By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Banvit and AS Monaco met for the third time this season in the Basketball Champions League. This time the stakes were much higher as this was the first leg of the BCL quarterfinals. The French side grabbed a second win over the Turkish side this season 85-77 making an important step towards the Final-Four.
After a high-tempo first half, the visiting squad built a 6 points lead (47-41). With triples starting to fall for AS Monaco at the start of the second quarter they made an 8-0 run. Monaco displayed a team-effort and great passing touch. They had 15 assists in the first half while their opponents made only 4 in that period. The visitors finished the game with 24 assists which are three more than their season average (21).
Gerald Robinson was the key player in the first half nailing 15 points leaving Banvit’s defense in the dust. Robinson finished the game with 18 points followed by Elmedin Kikanovic’s 20 points. D.J. Cooper had a double-double with 13 points and 10 assists.
Banvit missed the chance to cut down the deficit in the third quarter. They missed five free-throws in that period allowing Monaco to built a 64-55 lead. A team coached by Saso Filipovski was struggling from the foul-line the whole game hitting only 18 out of 31 free-throws and that cost them dearly.
Angelo Caloiaro was close to the double-double with 11 points and 7 boards, but that wasn’t enough for Banvit.
The second leg is scheduled for next week in France when Banvit will try to get their revenge.
Photo credit: BCL