By Nikola Miloradovic / info@eurohoops.net
Olympiacos secured a convincing 3–0 Playoff sweep over AS Monaco Basket to return to the EuroLeague Final Four, but for Evan Fournier, the series carried extra meaning beyond qualification.
A year after Monaco eliminated Olympiacos in the Abu Dhabi Final Four semifinal, the Greek side responded with a dominant series – something Fournier admitted was not forgotten in the build-up.
“It was a good effort. I thought the level of sharpness and focus was there. It’s unfortunate they missed guys, but we did the job regardless. Now we have a little break, and we move on.”
Despite the 3–0 result, Fournier pushed back on any notion that Monaco were not competitive, emphasizing their quality and late-season form.
“I disagree, Monaco is a very good team. We played well at home, gained momentum, we were ready and focused. Obviously, last year semifinal was in our head… Monaco is a very dangerous team, they finished the season extremely well, beat Barcelona to qualify for the playoffs, they fought really hard.”