Monaco (AFP)
Monaco had Thursday a great reaction of pride in front of its audience and against the Asvel, winning 97 to 62, in the final of the Championship of France basketball, after losing the first two acts in Villeurbanne.
At 2-1, the suspense is revived in this series to the best of five rounds, the fourth will take place in the Principality on Saturday (20:30) and the eventual "beautiful" next Tuesday in the Rhone.
On the floor, the turnaround was complete compared to the first two meetings mastered by Asvel against a "Roca Team" not at the level of what she had shown since the arrival of Serbian coach Sasa Obradovic in of the winter.
Worn by the American Dee Bost (14 points in the first half, 23 at the end of the match), the Monegasques flew away in the second quarter (30-13) to reach the break with 22 points ahead. After the break, the Villeurbaneans quickly resigned, preserving their influx for the future.
For Monegasques, it was essential to show a face more in keeping with their standing. They had already started in the last quarter of match 2 at the Astroballe, but a little too late to return the situation.
In Gaston-Médecin, we found Paul Lacombe (12 points) and Yakuba Ouattara (11 points), the Bosnian pivot Elmedin Kikanovic (13 points) and generally the aggressive and inspired team that was almost untouchable between end February and the final (only one defeat, in Villeurbanne, end of April in regular season, of a small point).
"We had two really bad games, we knew we had to fight more, everyone had played badly, but tonight we regained confidence," said Bost at the microphone of RMC Sports.
As for the Asvel, only the pivot Miro Bilan, discreet during the victories, has floated (14 points) with Amine Noua (12 points). The Americans are completely missing (13 points to them five).
"It was not us, we were unrecognizable tonight, we have to remobilize and come back with the same intensity as in the first two games," admitted Noua.
It remains to be seen if the wind has turned durably. In any case, Villeurbanne will be wary. In 2016, the club chaired by Tony Parker had won his last title (the eighteenth) after losing the first two games against Strasbourg. The Roca Team remains undefeated at home under the leadership of Obradovic, eleven wins in eleven games.
? 2019 AFP