Monaco puts their feet on the ground at Baskonia
Howard and Thompson are not enough in the final reaction of AS Monaco, which cools the Basque improvement after beating Real Madrid
MADRID, 10 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Cazoo Baskonia fell (93-102) against AS Monaco on matchday 28 of the Regular Phase of the Euroleague held this Thursday at the Fernando Buesa Arena, after an even match that brought the good form of a Basque team to a halt. that he competed until the end and that he is once again falling out of the fight for the ‘Top 4’.
The team led by Joan Peñarroya could not take advantage of the positive momentum of their victory on Tuesday at the WiZink Center against Real Madrid against a Monaco team that proved superior at the decisive moment. The Basque team (15/14) could not make their home a fortress, where they had only lost two of their thirteen games played, against Barça and Olympiacos.
The good work of Markus Howard (20 points), who was once again the player he always was, and of Darius Thompson (20 and 12 assists) was not enough to stop the superb performance of Jordan Loyd (19), Elie Okobo (18) and Alpha Diallo (17) for a Monegasque team (10/19) that rises to third place in the top continental competition.
Thus, with the same quintet that gave them results in Madrid, the Basque team took to the court with the idea of imposing a high rhythm of play that they endorsed from the line of three. Two triples from Vanja Marinkovic and another two from Darius Thompon opened the way against an visiting team that had a hard time keeping up throughout the first quarter (28-23).
Without giving up an iota of intensity, the local team again showed their scoring power in the second ten minutes. However, the appearance of Jordan Loyd and Donta Hall turned the tables on a game that turned to the visiting side. Although Markus Howard threatened to reappear with his mid-distance shot, the success of three of those from the Principality and his great defensive solidity ended up closing the fourth (47-52).
Even so, the return to the changing rooms seemed to reactivate a Baskonia that once again became strong with its outside shot. A three-pointer from Hommes with four minutes to go tied the game again, while Howard immediately returned the advantage to his team. But Monaco, who did not give up on their efforts either, with Hall doing damage from the paint, held on with a superb end of the third quarter that allowed them to go ahead by the minimum (73-74).
With everything to be decided, a triple by Dani Díez from the corner and another by Diallo on the next play marked the start of a frantic last quarter. However, it was Howard once again who came out to the rescue of a Baskonia that threw in the rest for the victory. The American’s three-pointer with two minutes to go to make it 91-87 seemed to mark the outcome of the clash for the locals, but the impetus in attack from Moneke and Okobo finished doing the rest for a Monaco that no longer let victory slip away. Two consecutive three-pointers with a minute to go and a solid offensive rebound were the keys to a Monaco that once again left its credentials.
DATASHEET.
–RESULT: CAZOO BASKONIA, 93 – MONACO, 102. (47-52, at halftime).
–EQUIPMENT.
CAZOO BASCONY: Thompson (20), Marinkovic (14), Giedraitis (9), Hommes (7) and Kotsar (11) — starting quintet–; Howard (20), Heidegger (4), Costello (-), Enoch (5), Ten (3), Sedekerskis (-) and Kurucs (-).
MONACO AS: James (-), Loyd (19), Okobo (18), Ouattara (2) and Strazel (2) — the starting quintet — Diallob (17), Hall (15), Moneke (14), Brown (15). 5), Blossomgameb (2), Motiejunas (8) and Makoundou (-).
–PARTIALS: 28-23, 19-29, 26-22, 20-28.
–REFEREES: Lottermoser, Belosevic and Petek. Eliminated Hommes for fouls.
–PAVILION: Fernando Buesa Arena.