Monaco in poor form beats Asvel, Paris dominates Istanbul

For its first match since the ouster of Serbian coach Sasa Obradovic on Monday, Monaco, with an excellent Elie Okobo, beat Asvel (103-92) on Thursday evening during the 11th day of the Euroleague. This victory allows the Roca Team, now led by the Georgian Manuchar Markoishvili, former assistant to Obradovic, to remain in 7th place, in contact with the first six, directly qualified for the play-offs.

With a gala Elie Okobo (27 points, 34 evaluation), the Monaco team therefore resumed its march forward in its room, where it remained on two consecutive defeats in the Euroleague (against Paris and Belgrade) and a defeat in the championship (against Le Mans). From now on, he will have to continue his convalescence in Athens, against Panathinaikos, on November 29. Asvel, for its part, will host Efes Istanbul, beaten at home by Paris, during this 11th day.

James comes out of his box

During the first quarter, to Maledon’s ten points, the in-form Asvel man responded with ten more from Monegasque Elie Okobo, coming off the bench. But that was not enough for Mike James and his team to take the first step in the lead (20-25, 10th). If Monaco tightened its defense before the break, its chronic deficit in rebounding (19 to 12 for Asvel at half-time), allowed Charles Kahudi’s partners to take the lead halfway through (38-40, 20th).

It was after the break that James (17 points, 7 assists), not in good spirits until then, came out of his box. His seven consecutive points during a nice 10-0 gave Monaco an eight-point lead (48-40, 23rd), a lead that even rose to eleven points with a new basket from its captain (64 -53, 27th). Matthew Strazel (12 points, 4 assists), essential in defense and altruistic, was also important for the Monegasques, who managed to exceed 100 points.

Paris on its momentum wins in Istanbul

Undefeated for more than a month in the Euroleague, Paris Basketball scored a seventh victory in a row Thursday on the floor of Anadolu Efes Istanbul (93-84) during the 11th day of the competition. Launched at full speed in this competition which they are discovering this season, the Parisians now have eight victories for only three defeats and remain installed at the top of the table.

A week after their resounding success in Barcelona (103-87), TJ Shorts’ teammates once again won far from home, among the Istanbulites, winners of the event in 2021 and 2022, who remained on two successes in in a row, away, against Vitoria and Real Madrid but who are struggling at home. The team in good form in recent weeks, both in the league and in Europe, once again dominated the debates, and now has eight victories for only three defeats. The Parisians remain well established at the top of the table and even climb to second place behind Fenerbahçe (nine wins) while waiting for the rest of the 11th day.

Even if Efes Istanbul never fell behind completely during the match, Brazilian Tiago Splitter’s men were in the lead from start to finish, after quickly leading 13-2 at the start of the match. If Efes Istanbul was able to count on the very good game of Frenchman Vincent Poirier (15 points, three rebounds) or the double-double of Elijah Bryant (11 points, 10 assists), it is the star point guard of Paris , TJ Shorts, who emerged as the game’s top scorer thanks to his 21 points and 10 assists.