Roca Team bounced back in style on the night of Wednesday, 17, dominating Paris Basketball 102-90 in Game 2 of the Betclic Elite finals to even the series at 1-1 and reclaim home court advantage ahead of the next two games, scheduled for Friday and Sunday at Gaston Médecin.
The result marked a sharp response from the Monegasque side, who had lost a tightly contested opener 95-91 three days earlier. Head coach Sergii Gladyr made one change to his roster, welcoming back forward Yoan Makoundou, while sending out a starting five of Matthew Strazel, Elie Okobo, Alpha Diallo, Jaron Blossomgame and Kevarrius Hayes.
Monaco set the tone from the opening minutes with aggressive defence at both ends of the court. Strazel was particularly effective early on, driving hard to the basket, while Blossomgame added an and-one to give the visitors a fast 7-0 start. Paris needed nearly three minutes to get on the scoreboard, but Monaco’s offence kept rolling, with Kevarrius Hayes contributing a powerful dunk.
Paris briefly found rhythm through guard Nadir Hifi, but Monaco held firm, with Hayes again proving influential before Diallo took control of the game, scoring from beyond the arc, driving to the rim and converting free throws off a high-level interception. By the end of the first quarter, Monaco led 28-15, with Nemanja Nedovic and Juhann Begarin also contributing from distance.
Paris attempted to respond through Sergio Herrera and Hifi, but Monaco’s defence, anchored by Terry Tarpey, continued to create turnovers, while Nedovic kept hitting from long range. Strazel and Okobo extended the lead further with three-pointers of their own, pushing Monaco’s advantage to 15 points and prompting two timeouts from Paris head coach Julius Thomas. Monaco carried a 53-41 lead into halftime, despite an 8-0 run from Paris in the closing stages of the half.
Monaco came out of the break with the same starting five and immediately re-established control, with a Diallo three-pointer and continued defensive pressure extending the lead to 20 points (61-41) through strong contributions from Hayes, Diallo and Okobo. Paris fought to stay within reach through Herrera and Hifi, narrowing the gap to 17 points at one stage, but Monaco’s defensive intensity, particularly on the boards, kept the advantage at around 20 points heading into the fourth quarter, with the lead sitting at 11 points by the start of the final period.
Paris briefly dipped below the 10-point mark for the first time in a while courtesy of a Tahjere Robinson free throw, before Tarpey responded immediately with a steal and basket. With eight minutes remaining, Strazel again proved decisive, following an Okobo and-one with a defensive stop and a transition three-pointer that pushed Monaco’s lead to 18 points, prompting another Paris timeout.
Paris refused to fold, cutting the deficit to 11 points with just over five minutes remaining and forcing a Monaco timeout of their own. But Strazel and Diallo steadied the visitors once more, maintaining a 13-point cushion with three minutes left on the clock, and Monaco closed out the contest comfortably to seal a 102-90 victory.
Strazel finished as Monaco’s standout performer with 22 points, 9 assists and an evaluation score of 30, alongside several crucial defensive stops throughout the game.
Speaking after the match, head coach Sergii Gladyr praised his side’s response: “We are very satisfied with this performance, with this reaction, after the Game 1 defeat. We shared the ball really well again and we had good shooting touch from three-point range on top of that. This time we managed to hold on, which is a positive. We were more consistent for 40 minutes to get this result. Matthew? He’s a true leader on both ends of the floor. He’s a warrior, no matter what happens he always gives 200%. He wants to win every moment. The team’s collective performance was flawless.”
Forward Yoan Makoundou, returning to the roster for this game, added: “Starting fresh was important for us. We wanted revenge, we showed the right attitude — we could have done even more, but it’s a really good thing to have levelled the series. I feel good with these guys, I know them, and everything is clicking in the game. I feel more comfortable in a lot of situations.”
The series now shifts to Monaco, with Game 3 set for Friday and Game 4 on Sunday at Salle Gaston Médecin.
