We were not on the Rock on Wednesday night, waiting for a possible concert of horns. But, fervour or not, Monaco has achieved a historic feat. The Roca Team reached the Euroleague Final Four for the first time in its history by winning Wednesday (97-86) the fifth game of its quarterfinal series against Maccabi Tel Aviv (3-2).

It is also the first time a French team has reached this stage of the competition since Villeurbanne in 1997, 26 years ago. "I had just been born, it's dated," smiled Elie Okobo. We will try to continue writing history and go as far as possible. »


✨ HISTORIC, THEY DID IT!

🤯 MONACO ELIMINATED MACCABI TEL AVIV IN THE DECISIVE GAME 5 AND QUALIFIED FOR THE EUROLEAGUE FINAL 4!

A first for an LNB club since 1997 🙌 pic.twitter.com/bYOmOomOXP

— LNB (@LNBofficiel) May 10, 2023

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More than two deadlines separate the ASM from the European title: a semi-final on a dry match against Olympiakos on May 19 in Kaunas before a possible final two days later, still in Lithuania. From its second participation, here is the club of the Rock, still in the third division nine years ago, in the last very select square of C1.

With two games won on each side (2-2), everything was decided for Monaco in this fifth and final episode, as last year against Olympiakos (already). Except that their fourth place in the regular season allowed them to play this epilogue in their cocoon of Gaston-Médecin under the Stade Louis-II rather than in the hostility of Piraeus last year or the boiling Tel Aviv this season.

Albert II in the stands

Under the eyes of Prince Albert II and Israeli fans far fewer than in the first two games (only 150 seats allocated this time), ASM became the fifth club in the France Championship to reach the last four of the queen of European competitions.

Eight years after its return to the elite, among the eight best clubs in the France championship, here is ASM among the four best in Europe. A meteoric growth driven by its owner who made a fortune in the fertilizer and grain sector: the Russian naturalized Hungarian Aleksei Fedorychev, CEO and founder of Fedcominvest.



Since the arrival at the helm of Ukrainian businessman Sergey Dyadechko in 2013, the club of the Rock had already grown in financial power. With the takeover by Aleksei Fedorychev in January 2022, it has changed dimension again: 20.7 million euros, the largest budget in the history of the France Championship.

Enough to adorn with four other stars, the team already quarter-finalist last year. Mike James' 24 points and 10 assists weren't enough? The MVP of the Elite finals, Elie Okobo, arrived from Villeurbanne, and three renowned Americans, Jordan Loyd, Jaron Blossomgame and John Brown III, joined him this summer to expand the Roca Team. And dream of a first Euroleague crown? Captain Yakuba Ouattara promises: "We don't go there to be an extra."

  • Basketball
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  • Euroleague
  • Monaco