2023-05-19 17:22:00
After qualifying for the EuroLeague Final Four by beating Maccabi Tel-Aviv in the quarter-finals, AS Monaco had an appointment with their history in Kaunas once morest the first of the regular season, Olympiakos and their 5,000 Greek fans present in the Zalgirio Arena. A match to be won of course to allow French basketball fans to dream even bigger.
It smells of powder in Lithuania, a half eagerly awaited by two entire countries with the challenge of a place in the final for the most prestigious title on the continent. On the one hand, Olympiakos and their impregnable collective game carried by the MVP of EuroLeague 2022-23 and potential future player of the Kings, Sasha Vezenkov. AS Monaco will bet on its crazy backcourt but also on Donatas Motiejunas for whom this Final Four at home is particularly close to heart.
During the first half, we see that the match can start on a very defensive basis. Except that Olympiakos is not immediately there: the Greek team makes mistakes, takes few shots from 2-pointers, misses shots and takes mistakes quite quickly at the start of the match. On the other side Monaco hold the right end and keep a certain lead thanks to some big shots from good old Mike James from 9 meters.
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In the second quarter, Monaco raised their tone in defense and despite Shaquielle McKissic, the Athenians continued to make mistakes: many offensive fouls, even more missed shots and they mightn’t pass a ball properly in attack. Bad luck for them the Roca Team stalled a big run before half-time, result: +12 at the break for the Monegasques.
Monaco is twenty minutes away from a grand final. We believe in it, before seriously becoming disillusioned.
From the first minute of the second period, the trend is reversed, and the Roca Team never sees the light of day in the third quarter: she cashes a… 27-2 over the period by Olympiakos, carried by a trio of madness: Sasha Vezenkov, Thomas Walkup, Moustapha Fall. A real “chainsaw massacre” to use the words of David Cozette, the Greeks leaving no respite to the men of the Rock. A proper division that lasted ten minutes: Olympiakos went from -12 to +13 by chaining lay-ups and 3-point banderillas, while opposite Monaco no longer found any offensive solution once morest the intensity of the Greek defense.
There will be no miracles in the final quarter, with Roca Team failing to come closer than seven points midway through the final period.
Final result: 76-62 for Olympiakos. After this big disappointment, AS Monaco have an appointment on Sunday once morest the loser of the second semi-final between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, to still try to finish third in the competition.
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