In the best of five matches, Monaco will face Pau-Lacq-Orthez and defending champion Lyon-Villeurbanne will face Dijon.
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Monaco qualified on the wire 82-80 after extra time by overthrowing Strasbourg on Monday at home, and will face Pau in the semi-finals of the French Elite basketball championship, with the first two matches of the series on the Rock.
The “Roca Team”, second in the regular season and heroic quarter-finalist in the Euroleague, was once again very scared. Beaten to everyone’s surprise in her room during the first match of the quarter-finals, she had snatched the right to play a support match by going to win in Alsace last Friday, already after extra time (97-95).
Monday evening, Sasa Obradovic’s men were immediately dominated by the SIG in front of the dumbfounded spectators of the Gaston-Médecin room who expected a completely different scenario.
Led 48-29 at half-time, the Monegasques provided a gigantic effort in the 3rd quarter, won 23-15, then in the fourth to come back to 70-70 with 1 minute 30s remaining, especially under the impulse of an unleashed Mike James (24 points) and Dwayne Bacon (13 pts), who was able to win the extension once again thanks to a two-point shot 11 seconds from the buzzer.
With the two teams neck and neck for the extra five minutes, it was again Bacon who finally gave Monaco the victory after some waste and missed free throws on both sides.
The “Roca Team” will face in the semi-final, disputed in the best of five matches, Pau-Lacq-Orthez who qualified on Saturday at the expense of Boulogne-Levallois at the end of the second quarter between the two formations (81-71 ). Monaco having finished ahead of the Béarnais at the end of the regular season, the first two matches of the series will take place in its hall.
In the other part of the table, Lyon-Villeurbanne, winner of Cholet, will receive Dijon (faller of Limoges) at the Astroballe on Wednesday. Asvel, defending champion, had dominated the Dijonnais in the final last season.
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