Euroleague Final Four | Monaco eliminated in the semi-final by Olympiakos (76-62)

Monaco went from dream to nightmare in ten minutes. The Roca Team lost to Olympiakos in the Euroleague semi-final (76-62) despite an almost perfect first half, but the 27-2 conceded in the third quarter was fatal to Sasa’s men Obradovic. The Monegasques will therefore not become the second French club to reach the Final Four final and will have to settle for the match for 3rd place against Barcelona, ​​beaten in the second half by Real Madrid (66-78). Casa Blanca will find the Greeks in the final in search of a fourth European title.

Twenty six years ! It has been twenty-six years since a French club reached the semi-finals of the Euroleague. Thirty that no formation of the hexagon had reached the final and it will be necessary to wait a little longer. Monaco, however, believed in it during the first twenty minutes of the match until they led by twelve points at half-time. Then, the sky simply fell on their heads.

With eight finals to their credit before the match, Olympiakos appeared to be the big favorite for the semi-final against a novice Roca Team at this level of the competition. However, the Monegasques, aggressive in defense and lethal in attack thanks to the speed and skill of their James-Loyd-Okobo trio, immediately jostled the timorous Greeks. At the break, the Frenchman was at 6 points when the two American backs led the boxscore with 13 and 9 points respectively. If Okobo and James finished the game at 17 units, Loyd will have scored only two points in the second half.

27-2 in the third quarter…

The former player of Red Star Belgrade and Zenit was like his team, picked cold, and the word is too weak, by the five of Olympiakos after the break conceding a terrible (27 -2) in the third quarter. In ten minutes, Monaco’s hopes of the final evaporated before the Greek steamroller who scored almost as many points there as during the entire first half (29). In three minutes and one (14-0) passed, the triple winner of the Euroleague was already ironed in front. If Moustapha Fall found the consistency of the racket, the gunners of Piraeus found the target, going from a success rate behind the arc of 42.9% in the first quarter and 20% in the second to 60% in the third. On the Monegasque side, everything that had made it possible to widen the gap disappeared with the snap of a finger and only a dunk from Okobo in transition made it possible not to finish fanny.

Sasa Obradovic’s men finally finished the game with a 47-21 conceded. The slap is violent but it is the hard learning of a club which is playing the Euroleague for only the second time. Best team of the regular season, Olympiakos, whose more than 5,000 supporters will have blown up the Žalgirio Arena, will reach the final for the ninth time. It is the weight of history that the Roca Team has not been able to reverse.