On Wednesday, June 15th, AS Monaco traveled to Villeurbanne to face the ASVEL team (1st in the regular season) for the first game of the Betclic Elite Finals. The Monaco team made it to the Finals by defeating SIG Strasbourg in the quarterfinals (2-1) and Élan Béarnais Pau-Lacq-Orthez in the semifinals (3-1). On the other hand, the Villeurbanne team won the quarterfinals against Cholet (2-1) and then the semifinals against JDA Dijon (3-0).
AS Monaco began the series in the best possible way by securing a first victory away at the Astroballe, with a score of 74 to 82.
To win this match, the Monaco team could rely on the American power forward Will Thomas (12 points – 7 rebounds – 15 evaluation), who was named MVP of the game, as well as the French center Jerry Boutsiele (6 points – 100% shooting success – 11 evaluation), who delivered strong defensive pressure. Special mention goes to American players Dwayne Bacon (13 points – 5 rebounds), Alpha Diallo (16 points), and Mike James (17 points – 6 rebounds – 5 assists) who also contributed to their team’s victory.
On the ASVEL side, it was the French shooting guard Elie Okobo (17 points – 6 rebounds), accompanied by his American teammates David Lighty (13 points) and Chris Jones (12 points), who tried to hold the fort against a highly performing Monaco team.
After Charles Kahudi and Victor Wembanyama were ruled out for these Betclic Elite Finals, it was the turn of ASVEL’s American point guard Chris Jones to exit with an injury (left knee) with 1 minute left in the game. At this point, it is unknown whether he will play again in this series against the Roca Team.
AS Monaco thus takes the lead in the Betclic Elite Finals (1-0). The next game in this series will take place on June 17th at the Astroballe.
