To kick off what promises to be a busy month of March, Monaco rediscovered their colors in the Euroleague by signing a 16th victory against Maccabi Tel Aviv (86-67) which allows them to stay in contact with the top three.
Monaco has moved forward. Beaten on the floor of FC Barcelona last week, the club from the Principality emerged victorious from their duel with Maccabi Tel Aviv as part of the 26th day of the Euroleague. A meeting that Sasa Obradovic’s players could probably not have started better. Thanks in particular to Mike James (12 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists), the “Roca Team” inflicted on the Israeli formation a 14-2 in just under four minutes. This initial difference of twelve points then fluctuated to reach a maximum of fourteen units then fell back to only seven thanks to the efforts of Wade Baldwin IV (17 points, 6 rebounds).
However, it was Monaco who finished the strongest to conclude this first quarter with a lead of thirteen lengths. What Maccabi Tel Aviv responded with a 10-0 from the start of the second. A series that completely revived the match and somewhat froze the Salle Gaston-Médecin. A 6-0 concluded by Roman Sorkin (9 points) just under two minutes from the break allowed the Israeli club to equalize. Jordan Loyd (18 points) then found the target from long distance to allow ASM to take the lead by three units at halftime.
✅️ Superb home victory of the #RocaTeam 🇲🇨 resilient to finally take over the @MaccabitlvBC ⚔️
Monaco returns to the top 4️⃣ of@EuroLeagueperfectly launched to start a series at home 🏠 pic.twitter.com/p2pt0ztYOu
— AS Monaco Basket 🇲🇨 (@ASMonaco_Basket) March 2, 2023
Monaco untouchable in the last quarter
Back on the floor, the two teams went blow for blow but it was Monaco who continued to race in the lead. However, it only lasted eight minutes, when John DiBartolomeo (5 poonts) slammed a three-point shot to give Maccabi Tel Aviv the lead for the first time of the game before reaching the final ten minutes with a margin of a small point thanks to Lorenzo Brown (7 points). But, for the teammates of former Strasbourg player Bonzie Colson (16 points, 6 rebounds), the last quarter saw Monaco completely let go.
Alpha Diallo (11 points), Elie Okobo (11 points, 5 rebounds) and Dona Hall (12 points, 10 rebounds) made the defense of Maccabi dizzy, which conceded a 15-0 in the space of a little more than five minutes. After responding with two three-point shots from Darrun Hilliard (7 points) and Bonzie Colson, the Tel Aviv club conceded a 10-0 that put an end to the suspense. Monaco wins by 19 lengths (86-67) and starts a month of March with an overloaded calendar on a good note. Indeed, the “Roca Team” is taking another step towards the Euroleague play-offs and is not letting the leading trio escape.
