily, however. Little by little, the Lithuanians are coming back into the match, with an inspired Tomas Dimsa and an exemplary captain Esgaras Ulanovas, who places an extremely important shot to bring his team within two lengths. Then Edmond Sumner equalizes and ignites the room, which explodes when Zalgiris passes in front.
Monaco then completely thwarts, is distressing at the throws, and can consider itself fortunate to be “only” down by two points ten minutes from time (59-57). The match then becomes incredibly tense, with both teams failing to execute properly, and shooting success then drops precipitously on both sides. Time for Mike James to get back into action.
A huge shot to breathe new life, but nothing has been done yet. Kaunas held on, notably thanks to the awakening of Roland Smits, but an omnipresent Alpha Diallo hurt the locals, before Mike James and Okobo put the final point, despite a nice tremor in the throws. 79-83 victory for Monaco, which regains its place in the Top 4. La Roca was scared at times, but the essential is there, and we see the maturity of this group in this type of encounter.
2023-12-08 20:09:07
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