By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Without mercy in both games at the Adidas Arena, AS Monaco kept the French championship trophy for the second straight season. As in Game 3, Monaco demonstrated their power with a 115-76 win over Paris Basketball for a 3-1 triumph after losing one game at home.
Led by finals MVP Mike James (27 points), the Roca Team proved that they didn’t have any opponent on French soil.
With their heads underwater after a 0-19 start, Paris tried to react, with Nadir Hifi (11 points) and Collin Malcolm, back from injury (12 points). But even when the EuroLeague MVP was going to sit on the bench, Elie Okobo (23 points) and Matthew Strazel (12 points) couldn’t be denied.
Monado led by 40 points at the start of the fourth quarter (95-55) in a one-sided affair.
Paris Basketball missed the opportunity to achieve a historic treble with the Leaders Cup and the EuroCup, however, they got a real taste of what means to have a EuroLeague-level opponent.
“We had to show intensity”
As Mike James admitted: “ We had to show intensity against a very good team who had a great season. We had to respond to what they had imposed on Game 2 and we did it very well”.
Speaking about himself, James added: “As a leader, I had to set an example and be aggressive to succeed in retaining this title of French champion. We experienced a real disappointment with the Euroleague, we had to refocus. Going back-to-back in the French championship is no small thing”.