Oleksiy Yefimov: “The Euroleague final makes us even hungrier for next season”
Oleksiy Yefimov, AS Monaco Basket managing director © AS Monaco Basket
In an interview with TVMonaco’s Roca Sphère, the managing director of AS Monaco Basket gave a mixed assessment of a historic but trophy-less season, while setting out his ambitions for 2025-2026.
Oleksiy Yefimov makes no secret of his disappointment: for the first time since 2021-2022, Monaco are ending the season with a “blank slate”, without a trophy to their name. However, the managing director refuses to talk about total failure. “It was an intense, interesting and difficult season. It was also historic because we reached the Euroleague final for the first time,” he points out.
The European campaign was a stellar one: finalists in the Euroleague despite a budget ranked only 9th or 10th out of 18 participating teams, AS Monaco Basket proved that it could compete with the European giants. “Being the second-best team in Europe is no mean feat,” says Yefimov.
The final marathon: fatigue or lack of experience?
The end of the season was tough: 12 matches in 26 days after the Final Four in Abu Dhabi. But Yefimov won’t hear of it: “We don’t want to make excuses. From the start, we knew that if we were to go all the way to the Euroleague, we’d have to play over 19 games.”
The defeat against Paris Basketball in the Betclic Élite final (3-2) is a particularly bitter pill. The Roca Team had come back from being 0-2 down, but losing games at Bourg and Chalon in the build-up to the Final Four cost them the home advantage.
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Vassilis Spanoulis, the man of the moment
Vassilis Spanoulis’ arrival mid-season transformed the team. “When Spanoulis came in and coached the team, we all realised that we needed to tighten things up in certain positions. That was what we were missing,” explains Yefimov.
He brushes aside questions about the Greek coach’s lack of experience: “When we brought Vassilis into our project, we weren’t just bringing in a coach. If you ask any player who has been coached by him, they’ll all say the same thing: he’s an inspiration.”
Mike James stays, the mercato gets underway
As for the future of Mike James, who was suspended during the play-offs, Yefimov is reassuring: “As the chairman says, we are a family and in a family you will always find common ground. Mike isn’t leaving us.”
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The club has already announced the arrival of Kevarrius Hayes from Paris. Other reinforcements are expected, although negotiations with Nicolas Mirotic are still ongoing.
A bigger Euroleague, an additional challenge
Next season promises to be even busier with the arrival of Valencia and Dubai in the Euroleague, meaning four extra games and ten double weeks. “There will be new destinations, and we’ll be spending even more time on the plane than this season,” Yefimov says.
Despite only being invited for one year (compared to five for Dubai), the Managing Director remains confident: “Monaco believes that we deserve more than just an invitation. We need to be an integral part of the Euroleague and its family.”
The aim for 2025-2026 remains the same: to finally win that first European title that has so far eluded the Roca Team.