To return to the Final Four of the Euroleague after last year’s feat, the Roca Team will have to win away. And not just anywhere. This Wednesday evening (7:45 p.m.), Monaco travels to Istanbul to face Fenerbahçe for the third time in the quarter-final.
After two first matches in their Gaston-Médecin venue which ended in a defeat and a victory, the Monegasques must win at least one of the two matches in Turkey, the second scheduled for Friday, in order to snatch a victory at home. “This match is going to taste blood,” said coach Sasa Obradovic.
Facing the 2017 European champions, Monaco initially did not make their task easy by losing in the first match last Wednesday. Well ahead with five minutes remaining, the Roca Team finally had to play overtime before losing (91-95). With their backs to the wall, Sasa Obradovic’s men were able to react in match 2 two days later by winning (93-88) at the end of a match that they had initially mastered before giving up in the last two quarter time. But the scenario of match 1 did not repeat itself and here the Monegasques and the Istanbulites have a victory everywhere with this third match.
At Fener, Monaco hopes to regain the success it had at the time of Jordan Loyd’s victorious three-point shot at the end of the match on Friday. “Beyond this basket, there is a state of mind and a positivity that it brings,” assures pivot Mama Jaitey. “He’s a leader, he wants to win and knows how to win, we need that. »
Of these two matches in the boiling Ülker Sports Arena, Monaco has the obligation to win at least one if it wants to repeat last year’s performance, when the Roca Team allowed French basketball to return to the Final Four of European competition, 26 years after the last team from our championship. A victory on Wednesday would at least guarantee him a decisive match in Monaco, unless he strings together two victories in Turkey to qualify directly.
But the task will not be easy. In three trips to Istanbul over the last three regular Euroleague seasons, Monaco has never won. Last December, Fenerbahçe left their opponents no chance by winning by twelve points (86-74). For the Roca Team, Mike James will need to regain his skill which he lost during match 2, scoring only eight points, his lowest total this season in the Euroleague.
But the Monegasques have other arguments and will be able to count on Mouhammadou Jaiteh in defense but also on Jordan Loyd and his experience as NBA champion with Toronto. “He is a leader through his behavior,” greets his coach. He, like his teammates, hopes to be supported by the American leader.
