Roca Team topple ASVEL on their own turf in dying minutes
Mike James, unstoppable with the Roca Team © AS Monaco Basket
The Monegasques managed to win at ASVEL on the fourth day of the championship after a thrilling match.
The LDLC Arena hosted an exciting show late on Sunday afternoon between the two major Betclic Elite clubs. Trailing by 15 points at the break after a difficult first quarter, the Roca Team managed to completely turn things around to win (98-102) and join their opponents at the top of the league.
A difficult start
Who can doubt that the presence of Valentin Vacherot, winner of the Shanghai Masters 1000 a few days ago, brought luck to Vassilis Spanoulis’ players? It didn’t seem that way at first, however, as ASVEL, unbeaten since the start of the season, proved more dominant and incisive, particularly when it came to long-range shots. Matthew Strazel’s teammates struggled to defend, conceding 24 points by the end of the first quarter.
The Principality club was unable to make up the deficit in the second quarter, with inaccurate stops and less intense playmaking. The gap had even widened by half time (41-56). Too big a gap for a team that won at home to Valencia in the Euroleague on Friday evening.
Mike James in demonstration mode
The Roca Team’s Greek coach Vassilis Spanoulis decided to change his starting five for the second half, adding point guards Elie Okobo and Mike James. James then raised his game considerably. With a total of 25 points and eight rebounds, the American was in demonstration mode, which meant his team-mates could be more at ease in defence and work better collectively. As a result, the Roca Team was just four points behind going into the final quarter.
It was total suspense from then on, as the two sides went back and forth in a match that wouldn’t have been out of place in the end-of-season play-offs. The visitors went ahead for the first time in the 32nd minute. In the dying moments, Matthew Strazel showed all his skills to score a decisive three-pointer, with Mike James free-throwing to put the final seal on the match.
Mike James, Strazel’s return, new arena and recruits, objectives: the Roca Team gets back to work
The Principality club scored 61 points in the second half, showing all their attacking power to defeat their rivals at the final buzzer. The club president Alekszej Fedoricsev enjoyed the performance, having said he was onfident ahead of the clash with ASVEL. “I’m sure we’ll all see what the Roca Team’s true spirit really is,” he said via the club’s website.
The Red and Whites have secured important wins in the space of a week, playing away to two of their rivals. This should give them plenty of confidence ahead of their trip to Israel to take on Hapoel Tel Aviv in the Euroleague, before Boulazac comme to Gaston-Médecin at the end of the week.