The Monegasques can breathe easy: in an eventful, almost heated match, they ensured victory by winning at the end of the match (86-99). Despite a very good start, nothing was easy, but the Roca Team was able to rely on its impressive collective strength (9 of the 10 players at 9 or more evaluation) to win and return to the level of ASVEL at the top of the Betclic ELITE.
At half-time this Saturday, AS Monaco led by 12 points on the Dijon floor. An already comfortable advantage for the leader? Far from it, as the Monegasques had outclassed their hosts for a quarter of an hour of play. The gap even rose to 22 points (19-41, 17th) but it suddenly disappeared as the break approached. Obviously, the Roca Team did not do everything well in the very last minutes before the break, but above all, the JDA was transformed.
However, until then, there had been no debate. The Monegasques, following their victory in the EuroLeague against Paris Basketball on Thursday, initially excelled on both sides of the field. Élie Okobo did not wait to unlock his counter (2-5, 3rd), Nikola Mirotic was quick to stifle the Dijonnais very early (7-17, 8th), and Monaco took off, making their collective shine. Nothing seemed to go JDA’s way, as Williams Narace went off injured late in the first quarter.
Dijon returned to contact after the break
Rather than lamenting their failed start to the match – or rather a successful one for Monaco -, Laurent Legname’s squad surprisingly appeared uninhibited. A scratched ball here, an easy dunk there… And the leader began to worry, according to his multiple losses of balls. Well helped by Gregor Hrovat and Tariq Owens, 7 points each at half-time, David Holston took on the role of leader of the revolt which suits him perfectly to put Dijon, with a long distance shot, at -10 (33-43, 40th).
And the Burgundians, still deprived of Bibbins, without Narace and soon Holston, also affected after returning from the locker room, came back very close, under the leadership of a very effective Quentin Losser (63-65, 28th). Even NBA legend John Stockton, present in the stands to encourage his son Michael, stood up on an alley-oop concluded by Romain Ducoté (27th), perhaps contemplating the feat.
A calmer finish for Monaco
Monaco let the storm pass, no doubt shivering for a few moments, but ended up reminding us why it was considered one of the best teams in Europe. Suddenly, JDA’s efforts were wiped out, after only a few minutes in the 4th quarter. Physically much superior, bringing into play their crazy collective armada, the Rocher players gave a hell of a push, the same as at the start of the match. And Dijon’s hopes were swept away, in a wild end to the match, by Terry Tarpey, Alpha Diallo and their gang (86-99).
“I think we stayed united, we took on series that went in all directions so it would have been easy to let go but we stayed united and we tried to find the best solutions, commented Matthew Strazel on DAZN after the final buzzer. There were too many lost bullets (18 for Monaco)we gave them too many chances but the main thing is done, we finished the week well. » After two valuable successes against Paris, in the Coupe de France and on the continental scene.
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