By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Monaco was already a contender, however, it seems that there’s a different aura in the team with Vassilis Spanoulis in the head coaching position.
After beating Panathinaikos on the road, Monaco did the same against Fenerbahce (99-69) with the two teams now tied in the second spot of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague standings with a 10-5 record.
Mike James with 21 and five assists, Elie Okobo with 19 points, and Jordan Loyd with 12 points led a balanced team effort on both sides of the floor.
“It’s different”, said James, “the previous system had me a lot with the ball on late-clock situations, so you have to live with whatever you get, but I think I get the ball earlier now and I got the opportunity to move it”.
“We changed our defense and our mentality and got a big win”, added Spanoulis.
For the losing side, Nigel Hayes-Davis scored 28 points on 9/12 two-pointers and also 1/8 threes.
Monaco dominated the third quarter
On a balanced first half, Fenerbahce had the lead for most of the first period which ended with the hosts up by two (19-17).
Monaco turned the tables in the second, building even an eight-point lead (43-35) with Tarik Biberovic trimming it to five (43-38) with a three near the halftime buzzer.
Nigel Hayes-Davis already had 13 points after 17 minutes of action, while Monaco shot 65% in two-pointers.
The momentum of the guests was carried on in the second half with Monaco finally getting a double-digit lead (48-38) with Loyd And James taking over.
Monaco pushed the lead to 17 (63-46) after a 9-2 run and Elie Okobo with a three at the buzzer of the third quarter made it an 18-point game (72-54).
Okobo again extended the advantage of Monaco to 20 points (74-54) in the first play of the last period and Fenerbahce tried to come back in vain.
Monaco led even by 32 (99-67) in the last minute and the game was over early.
Photo credit: EuroLeague