After a difficult start to the match, Monaco was able to tighten the game to get the better of Le Mans on occasion in the semi-finals of the French Men’s Basketball Cup (87-78) and ensured to play the final on April 22 at the Accor Arena.
Monaco will discover the atmosphere of a final of the Coupe de France. Leader of Betclic Elite and firmly established in the Top 4 of the Euroleague, the “Roca Team” will have the opportunity to win a first trophy on April 22 at the Accor Arena in Paris. In effect, Sasa Obradovic’s players got the better of Le Mans in the first semi-finaldisputed on the floor of the Arena Loire de Trélazé.
If the start of the match was hooked, it was the Monegasques who took the lead but did not take a lead of more than four points. The Manceaux, unimpressed by their opponents, replied with a 16-2 at the end of the first quarter to settle in control and conclude the first ten minutes of the meeting with a margin of eleven lengths. An air pocket that the players of the Principality very quickly erased at the start of the second quarter. After the first basket scored by the MSB, the “Roca Team” inflicted on the Sarthois a 15-0 to go back ahead on the scoreboard.
𝗤𝗨𝗘𝗟 𝗧𝗜𝗥 𝗜.𝗡.𝗖.𝗥.𝗢.𝗬.𝗔.𝗕.𝗟.𝗘!🎯
It’s the basket of the competition, nothing more to say.
🤲 @MSB_Official
📺@mcsbaskettv #CDFBasket pic.twitter.com/nQCG4m0t92— French BasketBall Federation (@ffbasketball) March 19, 2023
Monaco made the difference at the end of the match
Despite this blow received, the players of Le Mans hung on so as not to let Monaco slip away. At the buzzer, Matt Morgan signaled himself with a shot from his own racquet to allow MSB to take the lead by a point at halftime. As soon as they returned to the Arena Loire floor, Monaco hit the table with a 9-0 to take the lead… but Le Mans replied to come back up and shake the Principality’s players.
Matthew Strazel then returned the favor to Matt Morgan, scoring a three-point shot at the buzzer to allow ASM to approach the last ten minutes with a small lead. A last quarter which saw Monaco widen an eight-point gap from the start and defend it tooth and nail. If Le Mans was able to get closer to only three points, the gap between the two teams never went lower. In the end, the “Roca Team” won by nine lengths (87-78) and is waiting to know who from ASVEL or Strasbourg will be his opponent for the Robert Busnel Trophy.
BASKETBALL – FRENCH CUP (M) / TOP 8
Quarter-finals – Saturday March 18, 2023 (at the Arena Loire de Trélazé)
Bourg-en-Bresse (BE) – Strasbourg (BE) : 71-88
Le Mans (BE) – Dijon (BE): 89-77
Pau-Lacq-Orthez (BE) – Monaco (BE) : 78-98
ASVEL (BE) – Cholet (BE): 85-79
Semi-finals – Sunday March 19, 2023 (at the Arena Loire in Trélazé)
Monaco (BE) – Le Mans (BE): 87-78
5:00 p.m.: ASVEL (BE) – Strasbourg (BE)
