Leaders Cup: Roca Team wins the competition

Monaco struck hard. Very hard. In the Leaders Cup final, the Monégasques left Le Mans no chance, dominating the match from start to finish to claim the trophy with authority.

For the Leaders Cup final, AS Monaco Basketball faced Le Mans Sarthe Basketball. An attractive matchup on paper, but clearly unbalanced. The Manceaux nevertheless approached this meeting with the ambition to pull off an upset. Monaco, for its part, had no intention of leaving any doubt. And very quickly, the message was clear.

From the start, Monaco imposed suffocating defense and a perfectly oiled offense. Mike James and his teammates played correctly, collectively and with intensity. Le Mans suffered, struggled to find solutions, and the gap widened. 30–12 after ten minutes: the final seemed to have already turned.

Le Mans responds, Monaco manages

In the second quarter, the match became more balanced. Le Mans showed a better face, even won the quarter by five points, taking advantage of a slight Monégasque letdown. But Monaco is already managing. The acquired lead allowed the players to control the pace without ever being truly threatened.

At halftime, the score remained one-sided: 53–40 for the Monégasques. Barring catastrophe, the Leaders Cup was already within their grasp.

The acceleration

After the break, Monaco turns up the pressure. The pace intensifies, the systems make the difference, and Le Mans gradually falls apart. Monaco’s game is fluid, spectacular, pleasant to watch but the opposition is clearly not present tonight. End of the third quarter: 76–58. The suspense is gone.

The final quarter looks like long-distance management. The match is settled, rotations continue and the intensity logically drops. Monaco coasts to the final buzzer, without forcing. Final score: (103–79).

Monaco at the top, heading toward Europe

By winning decisively, Monaco enforced the hierarchy and confirmed their favorite status. The Monégasques will now have to display this same mindset and rigor to hope to shine on the European stage. Tonight, in any case, the Leaders Cup clearly fell into the hands of the best team on the court.

Matthieu Brabant