The Roca Team qualified for the final of the French basketball championship on Thursday, May 30, having won the second away game at Bourg-en-Bresse 71-76. With this victory, the total score in this semi-final is 3-1. Monaco will defend its league title won last year in the final. The other finalist will only be known on Sunday when Paris Basket and ASVEL Villeurbanne play a fifth game in the French capital.
The game in Bourg-en-Bresse was very exciting because the teams were evenly matched and the differences in the score during all four quarters were small. In the first quarter, the score was evenly matched (9-9 after three minutes, 17-17 after seven minutes), but in the end, the home team closed this quarter with a lead: 18-21. Also in the second quarter, the game remained in balance, and so it was 36-37 at halftime.
The Principality side then began to play a little brighter, and quickly took the lead, although the difference after the third quarter was only one point (54-55). In the end, the LNB champion took control of the game thanks to some nice plays by Okobo, Blossomgame, and the now fitter Mike James.
Suddenly, the team had a five-point lead (61-66). Bourg-en-Bresse, cheered on by a fanatical crowd, struggled and narrowed the deficit to three points with twenty seconds to go. However, Monaco held on and won by 71-76. Coach Sasa Obradovic can now focus on prolonging the national title. Next Wednesday, the Roca Team will open the series with a home match at Salle Gaston Médecin in a best-of-five series.
