The Roca Team has just registered their fourth consecutive victory in French national competition against Limoges.
Despite their disappointing elimination from the EuroCup, Monaco appears to be doing better. Saso Filipovski’s men have confirmed a resurgence of form, already perceptible against Nanterre and Fos-sur-Mer, with a victory against Limoges CSP (62-59) on Tuesday. Monaco came out triumphant in a close match in the Coupe de France round of 16.
With only 35% shooting success, Limoges struggled to find solutions. Monaco let them hang in the game, however, with some clumsy play of their own, only shooting 37%. Nevertheless, they largely dominated the boards (generating 50 shots against Limoges’ 30) and their presence in the paint ended up paying off.
The second half proved key
Down 31-39 at half-time following an underwhelming second quarter (10-18), the Roca Team made the necessary changes in their play after the break. This helped them to largely take over the match (18-10 in the third quarter) and hold on to their small lead through the end. The cushion was especially necessary since the CSP went into crunch time with a succession of stops or poorly negotiated possessions, failing to find their way through the opposing defense despite an 18 point performance from Dwight Hardy. On the Roca Team side, Eric Buckner finished with 16 points and 7 rebounds.
Coach Filipovski had these words after the match: “Congratulations to my players. They defended well and put in a lot of energy. This is an important victory for our confidence. The fans were great, thank you to them.”
The excitement was palpable inside the Gaston-Médecin arena after this success. It was the team’s fourth consecutive win in the national competitions. Next up, the Roca Team will play the Coupe de France quarter-finals on March 16th at Trélazé.
Article originally published on the French edition of the Monaco Tribune.