The Roca Team travelled to Belgium to face off against 7DAYS Eurocup group C rivals, Telenet Giants Antwerp, on November 17. After two losses on the road, the boys in red and white were evidently keen to set their record straight, as they took on the Giants of Antwerp.
Right from tip-off, the Monegasques made their impact on the game, as Marcos Knight scored seven points to make for a 2-9 lead. This early effort eventually extended the lead to a disheartening 4-16 for the hosts. The Giants’ Dudzinski then fought back with a couple of threes to make it 10-19. Eventually, the scoreline almost equalised at 21-23, but Monaco were just getting started.
A combined effort from Darral Willis, Dee Bost, Wilfried Yeguete and Knight resulted in a 5-19 scoring run and blew the game open as the scoreline stood at a more comfortable 26-42 for the visitors. Antwerp’s Smith and Dudzinski then retaliated to cut the lead to 32-42 at halftime.
The hosts maintained their determination to catch up to the Roca Team as both sides returned to the court. An all-out offensive from Antwerp saw them get within the single digits at 41-46, but as was the pattern for this particular fixture, Monaco came back harder and this time boosted their lead to 43-58 after some deep threes. The hosts held on to any hope they had left at this point, but never got within touching distance of the red and whites as they pulled together to keep in front. Ultimately, Antwerp made it within the double digits of Monaco as the visitors walked away victorious for the first time in three games.
Now that the Principality side have pushed their Eurocup record to 4-2, their next planned fixture will not be until December 9 when they will host their former victors, Virtus Segafredo Bologna. The Roca Team have not yet revealed the new date of their MoraBanc Andorra game which was postponed earlier in November owing to COVID-19, but fans could expect to see the red and whites take on Andorra before Bologna come to town.
