On Monday, May 30, in the Gaston Médecin Hall in Monaco, the third and final match took place between Sasa Obradovic’s AS Monaco and Lassi Tuovi’s SIG Strasbourg. The two teams were tied in these Betclic Elite quarterfinals (1-1).
It was a successful bet for the Monegasque team, which, after a very competitive game, managed to overcome the Strasbourg team (82-80) to pave their way to the semifinals.
Despite the significant score difference at the end of the first half in favor of SIG Strasbourg (29-48), AS Monaco did not give up until the end, pushing for an overtime (72-72 at the end of the second half) thanks, notably, to the American playmaker Mike James (24 points), Lithuanian center Donatas Motiejunas (18 points), and French guard Yakuba Ouattara (13 rebounds – 18 evaluation), who finished as MVP of the match. We can also highlight the good performances of American players Alpha Diallo (13 points – 8 rebounds) and Dwayne Bacon (13 points – 7 rebounds), who actively contributed to the Monegasque victory in the absence of Paris Lee, Donta Hall, and Danilo Andjusic.
As for SIG Strasbourg, they fought to their last breath and came close to eliminating one of the most serious contenders for the 2022 French Championship title. This Strasbourg team was led to the end by a solid quartet composed of playmaker John Roberson (17 points), power forward Amine Noua (14 points), forward Matt Mitchell (12 points), and finally center Yannis Morin (19 points – 10 rebounds – 32 evaluation), who delivered a very strong performance.
AS Monaco is thus qualified for the Betclic Elite semifinals and will face the team of Elan Béarnais Pau-Lacq-Orthez, coached by Frenchman Eric Bartecheky. The first match will be played in Monaco on Thursday, June 2. The first of the two teams to win three games will qualify for the Betclic Elite finals against the winner of the Lyon-Villeurbanne / Dijon series.
