The Roca Team finds itself on the brink of elimination after suffering a second emphatic defeat to Olympiacos B.C. in the EuroLeague playoffs, with the Greek giants storming to a dominant 94-64 victory in Piraeus on Thursday, April 30.
Just 48 hours after losing Game 1 by 21 points, Monaco again struggled to cope with Olympiacos’ intensity, shooting and depth inside a sold-out Peace and Friendship Stadium. The result gives the Greek side a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series ahead of Tuesday’s crucial Game 3 in Monaco.
For the Roca Team, the situation is now stark: another defeat would end their European campaign.
Interim coach Manuchar Markoishvili was once again without injured forward Nikola Mirotić, who did not travel to Greece. Monaco started with Mike James, Nemanja Nedović, Alpha Diallo, Jaron Blossomgame and Daniel Theis, while Olympiacos coach Georgios Bartzokas relied again on a powerful core led by Thomas Walkup, Sasha Vezenkov and Nikola Milutinov.
Monaco endured a difficult offensive start, failing to score for the opening three minutes as Olympiacos quickly established control through Walkup’s perimeter shooting and Milutinov’s inside presence.
Although Monaco briefly fought back through three-pointers from Alpha Diallo and Elie Okobo to reduce the deficit to a single point late in the first quarter, Olympiacos never truly lost command of the contest.
Vezenkov proved virtually unstoppable in the opening period, producing an offensive masterclass that left Monaco chasing the game. The EuroLeague MVP candidate scored 13 points in the first quarter alone and repeatedly punished Monaco’s defensive rotations.
The match effectively unraveled for the visitors during a disastrous second quarter.
Olympiacos intensified the pressure defensively while Evan Fournier, Alec Peters and former Monaco centre Donta Hallcapitalised at the other end. Monaco’s offence collapsed under the intensity, managing just four points during a six-minute stretch as the deficit ballooned rapidly.
By half-time, Olympiacos had opened up a crushing 59-31 lead, leaving Monaco stunned and facing an almost impossible comeback task. Matters worsened further when Mike James was ejected by the referees before the break, depriving the Roca Team of its primary offensive leader for the remainder of the game.
With James unavailable and Theis also absent in the second half, Monaco returned from the interval with a heavily reduced rotation.
Matthew Strazel and Elie Okobo attempted to inject some energy into the contest during a more competitive third quarter, briefly trimming the deficit below 20 points. But Olympiacos’ outside shooting remained relentless, with the Greek side finishing near 50 percent from three-point range.
Despite Monaco continuing to battle, the final quarter became little more than a formality as Olympiacos cruised to another convincing win in front of a deafening home crowd.
The defeat leaves Monaco under enormous pressure heading into Game 3 at the Salle Gaston Médecin on Tuesday evening, where the Principality club must now win to keep its EuroLeague hopes alive.
For Olympiacos, meanwhile, another dominant performance reinforced why the Greek powerhouse finished top of the regular-season standings and remains one of the favourites to lift this year’s EuroLeague title.
