Euroleague (M/Quarter): Monaco heavily beaten in Greece

Monaco loses heavily to Olympiakos

For the first match of their quarter-final, Monaco was defeated by Olympiakos (91-70) on the court. The Roca Team will have to bounce back in two days, still in Greece.

A harsh reality check for the Monégasques. After winning the French Cup against Le Mans on Saturday, Mike James’s teammates traveled to Greece on Tuesday to face Evan Fournier’s Olympiakos. Despite a strong performance from the Roca Team’s point guard (19 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists) and a first-quarter lead (19-20), Monaco completely collapsed afterwards. Before halftime, the Principality club conceded a 10-0 run, leaving the Greeks in the lead (45-36). Extending their advantage to 16 points after the break, Piraeus’ club was collectively strong, relying on Sasha Vezenkov (20 points, 8/14 shooting). On the other hand, Monaco struggled to find the necessary accuracy: 14.8% shooting from three points.

Monaco overwhelmed and facing the challenge

Terry Tarpey (8 points, 4 assists) clearly analyzed the situation with TV Monaco. “In terms of energy, intensity, and focus, we were not at our best. Fortunately, we have a second chance here on Thursday. We will have to give it 100% and improve a lot of things. Today (Tuesday), we hesitated as soon as we started missing shots,” detailed the small forward. The end of the match did not reassure the Monégasques, as they saw the score widen (up to a 24-point difference). Fournier’s band (13 points, 7 rebounds) logically won by 21 points before facing Monaco again in two days. This Thursday (8 pm) Markoishvili’s men, who led 4-0 in the last meetings against Olympiakos, will have to find the necessary energy to defeat the Greek club. A third match is scheduled on May 5th (7:45 pm) in Monaco, hoping that the Roca Team has equalized in this series.

This Tuesday, Fenerbahçe defeated the Lithuanian club Zalgiris Kaunas (89-78), despite Sylvain Francisco’s 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 6 assists. As for the Turkish side, Nando De Colo was more discreet with 4 points, 1 rebound, and 4 assists. Finally, Valencia lost at home to Panathinaikos (67-68).