By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The head coach of AS Monaco, Vassilis Spanoulis, talking about a disappointing losing effort versus LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne in LDLC Arena, rejected any kind of excuses connected to fatigue.
“That’s for mothers and fathers who work all day to feed their children and pay the rent,” he pointed out in a postgame press conference following Tuesday’s Game 1 of a best-of-five series in the Semifinals of Betclic Elite Playoffs 2025.
At the continental level, La Roca Team reached the championship game of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four 2025 and settled as runner-up, before focusing on a bid for a third straight French League championship.
“If someone tells me they had a bad day or weren’t mentally ready, I can accept that. But ‘tired’? When you’re a millionaire who made your hobby your job? That’s disrespectful to all the people out there working all day for a very different kind of paycheck,” he added.
“We gave up a lot of rebounds. Too many things were missing for us to win,” 31-year-old combo guard Jordan Loyd echoed the assessment of the Greek play-caller, “We have to fight much harder than that. We have a job. There is no room for excuses.”
Game 2 will be played in the same venue on Thursday.
Play In Tournament
Elan Chalon – JDA Dijon 106-85
SLUC Nancy – Saint-Quentin 81-88
JDA Dijon – Saint-Quentin 92-79
Playoffs
Quarterfinals (best of three)
Paris – JDA Dijon 2-1 (100-87, 79-80, 114-88)
Cholet – JL Bourg 0-2 (71-95, 89-94)
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne – Elan Chalon 2-1 (100-96, 69-76, 99-75)
AS Monaco – Le Mans 2-1 (76-69, 87-88, 85-76)
Semifinals (best of five)
Paris – JL Bourg 0-0
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne – AS Monaco 1-0 (94-74)
Finals (best of five)
Paris / JL Bourg – LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne / AS Monaco