Against Limoges, the Roca Team didn’t mess around in securing a victory with a 38-point lead. They are back to winning at home in the Betclic Elite (94-56). Taking a twenty-point lead from the start, Sasa Obradovic’s men showed a lot of focus to keep pushing throughout the 40 minutes.
For this advanced match of the 32nd day of Betclic Elite, the Roca Team welcomed CSP Limoges to its home court, Gaston-Médecin. There was a firm intention of regrouping as a team, since ASM was coming off two consecutive defeats on the national stage. As for Limoges, they came off a magnificent buzzer-beating victory at home against SQBB.
Monégasque coach Sara Obradovic decided to rest two key players, Jordan Loyd and Donatas Motiejunas. Mohammad Amini is on the roster. Monaco’s starting five consists of Mike James, Matthew Strazel, Jaron Blossomgame, John Brown III, and Mam Jaiteh. The tip-off is won by Mam Jaiteh, and the game is on!
Clearly, the Roca Team started this match on the right foot. The lead already rose to twenty for the Roca Boys! (22-2). Despite this very serious start from Sasa Obradovic’s men, Limoges CSP manages to limit the damage. By finding their outside shooting touch again, Ugolin and his teammates string together a 9-2 run that reduced the Monégasque lead at the end of the first quarter (24-11).
The Second Quarter
To kickstart Monaco in the second half, Alpha Diallo led the charge and Elie Okobo was also on fire! The Roca Team was up by +13 in the heart of this second quarter. MJ pressed the accelerator and sent Strazel to finish, before taking the explosive three-pointer himself! And with a midrange shot immediately after, the gap widened in favour of Monaco at halftime (47-24).
The Second Half
Back from the locker rooms, Mike James and John Brown III led the charge, with drives to the basket and resulting free throws (53-28). In the paint, the Jaiteh-Brown III duo works well, combining inside. With free throws and lay-ups, Elie Okobo further increased his scoring total, bringing his tally to 17 points in the middle of this 3rd quarter. On the other side of the court, the Monégasque defense is sharp. Nothing gets through, and Limoges struggles to create real quality shooting opportunities. All alone at the zero angle, Donta Hall punishes this much too large space in his eyes with the bucket! Limoges calls a timeout (66-40). All that was missing was some flashes of brilliance from Yakuba Ouattara to make the celebration perfect. And it’s done with a three-point shot from the captain of the Roca Team! (69-40).
Focus until the end! Back on the court, it’s again Elie Okobo who did the job. Another basket in contact and then again the signature step-back, and there’s number 0 with 25 points (75-46)! Unfortunately, this high-flying performance must stop there for the French international. An unsportsmanlike foul, which added to a first technical foul conceded, and it’s the disqualifying one… Elie Okobo had to leave the court after this excellent performance. To finish delighting the spectators present at Gaston-Médecin in this large victory of ASM, Donta Hall aggressively put the lid back on with the offensive rebound, before slamming another dunk (79-51). The end of the game doesn’t change the script.
The Roca Team prevailed after a very serious match in front of their home crowd.
Sasa Obradovic (Roca Team coach): “With this kind of match, we have to understand that it’s the beginning of our playoffs. Considering what awaits us at the end of the season, it’s important for us to stay confident, to maintain this rhythm that allows us to play at our best level….”
