By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
After Trento defeated Olimpia Milano in the Italian Cup final, another EuroLeague team lost a domestic cup final to a non-EuroLeague side.
Le Mans shocked Monaco in the French Leaders Cup final despite Mike James’ late push, winning 96-104 to claim the trophy.
With this victory, Le Mans tied Pau-Lacq-Orthez’s record by winning their fourth Leaders Cup, surpassing Monaco, which remained at three titles.
Monaco trailed by 20 points midway through the second period and was 16 points down in the fourth, but Mike James led a late push that allowed Spanoulis’ team to cut the deficit to just six points in the final minute of the game. However, the French champions couldn’t get any closer, and Le Mans prevailed.
Trevor Hudgins led Le Mans to Leaders Cup glory with 25 points, Wilfried Yeguete followed with 18, while Leopold Delaunay and Williams Narace added 17 points each.
Mike James scored 29 points for Monaco, Elie Okobo followed with 23, while Mam Jaiteh was on the verge of a double-double with 16 points and nine rebounds.