Baskonia lost to AS Monaco (78-68) and dug their grave. He remains with 11 victories with one game remaining and the Principality and Maccabi team, both with 13, already escape him. The only one left to shoot is Bayern Munich (12) but the Bavarian team has four games left to dispute. In addition, the ACB club has lost the average with the Germans. We would have to dream of triple, quadruple and even quintuple draws with other teams that can reach 12 victories (Alba, Fenerbahçe or Estrella Roja), total entelechy.
The Bitci had the support of some fans who traveled to Monaco but not for those. Midway through the third quarter, he was down 21 points. and then he was unable to come back, although he feigned with it thanks to his second unit. It is true that his basketball has improved considerably, that he had chained four wins in a row and that the expulsion from the Russian clubs had made him dream but, after his time in the Principality, he woke up with a bad face.
Monaco is a land of a lot of money. The idea of the team owners is to invest much more to prevent their stars from packing their bags in the first place. On the other hand, they dream of reinforcing the squad and are already thinking, for example, of the Frenchman Nando De Colo. But, for this, they have to ensure their presence in the next Euroleague and, in case they get into the Top-8, they will already have the passport. Otherwise, they will be forced to get it through the French league. Baskonia have no problems from that point of view since they have an A license and will play next year yes or yes.
The match
Motiejunas started the duel with a triple and, seconds later, he already had 5 points after scoring from mid-range. The main Baskonia player in the early stages was Matt Costello, with two consecutive dunks. The clash started very evenly (7-6, min. 4) but a pat by Enoch placed the Vitorians for the first time in the game (9-10, min. 7). There was a run in favor of Spahija 2-10 and then another against 7-0 thanks to Hall and Lee. At the end of the first installment, a tight 18-19.
Bacon started the second quarter with a 3-pointer but the two teams went back to trading baskets. And that the Basques had failed very clear options with easy shots and hovered the feeling that they should be winning by more difference. Donta Hall was still doing damage in the paint but the balance in the light was obvious. Later, the Monegasque physicist became key and Obradovic’s men began to stretch the rubber (29-23, min. 15). And that Mike James still did not appear in the game and Hall had more minutes than Motiejunas. Those from the Principality finished the second quarter better and went into the break with a 10-point lead.
Second part
The staging after passing through the changing rooms was favorable, again, to Monaco. Halfway through it, there was a 57-36 because the Vitorians continually made mistakes. It was when Granger began to see the hoop from the triple and the difference began to diminish. The third quarter ended with a complicated -12 (61-49). And the epic was the spigot to try to get the glove on the Monegasques.
A triple from the corner by Peters put Baskonia within 7 points (65-58, min. 33) at a time when Granger was the one throwing the team behind his back. At Monaco, Diallo stood out imposing his physique on both sides of the pitch. Although there was a serious hint of a comeback, the locals won and the story was over.