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Month: April 2022

Euroleague play-off match two: The Roca Team strikes back

by: Luke Entwistle
26/04/2022

AS Monaco Basketball responded to their first-leg defeat at the hands of Olympiacos with an emphatic victory in Greece (72-96) on Friday, whilst qualification for the domestic play-offs was also confirmed.

The Roca Team drew level with Olympiacos in their best-of-five play-off tie with an emphatic victory on Friday. Having been constrained to their lowest scoring tally in years in the first leg in the Peace and Friendship stadium in Greece, Sasa Obradovic called for a response from his players.

And what a response he got. The Serbian coach called on his players to “manage our emotions better,” and to “avoid falling in the atmosphere around us.” Falling behind in the first-quarter (16-10) it would have been easy to fold under the pressure.

The opposite transpired. An incredible second-quarter (12-30) built a healthy 12-point lead going into the break. Needing to control the match in the second-half, the more senior members of the squad needed to make their experience count.

The man for the big moment, Mike James, heeded the call and stepped up to the plate in the second-half. Having scored only two points in the opening two-quarters, he registered 21 in the next two as Monaco not only maintained, but grew their lead.

A stellar response from a mentally resilient Roca Team means they head back to the Principality for Wednesday’s game all-tied, Obradovic’s side now able to put their home advantage to good use.

Obradovic reflected post-match on the mentality shift that allowed Monaco to level the tie. “We adjusted to the atmosphere and played with more purpose… I hope we’re mentally prepared for the third game, which will be crucial.”

Domestic play-off qualification secured

Before welcoming the Greeks back to the Salle Gaston Medecin, Monaco had a Betclic fixture against Fos-sur-Mer to navigate on Sunday afternoon. With qualification for the domestic play-offs already sealed pre-match, Monaco nonetheless did a professional job in ensuring a morale-boosting win before Wednesday night’s fixture (93-66).

James and Will Thomas were amongst the big names rested for the fixture, but in their absence, their replacements made short work of a Fos-sur-Mer side that sit second-from-bottom of the Betclic table.

Dwayne Bacon (21) and Donta Hall (17) featured prominently on Friday and did the same on Sunday. Their efficiency and attacking flair proved too much for their opponents, who struggled to keep pace in the opening two-quarters.

Monaco did, however, only head back to the dressing room with a five-point lead. A more resilient defensive effort in the second-half helped the Principality side to grow a healthy gap that they were never going to concede. The Roca Team eventually ran out 93-66 winners.

With the lack of training in Monaco’s packed schedule, the match was a good opportunity to give court time to some of their supporting acts, whilst ensuring a positive dynamic ahead of another important week.

“It is good preparation ahead of a crucial week against Olympiacos. Currently, training sessions are very limited, so I’m very happy with what we showed today against Fos.”

All attention can now turn back to the Euroleague play-off, as Monaco look to take the lead against their formidable Greek opponents in Wednesday’s match at the Salle Gaston Medecin. Victory would take them one step closer to booking their ticket to Belgrade next month.

 

 

 

Photo source: AS Monaco

 

 

 

Monaco Basket Association win French Cup Trophy

by: Luke Entwistle
26/04/2022

Monaco’s women’s basketball team won the French Cup on Friday against US Le Poinconnet (69-50), celebrating their second title in five years with the travelling fans, who made the journey to Paris.

It was a dominant victory for Monaco Basketball Association (MBA), who won every quarter on their way to adding to their success in 2017, becoming only the second side to win the competition twice after Angers UFAB. It was a logical victory given the clear difference in quality between the two sides. On the one hand, Monaco are the N2 table-toppers (18 victories, four defeats), whilst US Le Poinconnet languish in sixth (11 victories, 11 defeats).

Monaco fans packed the Accor Arena in Paris to cheer on the Principality team, as they saw them effectively end the game as a contest in the first-half. A stout defensive performance limited US Le Poinconnet to just nine points in the first-quarter and 14 in the second. Although they limited the damage in the final two-quarters, with a more incisive attacking display and then a shut-out of their own, it wasn’t enough to repair the damage done in the opening stages.

Post-match, MBA player Najet Ouardad revealed the well-founded confidence of the side coming into this year’s final. “With this team, you knew we were going to win. We are here for a reason. We’ve worked hard and we kept together. That work has paid off.”

Having secured another trophy for the cabinet, their attention immediately shifts to adding to their success between now and the end of the season. “We’ve won a trophy, that was an objective and now we move onto the next one, which is getting promoted to second division. We have the play-offs coming up and we’re focused on that now.”

Just like the men’s basketball side, MBA are blossoming, and their already stellar season could have the perfect ending yet, should they earn that much-deserved promotion.

 

 

Leclerc retains championship lead despite failure on Ferrari home soil

by: Luke Entwistle
25/04/2022

A late Charles Leclerc spin and an early Carlos Sainz retirement consigned Ferrari to a miserable afternoon at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on Sunday, while Max Verstappen secured his second win of the season.

Verstappen’s victory is enough to cut the gap to the Monegasque driver, but Leclerc remains well and truly in the driving seat, with 27 points still separating the two rivals. The weekend belonged to Red Bull who, with a couple of small upgrades, closed a seemingly mammoth gap to the Ferrari.

