The Monaco armada was worried on its floor this Wednesday by revengeful Strasbourg residents. But after a hard-fought match, Sasa Obradovic’s players held on to win the first leg of their Betclic Elite quarter-final (88-84).
Led 16-24 in the first quarter, the Rock club was however badly embarked. He managed to reverse the numbers in the second (23-16) to keep his head above water. Strasbourg, who had finished the first three periods in the lead, was overtaken in the last 12 minutes (25-20).
Decisive Elie Okobo, discreet Mike James
Elie Okobo’s acceleration (17 points in total), decisive, gave the Monegasques the necessary impetus to conclude – under the eyes of NBA star Kevin Durant, at the edge of the field. While repeated onslaughts and solid defense from their opponents left them no respite, the fullback converted his free throws at the most important moment to take the victory, when the SIG was only 3 points away. 20 seconds from the end.
Without him, the shot missed by Jordan Loyd in the last minutes could have been expensive. In the same way as the “turnaround” largely missed by Mike James, discreet over the whole meeting (9 points at 3/0 on shots, 7 ists, 4 lost balls). The Roca Team was able to count on the depth of its workforce to compensate for its discretion, with 19 points from Loyd (5/8 on shots and 14 units from Donatas Motiejunas (4/6).
The prize for best scorer, however, goes to Marcus Keene (22 points at 5/16 on shots), well supported by a Paul Lacombe of the big nights (19 points at 8/13 on shots). It is a real shock that is announced at Rhénus de Strasbourg on Friday, at 6 p.m., for the return match.