The Roca Team suffered a heavy defeat in the opening game of their EuroLeague playoff series after Olympiacos B.C. powered to a commanding 91-70 victory in a hostile atmosphere at the Peace and Friendship Stadium in Piraeus on Tuesday, April 28.
The Greek side now leads the best-of-five series 1-0, leaving Monaco under pressure ahead of Thursday’s second encounter in Greece before the series moves to the Principality next week.
For much of the first half, the Roca Team showed they were capable of matching the EuroLeague regular-season leaders blow for blow. Monaco competed fiercely for nearly 18 minutes, trading baskets and defensive stops in a physically intense contest between two sides that have become extremely familiar rivals in recent years.
The matchup marked the 18th meeting between the clubs since 2021 — more than Monaco has played against any other opponent since joining Europe’s top competition.
Despite the continued absence of injured star Nikola Mirotić, interim coach Manuchar Markoishvili was able to field an otherwise full-strength squad. Monaco opened with Mike James, Matthew Strazel, Alpha Diallo, Jaron Blossomgame and Daniel Theis.
Olympiacos coach Georgios Bartzokas countered with a starting five featuring Thomas Walkup, Tyler Dorsey, Sasha Vezenkov and Nikola Milutinov.
Monaco made an encouraging start, with Mike James orchestrating the offence effectively while Diallo and Blossomgame attacked aggressively. The visitors edged the opening quarter 20-19 after Elie Okobo scored late to give Monaco a slender advantage.
The game remained tightly contested throughout much of the second quarter. Former Monaco centre Donta Hall energised the home crowd with a series of blocks and transition plays, while Evan Fournier and Shaquielle McKissic began to find rhythm offensively for Olympiacos.
Monaco briefly regained momentum through strong defensive pressure and a 6-0 run finished by Diallo and Okobo to edge ahead 36-35. But the closing stages of the first half proved decisive.
Three-pointers from Dorsey and Vezenkov sparked an 11-0 Olympiacos surge in the final minutes before half-time, sending the Greek side into the break with a 45-36 lead and shifting the entire momentum of the contest.
The second half quickly turned into a nightmare for Monaco.
An unsportsmanlike foul against Alpha Diallo helped Olympiacos stretch the gap into double digits, while Monaco’s shooting collapsed completely from long range. The Roca Team finished with a dismal three-point percentage of just 18 percent, allowing the hosts to punish them repeatedly in transition and from beyond the arc.
Dorsey continued to pile on the points, while Walkup controlled the tempo and repeatedly found open shooters. Milutinov dominated inside as Monaco struggled to respond physically or offensively.
Although Blossomgame and Theis attempted to keep Monaco within reach, the visitors never managed to reduce the deficit to a genuinely threatening margin during the second half.
By the start of the final quarter, Monaco trailed by 15 points, and the closing minutes became little more than damage limitation as Olympiacos comfortably closed out the game in front of a deafening home crowd.
The result leaves Monaco facing a crucial second game on Thursday night. Another defeat in Piraeus would send the series back to Monaco with Olympiacos holding a potentially decisive 2-0 advantage.
