Villeurbanne laid down a statement of intent on Tuesday night, dismantling Monaco 94–74 in the opening game of the Betclic Elite semi-finals. Fired up and tactically sharp, Asvel took full advantage of a depleted Roca Team missing suspended star Mike James and injured centre Daniel Theis.
The hosts exploded out of the blocks with a 31–21 first quarter, capitalising on Monaco’s early errors—including seven turnovers in just nine minutes. Yet the Roca Team briefly rallied, led by Petr Cornelie (12 points, 5 rebounds), to snatch a 41–38 lead before halftime. But that flicker didn’t last.
Melvin Ajinça’s buzzer-beating bucket gave Villeurbanne a 49–45 edge at the break, and from there, it was one-way traffic. Asvel’s suffocating defence clamped down on Monaco’s attack, holding the Euroleague finalists to just 29 points in the second half—an uncharacteristically low output for a side of their calibre.
Frustration boiled over for Monaco, who racked up technical and unsportsmanlike fouls, while coach Vassilis Spanoulis watched his team unravel. Terry Tarpey’s late cameo, intended to slow Théo Maledon, only added to the chaos.
Asvel’s bench did the heavy lifting, pouring in 51 points—16 from Andre Roberson and 15 from Paris Lee—while a tidy assist-to-turnover ratio (19 to 9) kept the offence humming. Monaco, meanwhile, looked leggy and mentally frayed after six games in twelve days and ongoing drama surrounding James, whose return remains uncertain.
The sides meet again Thursday in Décines for Game 2, with Monaco already playing catch-up in the best-of-five series.
