By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
As the final score of 115-83 suggests, there’s not much to write about the AS Monaco win over Cholet Basket, other than the winners will face Le Mans in the French Leaders Cup final.
Mike James scored 17 first-half points and didn’t have to add anything after that, as Monaco got a solid 64-42 lead after the second period and never looked back.
Alpha Diallo and Juhann Begarin were Monaco’s top scorers with 18 points each. Elie Okobo had 15, Daniel Theiss 14, and Nikola Mirotic added 12. Jamuni McNeace had 17 points for Cholet.
In the second game, Le Mans got the close 79-77 win after a huge battle with JL Bourg, losing in the closing seconds the chance to win the game with a three-pointer by Both Tut Gach and then to send it to overtime with a shot by Adam Mokoka after an offensive rebound.
Both players missed, and the game was over. Earlier, Trevor Hudgins made a huge three for Le Mans, giving them a 78-77 lead with 51 seconds left on the clock. He was the top scorer of the game with 20 points, and captain TaShawn Thomas added 18.
For the losing side, Tut Gach and Mokoka scored 16 points each.
Leaders Cup
Quarterfinals
1. LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne – Cholet 82-93
2. AS Monaco – SIG Strasbourg 90-89
3. Nanterre 92 – Le Mans 67-82
4. Paris – JL Bourg 74-78
Semifinals
Cholet – AS Monaco 83-115
Le Mans – JL Bourg 79-77
Final
AS Monaco – Le Mans (22/2)