After the very difficult defeat against Red Star Belgrade on Tuesday, the Monegasques washed away the insult by winning (87-75) on the floor of the Spaniards of Vitoria.
Despite a gap in the third quarter, AS Monaco Basketball won on the floor of Vitoria on Thursday (87-75), during the 10th day of the Euroleague and raised its head after its setback against Red Star Belgrade. While the defeat at home on Tuesday (98-90) had caused the “shame” of coach Sasa Obradovic, the latter can be reassured not to have seen his team break down in the face of the awakening of the Basque club, a time transformed upon returning from the locker room.
Vitoria, whose record now increases to six defeats for four wins, was trailing 47-24 at the break, and managed at the end of the third quarter to come back to six short lengths (61-55). A comeback then destroyed by Monaco which finally achieved its sixth success of the European season and moved up to 8th place while waiting for the rest of the day.
James and Okobo top scorers
The hardest part was partly done during an excellent first period. Thanks in particular to a good three-point skill (4/7) and a flawless free throw (6/6), the Rocher players took off at the end of the first quarter (24-7) before widening their gap by 25 units in the second, facing the Spanish side for a long time (7/19 to two points, 1/12 to three). The latter, pushed by their supporters at the Buesa Arena, then began their fantastic comeback, with 31 points scored in 10 minutes while the Roca Team showed clumsiness.
Finally, Elie Okobo, second best Monegasque scorer (15 points, 4/5 on free throws) gave his team some fresh air, when Mike James also came to greatly add his stone to the building of this sixth success (16 pts, 4/4 on free throws, six rebounds, seven assists). AS Monaco basketball will return home in the Euroleague next Thursday against Asvel.
In the meantime, it will host Le Mans on Sunday. In the championship, the club remains sanctioned with one victory less for failure to achieve financial transparency and fairness. A sanction pronounced at the end of August and confirmed on appeal by the French Basketball Federation this week.
Senegal
