The hosts, Monaco’s basketball players, started the match much more successfully. Leading 10:9, the Monegasques scored 11 points in a row and began to confidently dictate the pace of the match.
After a successful section, the home team successfully increased their advantage and at the beginning of the third quarter, Monaco had an 18-point lead – 53:35.
Having felt the taste of the playoffs, Monaco’s basketball players faded away and before that the hosts, who were faster everywhere, started to take their place and, taking advantage of this, Barcelona reduced the deficit to 5 points by the beginning of the fourth quarter, 53:58.
However, in the fourth quarter, the guests could not overcome the result, and the chances of the Catalans were completely destroyed by Jaron Blossomgame’s long shot with 2 minutes left to play, increasing the home team’s lead to 9 points – 77:68.
Blossomgame scored 11 points (4/4 doubles, 1/2 triples), 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 23 RBIs for the win.
Monaco: Daniel Theis 16, Elie Okobo 14, Mike James 13.
Barcelona: Will Clyburn 16, Tornike Šengelija 14, Jan Vesely 12.
Monaco’s basketball players have qualified for the playoffs, where they will meet regular season winners Olympiakos Piraeus.
In the next quarterfinals of the EuroLeague, Zalgiris Kaunas will face Fenerbahce of Istanbul, Valencia Basket will try to prove its superiority against Panathinaikos of Athens, and Real Madrid will test Hapoel Tel Aviv’s basketball players.
