Vassilis Spanoulis opened his adventure with Monaco with a resounding victory in the Euroleague for the European basketball champion, Panathinaikos (91-88).
The Vassilis Spanoulis era ideally began in Monaco, with a victory in the home of European basketball champion Panathinaikos (91-88) on Friday in the Euroleague for the Greek legend's first match at the helm.
The former leader left the OAKA in Athens, where he brought so much joy to the supporters of “Pana” (European title in 2009), with a success which allows the ASM to return to fourth place. place (8 wins for 4 losses) after 12 days.
A success which is also acquired in style by the “Roca Team”, altruistic in attack (26 assists), united in defense and constant for 40 minutes, virtues forgotten in recent weeks with Sasa Obradovic, dismissed on November 18.
The very end of the match is the symbol of this: while the “Pana” had gone back in front on two free throws from Mathias Lessort, author of a double-double (22 pts and 11 rebounds), the ASM took back control (88-86) 31 seconds from the buzzer by a winning shot from Jordan Loyd, offset by Elie Okobo despite being in a good position.
Before the same Okobo, often mocked for his lack of defensive involvement, snatched a ball from Lessort's hands, then allowing Loyd to seal the victory on the free throw line.
Loyd (15 pts and 5 pd), Okobo (14 pts and 5 pd) and Mike James, even in lack of success (6 pts and 10 pd), played in the wake of a sparkling Alpha Diallo (24 pts and 7 pd rbds) the collective partition, defensively in particular, demanded by Spanoulis.
Sometimes forcefully, as when he called in his hoarse voice for his team to offer “better defense” during a timeout at the end of the second quarter.
He was also furious at a defensive oversight by Giorgios Papagiannis on Mathias Lessort (25th) or a fumbled offensive rebound (28th). But he left the floor a winner for his big debut on a Euroleague bench.
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