What happened to Monaco in the third quarter? They came back from the locker room looking like a ghost of the team that had dominated ASVEL for two consecutive games. This third period was indeed ghastly for the Roca Team who scored only one basket while their opponents shot the lights out on their way to the championship title.<\/p>\n
ASVEL, however, did not lead at half-time (27-35), due to an especially poor second quarter performance. But after the visit of their president, Tony Parker, to their locker room at the break – as he did during the Coupe de France final last month, and it procured the same result – Villeurbanne transcended themselves and literally asphyxiated the Monegasques on their way to their 19th French championship title. The Roca Team had to wait until the last minute to score their first basket of the third quarter, which concluded with the score of 51 to 41. In the fourth, the players gave their all to catch up, but the door was already closed, as ASVEL’s aggressive defense held strong.<\/p>\n