Eurocup: the feat of Monaco, which won its first European title by beating Kazan
Temps de lecture : 2 mn 🕗
On Russian soil, AS Monaco went to beat Unics Kazan to win the Eurocup basketball final (86-83). The Principality’s club won the first continental title in its history.
The Roca Team has achieved the feat. In Russia in front of several thousand people committed to the cause of UNICS Kazan, AS Monaco won the basketball Eurocup for the first time in its history thanks to three free throws in the last ten seconds (86-83) . Zvezdan Mitrovic’s men beat the Russian side, confirming the brilliant 89-87 win three days earlier in the home opener.
Monegasque supporters must have had their hearts set on it. To get this title, the ASM trembled and lived an unbreathable last quarter-time against this Russian team, with a budget almost twice as high and the workforce with several players passed through the NBA.
Knight was everywhere
If the score in favor of Monaco for a point at half-time, the trend was reversed at the end of the third set. However, a few minutes later, Mathias Lessort’s teammates managed to overcome a bad patch to once again reverse the dynamics and give themselves a lead of +6. Obviously, under the encouragement of the fans, the gap has further melted, to the point of returning to 79-79.
Fifteen seconds from the end, Jamar Smith threw a chill. Kazan was then leading 83-81. But thanks to a fault obtained by Jaleel O’Brien at ten seconds, then a decisive defensive rebound from Marcos Knight, who was even able to make his prowess fruitful with two more free throws, Monaco has won the right to lift the trophy.
“On the last possession, we had to score! Thank you for everything, the match is over but I can’t believe we won the competition. It’s incredible,” reacted Zvezdan Mitrovic, the club’s coach. of the rock.
Gray still MVP
Even if the offensive figures were undoubtedly insufficient (less than 50% at both points), the Principality club could count on the best player in the semi-finals. Rob Gray finished at the top of the stats sheet (25 points) and was able to demonstrate an almost perfect success in free throws (7/8). Bulgaria international Dee Bost was also valuable, with 14 points. In this final marked by a lot of defensive intensity, Marcos Knight did a lot of good with his twelve rebounds. Especially since John Brown (16 points, 10 rebounds) and Jordan Theodore (15 points, 5 rebounds) were poisons, opposite.
At the dawn of its participation in the prestigious Euroleague next season, Monaco therefore registers the first title of a French club in this competition. Taking into account the old C2, the Saporta Cup, ASM succeeds Limoges, which shone in 1988.
RMC SPORT
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