The Roca Team tightened their grip on a EuroLeague Final Four spot on the night of Friday, April 25, dispatching Barcelona 92-79 to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the playoff series.
Fresh off Wednesday’s emphatic 97-80 win, the Roca Team showed no mercy at home, overcoming a scrappy and increasingly physical Barcelona side. Alpha Diallo led the charge with a brilliant all-round performance, racking up 21 points, six rebounds and an assist for an evaluation of 24, while Mam Jaiteh equalled his EuroLeague career-best with 20 points, four rebounds and two steals, finishing with a game-high 27 evaluation.
Coach Vassilis Spanoulis has moulded Monaco into a relentless defensive unit, but one that can still turn on the style when it matters. On Wednesday, Mike James, Daniel Theis and their teammates will have the chance to seal qualification for the Final Four in Abu Dhabi, just as they did last season — though James himself had a quiet night, with just five points and six assists.
Barcelona, clearly stung by their midweek defeat, came out combative. The match soon descended into a messy, high-intensity battle, but Monaco kept their cool when it counted. Tomas Satoransky, still unpopular with the Monaco crowd after his sending off in Game 1, tried to rally the Catalans early with five points and an assist in the first quarter. Yet Alpha Diallo, seemingly unfazed by the rising tension, was simply unplayable — piling up 15 points, a rebound and a block to give Monaco a 26-19 first-quarter lead.
Even Mike James, normally the talismanic scorer, was happy to play a supporting role, opening his account with a solitary free throw late in the quarter. When Jordan Loyd sank a three-pointer early in the second period to stretch the lead to double digits, it looked like Monaco might run away with it.
Barcelona, to their credit, fought back hard. Spurred on by Jabari Parker, Kevin Punter and Dario Brizuela, they clawed to within two points midway through the second quarter. But every time they threatened, Monaco found an answer — often through cool shooting from Loyd, who nailed another crucial three-pointer to keep a healthy halftime cushion (49-40).
The second half was a war of attrition. The Roca Team extended their lead to 14 points with a flurry of key plays: James drained his first three-pointer, Jaron Blossomgame rejected Brizuela with a monster block, and Diallo threw down a thunderous dunk. Jaiteh, meanwhile, quietly bullied Barcelona under the basket, scoring at will and anchoring the defence.
Tempers flared, scraps broke out, and technical fouls flew, but Monaco kept their heads. Terry Tarpey added gloss to the scoreline, stretching the lead to 19 points midway through the final quarter (86-67), as Monaco eased home.
The job isn’t done yet, but with two clinical performances in the bag, Monaco will head to Catalonia next week full of belief — and just one win away from punching their ticket to the EuroLeague Final Four.
