Olympiacos closed out their series quickly against Monaco with an 82-105 victory, becoming the first team to secure a spot in the Final Four.
With only eight available players, Monaco did what they could but never stood a chance against Olympiacos (82-105). The Roca Team was swept in the Euroleague quarterfinals.
After falling behind 2-0 in the series against Olympiacos, Monaco was forced to win at the Gaston-Médecin to keep their Final Four hopes alive. After all, Hapoel Tel-Aviv had just achieved a similar feat against Real Madrid.
The Roca Team started the game at full throttle, opening with a 7-0 run. From the outset, the contest turned into a three-point shooting duel between Mike James, Thomas Walkup, Kostas Papanikolaou, and Jarod Blossomgame.
The pace set by the Piraeus side, the regular-season leaders, combined with their accuracy from long range and a clear superiority on the boards, highlighted the gap in quality by the end of the first quarter.
Playing with only eight players was far from easy, especially with the absences of Nikola Mirotic, Daniel Theis, and Alpha Diallo, and even more so against such a powerful opponent. With Evan Fournier entering the game, the lead continued to grow, particularly thanks to two triples from the Frenchman. James, who had started very strong, gradually faded and even missed a simple layup that led to a turnover and another opposing three-pointer. By halftime, the game was all but decided.
Although not playing at their absolute peak, Olympiacos continued to dominate Monaco in every aspect of the game. It was primarily Matthew Strazel who led the Roca Team and prevented an even heavier defeat.
Monaco managed a small consolation by winning the third quarter, but with an 18-point deficit, only a miracle could have threatened the Athenian dominance.
With their pride wounded, Monaco managed to close within 12 points. However, Alec Peters and Fournier scored six straight points to give Olympiacos some breathing room. The Roca Team responded again to cut the gap, but at a cost: Strazel became a target for the defense and had to leave the game with five minutes remaining.
With Nemanja Nedovic also fouling out, Monaco finished the game with only six players, but Olympiacos had already crossed the 100-point mark.
Without any surprises, the Roca Team ended their European adventure against a giant, and likely an entire generation played their last continental game.