This Wednesday, April 27, the third playoff match between AS Monaco and Olympiakos Piraeus took place at the Salle Gaston Médecin in Monaco.
After a significant victory in Athens last Friday (72-96), AS Monaco fell at home against Olympiakos Piraeus in these EuroLeague quarterfinals (83-87).
Despite a strong start by the Monegasque team (23-19 in the first quarter) made possible particularly by the American point guard Mike James, AS Monaco conceded the second (26-18) and third quarters (26-17) to a Greek team in great form.
This third quarter, crucial in Olympiakos’s victory, was won by the Greek team despite two decisive three-point shots from the American forward Dwayne Bacon (who scored 23 points) that leveled the score (51-51) with 7 minutes left in the quarter.
AS Monaco nonetheless showed, once again, its tenacity and character by winning the fourth quarter (25-16) and giving hope to Monegasque supporters until the end, thanks to two huge three-point shots by the American point guard Paris Lee in the 7th and 8th minute of the quarter to tie the game (77-77) and take the lead (80-79).
Olympiakos Piraeus still managed to secure victory against AS Monaco, thanks in particular to a strong offensive performance by the Greek player Kostas Sloukas (21 points) and the Bulgarian-Greek-Cypriot player Sasha Vezenkov (17 points), as well as a lack of accuracy from the Monegasque players beyond the three-point line (32.1% success rate for three-point shots).
Olympiakos Piraeus thus regains the lead in this series against AS Monaco (2-1). If the Greek team manages to win again on Friday, April 29, at the Salle Gaston Médecin, they will qualify for the EuroLeague Final Four. In case of a Monegasque victory, a final match will need to be played to decide between the two teams in Athens, at the Peace and Friendship Stadium.
