AS Monaco commenced a pivotal week with several key players unavailable, including Daniel Theis, Elie Okobo, Terry Tarpey, Nemanja Nedovic, and Nikola Mirotic. Juhann Begarin was also sidelined for various reasons. Adding to the challenge, Mike James was ejected after receiving two consecutive technical fouls, limiting his playing time to just over 11 minutes.
Despite these setbacks, Monaco held a commanding lead for much of the game. Alpha Diallo was exceptional, scoring 26 points, grabbing 5 rebounds, and dishing out 2 assists. Most remarkably, Yssam Moungalla saw significant court time, playing an astonishing 39 minutes. Two other young prospects, Mantas Laurencikas (29 minutes) and Maxim Klitschko (18 minutes), also played substantial roles, demonstrating the team’s depth and adaptability.
In light of Monaco’s circumstances, ASVEL’s inability to dominate the match is noteworthy. It was only in the final moments that ASVEL secured the victory, largely due to the performance of Shaquille Harrison, who contributed 23 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists.
Monaco is facing a potentially grueling schedule of up to four games in seven days. Following their encounter with ASVEL, they are set to play Panathinaikos in Athens for the Euroleague play-in. A loss in that game would give them a second chance to qualify for the playoffs at home against either Barcelona or Crvena Zvezda Belgrade on Friday. This crucial playoff decider comes less than 24 hours before they compete in the French Cup final against Le Mans in Paris-Bercy, a schedule of unprecedented intensity.
