Roca team’s winning run halted after second half collapse in Israel

AS Monaco Basketball collapsed spectacularly in the Euroleague fourth quarter against Tel Aviv on Tuesday, succumbing to their first loss of the season (78-70).

It looked like smooth sailing for the Roca team. Sasa Obradovic’s men have looked arrogant since the start of the season and have risen to the top of the Betclic Elite and his Euroleague table. The stars in the first half looked lined up for another win and all the ingredients were there. Jordan Lloyd (21) had the shot and Mike His James (15) scored the points, but more importantly the play was building and the defense was aggressive and resilient.

When Ellie Okobo hit a three-pointer at the buzzer during possession of the buzzer in the third quarter to give Monaco a huge 13-point lead (59-46), who could have predicted what would happen next? There were hardly any.

Maccabi shot 15 unanswered points to give the Israeli side the lead (61-59), completely switching the momentum of a game that seemed to be drifting towards an entirely different conclusion. The barrage wasn’t over, and although the Roca team managed to rediscover the flow of the attack to some extent, it couldn’t stop the scoreboard ticking on the other side.

From seven points into the final quarter, Maccabi walked away with an eight-point victory (78-70), ending Monaco’s seven-game winning streak and teaching the principality a valuable lesson.

“We lost cohesion,” Lloyd said. “The intensity of our defense has dropped, we’ve made a lot of small mistakes and we’ve been reminded that we have to stay level for 40 minutes. We’re going to bounce back.”

Monaco’s second-half collapse branded the loss as “unacceptable” given the state of the game at halftime, but he believes his team’s recent trip is a potential mitigating factor. increase.

“It’s not easy to explain the second half,” said Obradovic. “There’s nothing scary about losing to Maccabi. But it’s unacceptable to dominate the first half like this and completely change your performance in the second half and have no more organization or attacking plan.” Laurent two days ago You can talk here about Paris at Garros, or about a long 14-hour flight, it can contribute to certain things, but it exempts you from performing well. It’s nothing.”

The Roca team will soon have to forget this defeat as they face another arduous journey to face Panathinaikos in Greece on Friday before hosting the Bourgeon Breath at Sarr Gaston Medosin on Sunday.

Photo by AS Monaco Basket