Monaco players celebrate the victory over Maccabi Tel Aviv in Game 3 (from Monaco's official website)
"40 minutes from the dream": that's what the headline read last night (Tuesday) in "L'Equip" at the end of Monaco's 78:83 victory over Maccabi Tel Aviv, which gave the team from the principalities a 1:2 lead in the quarterfinals of the playoffs.
The impressive victory of Sascha Obradovic's team starred in the headlines of the main sports websites in France, and may have been slightly marginalized in light of the dramatic developments surrounding Leo Messi in Paris Saint-Germain, but received a respectable stage.
In France, Monaco was praised for what was defined by one of the correspondents of "L'Equip" as "one of the greatest victories in the history of French sports, in all team sports".
"It was a huge challenge, in a hostile atmosphere, with their backs against the wall, against a distinct home team with great abilities - and Monaco met it. It's exceptional," noted reporter Gregory Asker.
At one of the sites in France, they celebrated "victory at the volcano in Tel Aviv", and criticized the violence, according to them, of the fans in yellow and blue, who blocked the rival team's bus on the way to the hall, supposedly threw objects at them during the game and exerted unrelenting pressure on Sasha Oberdovich's bench.
The French media reported that Monaco will file a complaint with the Euroleague about the treatment they received from Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, which "crossed the line of sportsmanship" and estimated that the Yellow-Blues would receive a high fine after Monaco reported the unusual events to the judges in real time.
"It turns out that the crowd of Maccabi Tel Aviv is much more violent than the crowd of Partizan. Everyone was afraid of what would happen in Belgrade, but the fans in Tel Aviv are the most dangerous," they wrote in France.
Monaco star Mike James was pre-marked as a target and given "special" treatment.
During the warm-up the yellow fans covered him with confetti they threw at him and also during the game they tried to throw him off balance, but it didn't work, and James starred with 21 points after a big performance in the first half.
"Wow, how much fun it was. It was just fun tonight," James was recorded enthusiastically to his friends in the dressing room at the end, moments after he was interviewed on television and claimed that "I didn't care about the crowd, I didn't pay attention to them."
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Mike James yesterday (photo: Danny Maron)
James claimed that the improved ability he displayed was due to a change in Maccabi Tel Aviv's defensive method.
"They just guarded me differently tonight. In the first two games they sent in double-guard directions, and I had trouble getting the shots I'm used to. This time they tried to keep me one-on-one, so I could play my game," he explained.
Monaco coach Sasha Oberdovich also claimed at the end of the game that "the atmosphere around the game hurt Maccabi Tel Aviv more than us," and explained: "There was a great atmosphere of basketball. The fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv are wonderful, but I have already been in stressful situations of this and that many times in my career, Both as a player and as a coach. In my conversations with the players, I explained to them that the most important thing is to stay focused on the game, and not allow external things to affect us."
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Sasha Oberdovich (Photo: Danny Maron)
Overdovic and the other Monaco players looked subdued in the dressing room, and also in the interviews at the end of the game they made sure to convey that the series is still far from over, despite the mental blow they inflicted on the yellows.
"We did a great job on both sides of the field, everyone contributed to this victory and I'm very proud of everyone, because they played with a lot of heart. On the other hand, nothing is finished yet," said Dontas Motiunas.
"We must not start thinking about the Final Four, because it is still very far away. Maccabi is a wonderful team, they are capable of playing much better than they showed today. I am convinced that they will show an improved ability in the fourth game."
sport
basketball
Euroleague and European basketball
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Monaco in basketball
Maccabi Tel Aviv in basketball