The AS Monaco Roca Team played some great basketball on their way to a 91-75 victory against Red Star Belgrade in EuroCup competition.
Wednesday night, Monaco went to Belgrade with a mission: take over first place in EuroCup Group A. Mission accomplished as the team came back with a solid win (91-75). Following a fairly even first half that saw Belgrade go into halftime leading 45-44, Monaco took control in the third quarter. The Roca Team outscored the home team 32-17 after the break and never looked back. Red Star could not overcome the deficit. It was their first loss at home this season.
Impressions from the floor
Monaco opened the match in a dream-like fashion scoring 18 points in four and a half minutes of play. The team continued attacking the basket, imposing themselves with dunks from Kikanovic and Yakuba to set the tone.
In spite of their rebounding troubles (37 for Belgrade against 24 for Monaco), the Roca Team was able to rely on their shooting (53.3% on the night). Derek Needham provided an excellent performance (21 points, 5/8 from the three-point line), and he had great support from Paul Lacombe ( 16 points on 6/12 shooting, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals). Elmedin Kikanovic finished the night with 17 points, and Yakuba Ouattara also contributed 16 points to the Monégasque win.
Leaders of Group A
The Principality’s team now finds themselves at the top of their group, with one more W than Red Star. Three matches remain in the group phase.
Coach Sasa Filipovski had this to say after the match: “I am very happy for my players. They deserve congratulations. Despite missing some players due to injury, they put in a fantastic performance.”
A complete rundown of the night’s stats
Belgrade : 30 for 60 shooting (8/27 from 3-pts), 37 rebounds (Faye, 8), 19 assists (Ragland, 8), 4 steals, 21 balls lost.
Scorers : Baron (14), Ragland (12), Dobric (9), Faye (6), Zirbes (6),Perperoglou (6), Covic (3), Davidovac (4), Ristic (2).
Monaco : 32 for 60 shooting (9/19 from 3-pts), 18 from 23 from the free-throw line, 24 rebounds (Lacombe 6, Jones 5), 22 assists (Needham 6, Lacombe 6), 13 steals, 8 balls lost.
Scorers : Needham (21), Kikanovic (17), Hummer (9),Simanic (4), Ojo (4), Barry (3), Simanic (4), Ojo (4), Loubaki, Joseph.