By Stefan Djordjevic / info@eurohoops.net
AS Monaco reached Basketball Champions League’s Final Four while being the most dominant team in the competition. In the quarter-finals, they eliminated Banvit, the team which beat them in the semi-final last season.
The French team is relying on a solid team effort, but Gerald Robinson was their go-to guy in the matchup against Banvit. He averaged 24 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in the quarter-finals. These numbers led Monaco to the Final Four but also brought Robinson an MVP honor. He was named an MVP of the quarter-finals.
“We are in a good standing both in the French Jeep Elite and Fiba Champions League competitions at this moment, but we are far from done. I think we have done a solid job at responding to some of the minor setbacks we have faced missing a couple guys, but that’s the part of the game. Everyone on our team takes responsibility and is held accountable for doing our part to help the team and I think that’s a major reason we have been playing well. At the beginning of the season we set out to win each trophy, so this is the part of the season that is exciting because we have the opportunity to make that happen“, said Robinson to the Eurohoops.
Keeping winning in the French Leauge is the best way to prepare for the Final Four according to the player. “Well at the moment we are not sure of our opponent in the semi-final of BCL so nothing we can do from that standpoint. In general, we now have to shift our focus to the French league, which we have a tough schedule coming up with three games on the road. During that time we just plan to continue playing our brand of basketball and getting better with our overall execution. That way we can go into the Final Four with a positive momentum“.
In the second-leg of the matchup versus Banvit, Robinson arguably highlighted the Basketball Champions Leauge with a superb performance. He nailed 19 points in first 8 minutes of the game without a single miss…
“It was a great feeling for me individually, but I knew it would also help our team in such a critical game. I simply was just taking advantage of the way the defense was guarding. In a series, I sort of expected there would be some kind of adjustment from the first game. This time I was able to recognize it and get going early“.
Robinson is a shooting guard, but scoring is not all he does. He is averaging 3.1 rebounds per game and in two games this season he had 7 rebounds. “I guess that sort of comes from my college coach always teaching that the fastest way to get on fastbreak is the guard get the rebound. And our coach now preaches a lot team rebounding so I try and help the bigs at times“, explains Robinson.
Coach Zvezdan Mitrovic created a compact team where everyone knows his role and Robinson is aware of it, happy and ready for more. “Working with Mitrovic has been great. Coach Z does very well putting us in positions to utilize our tools and help us be successful. Also does a good job at challenging us to be better while still supporting and boosting confidence”.
It will be proven at the court of OAKA in Athens, if Monaco can go all the way. But in any case, Robinson and his team feel confident that they can win the trophy they lost last season.
Photo credit: BCL