This pre-Christmas matchup is for all sports fans, and especially those who love Jeep Elite basketball! Tonight, December 23rd (tipoff at 6:30 pm), the Roca Team will host Strasbourg Illkirch-Graffenstaden Basket, a team that has displayed championship potential this season.
The match presents a fantastic challenge for the Roca Boys, who will give their fans the best Christmas gift possible with a win over SIG Basket. A victory is also a crucial component of Monaco qualifying for the Leaders Cup.
SIG Strasbourg is dangerous from several different positions on the floor. Former Monegasque player Ali Traoré is among their ranks and has recently just extended his contract with the Alsatian squad until 2020. The duo of Ali and giant Mustapha Fall (7’2″) is known for their physical dominance in the paint. Managing the two big men will be a major challenge for Elmedin Kikanovic, Jarrod Jones, and Eric Buckner who will have to do their best on the boards to give the Roca Team a fighting chance. Mike Green is also a very competent point guard who will keep Zeek Jones and Derek Needham occupied throughout the match.
Recent performances and lineups
The Roca Team is coming off of an inconsequential loss to Andorra (80-87) in the EuroCup, but won their two prior games convincingly, notably against Galatasaray in the EuroCup (76-71) and Dijon (89-71) in Jeep Elite. They will rotate players without the services of Amara Sy and Gerald Robinson who remain injured. Yakuba Ouattara and Georgi Joseph are on the road to recovery, but will not appear on the floor before next week. Monaco will turn to comeback recruit Ukranian recruit Sergii Gladyr who has had the hot hand since returning to play should provide reinforcement in several slots, and Monaco will hope to have a breakout performance from the very physical Eric Buckner in the post.
SIG has four wins in a row, two in the Jeep Elite (79-62 in Boulazac, 90-81 against Chalon) and two in the BCL (81-73 against Ljubljana, 84-76 in Bayreuth, giving them their historic 100th victory in the European competition). They do not have any major injuries to speak of, and they have recently integrated former NBA player (Washington, Phoenix, Chicago, Boston) Jarell Eddie who is coming off of a good performance against Chalon (22 points on 6 of 8 shooting from three).
Tipoff at 6:30 pm at the Stade Louis-II.