Monaco cleaned Virtus Bologna by “gasping” in the fourth period

“Put on the gas” in the fourth period against the Virtus Bologna and returned to victories n Monaco!

The Principality side saw the Italians lead by double digits in the first half of their clash at ‘Gaston Medecin’, but they fought back in the second half of the game and eventually managed to celebrate a 101-85 victory, improving their record to 3-1 and returning to positive results after the defeat to Barcelona.

On the other hand, Virtus suffered their second consecutive defeat (after the one at home against Zalgiris) in the first “devil’s week” of the season, falling to 0-4 and remaining the only team without a win in this year’s Euroleague.

Leading the way for the winners, who finished the game with a solid 50% (12/24) 3-point shooting percentage and 16 assists to just 2 turnovers, were James (19 points, 5 assists), Okobo (20p with 3/4 three-pointers and 6 assists) and Live (15p, 7 rib) and Strazel (12 points with 4/7 three-pointers), while for Virtus they stood out Sengelia (17p) Duf (12p) and Cordinier (11 points, 4 assists).

The match:



The contest opened with Monaco taking a 9-4 lead thanks to back-to-back 3-pointers from Diallo and Strazel, before the visitors found a rhythm on their offense, responding with a Clyburn foul, Paiola’s 3-pointer and an 8-0 run for the of 12-9. The two teams continued to go… hand in hand in the score until the end of the first period, when Morgan with another three-pointer, put Virtus at +4 (20-24).

Wow, quel tir incroyable de Will Clyburn ! ??@VirtusSegafredo x @EuroLeague #SKWEEKLive pic.twitter.com/qjPL0moSej

— SKWEEK (@skweektv) October 18, 2024

“Cold” aggressively at the start of the second period, the home team scored just two points by Okobo in the first three minutes, giving Banky’s team the right to lead for the first time in the match with a double-digit difference (33-43), thanks to Belinelli’s three-pointer. Okobo kept Monaco on the offensive with back-to-back points of his own to cut it to 32-38, while Strazel put Obradovic’s side within striking distance (37-38) as the two teams went into the locker room with Virtus having the minimal lead (46-47).

EL GRANDE MAM’ JAITEH! ??@ASMonaco_Basket x @EuroLeague #SKWEEKLive pic.twitter.com/9lsPJNWyk1

— SKWEEK (@skweektv) October 18, 2024

Strazel put Monaco ahead (49-47) with another well-timed 3-pointer (4/5 at that point in the match), with the hosts “tying up” their defense and not allowing Virtus to make a basket for 2 .5 minutes. Thus, Monaco led 56-47, but then got stuck offensively, with the visitors reducing it to 58-53. Monaco continued to rely on their 3-pointers, pulling away 69-61 before Polonnara cut it to 69-64 in the third period.

MJ #55 pour redonner ?? points d’avance! ??@ASMonaco_Basket x @EuroLeague #SKWEEKLive pic.twitter.com/GKg2QAL3nv

— SKWEEK (@skweektv) October 18, 2024

With James and Okobo as their protagonists, Monaco entered the fourth quarter strongly, escaping again with +10 (80-70), while somewhere in there, Bologna seemed to run out of energy and ideas in their attack, with the hosts scoring 30 points overall in the final quarter, eventually prevailing with a comfortable 101-85.

The quarters: 20-24, 46-47, 69-64, 101-85

The match statistics