Leclerc, however, isn’t worried, and still expects a tight race between the two teams. “Only time will tell how much of a step Red Bull made. Honestly, with Red Bull it is either one weekend they are stronger and another we are.”

The Championship leader continued, “I still think we are there more or less and it is track-dependent who is coming out on top. I don’t think there are any significant differences yet.”

Emilia Romagna F1 Grand Prix, credit: Scuderia Ferrari Press Office

Following Leclerc’s success down under, Red Bull came out charging on Saturday at Imola. In one of three sprint races on this year’s calendar, it was Verstappen who took the victory in dramatic circumstances. On a damp track, Leclerc got a better start off the line, to the delight of the thousands of tifosi in the stands.

With just two laps to go, Verstappen retook the lead, securing pole position and a solid eight-point haul to start to bridge the gap to his Ferrari rival.

Sunday’s race took place in similarly damp conditions, but the tifosi reaction to the race start was polar opposite to the day before. The cheers for a Leclerc overtake on Saturday were contrasted with groans and gasps as Sainz was forced to retire at the opening corner of the first lap. A clip from Daniel Ricciardo sent the Spaniard spinning into the gravel trap, out of which there was no escape.

Leclerc’s start, meanwhile, wasn’t much better. Poor traction allowed Sergio Perez and Lando Norris to pass, although the latter was easy pickings for Leclerc just a few laps later. The difficulty was in catching the Red Bulls, and it was this desperation to catch a quicker car that led Leclerc into making the late error.

Just a second behind Perez with 10 laps left, Leclerc pushed too hard and took too much curb on the chicane, sending him spinning into the barrier. The chase for second over, he had to limp back to the pit and salvage as many points as possible. Having pitted for another front wing, he came out in ninth. A valiant, charging effort saw him make his way back up to sixth, a successful salvage job from a difficult position.

Verstappen and Red Bull were comfortably the big winners of the day, Verstappen’s 34 points-haul closes the gap in the Drivers’ Championship, whilst Red Bull’s first one-two in six years closes the gap in the Constructors’ to just 11 points. Norris rounded off the top three for his first podium of the year.

Post-race, Verstappen offered his sympathies to Leclerc, although that won’t console the Monegasque who was dreaming of race victory in front of the adoring, passionate tifosi. “It’s easily done. He was pushing hard. It is painful, but he knows that himself, but it’s such a long championship.”

Despite a difficult weekend, Leclerc still holds the lead going into the maiden Miami Grand Prix in just two weeks time.

 

Photo source: Scuderia Ferrari Press Office

 

 

 

 

 

Larvotto Beach to get a pre-summer face lift

by: Stephanie Horsman
25/04/2022

Starting this week, Larvotto Beach will be intermittently closed and swimming prohibited whilst works are carried out to reprofile the beach ahead of the busy summer season.

Winter is hard on local beaches. Storms, winds and heavier surf change the topography making for changes that are not always entirely welcome.

Larvotto Beach is no exception. Now that spring is here, work is starting to make the beach bikini ready for all. During the past several months, the slope of the beach dramatically increased, so works are now underway to flatten the area and return it to its pre-winter appearance.

The work will be entirely land based, consisting mostly of levelling the dirt and sand. This, says the government, will “restore a suitable morphology to the beach to guarantee sufficient reception capacity and meet the needs of securing access to bathing areas”.

Meanwhile, stopgaps will be installed to protect marine life, including the installation of retention nets in the sea to the right of the coves to protect the adjoining reserve from any residual sediment being collected in those areas.

During this works period, which runs from 25th April to 13th May, beach usage and access will be limited.

From Monday to Friday, the beaches will be closed from 9am to 12pm, with beach accessibility restored from midday onwards. Shops and restaurants will still be open during this period without any restrictions, however public swimming is banned.

On Saturdays and Sundays, the beaches, shops and restaurants will be open all day, though swimming and sunbathing is still not be allowed.

Smaller maintenance projects will be carried out throughout the summer, though it is not anticipated that these future works will cause closures or impinge on bathers and beach-goers.

 

 

Photo buy Michael Alesi, Government Communication Department

 

 

 

The story and significance behind Italy’s Liberation Day

by: Stephanie Horsman
25/04/2022

Italians are today, 25th April, celebrating Liberation Day, or Il Giorno della Liberazione, an event of national pride and remembrance. But what exactly is the history behind this important day?

World War II was tricky for the Italians. Their leader, Benito Mussolini, backed Adolph Hitler and his nationalist agenda, putting them on the losing side of a horrific and bloody war that lasted from 1939 to 1945.

Many opposed Mussolini and the German occupation of their country, and a strong resistance movement came into being. As the war was winding down in 1945, a series of actions took place that gradually led to Italy being set free from oppressors inside and out of their nation.

The first was an uprising in Bologna, followed by one in Genoa, both taking place on 23rd April, effectively liberating these cities. Next up were Milan and Turin on the 25th. American forces landed in Italy on 1st May, and the rest of the German forces finally put up the white flag that day, ending the war in Italy.

The internal resistance forces in Italy had been working since the start of the war. The group was made up of a motley crew of unlikely allies including members of the Italian Communist Party, the Italian Socialist Party, the Christian Democrats, the Labour Democratic Party and the Italian Liberal Party, which together made up the National Liberation Committee of Upper Italy (CLNAI).

The current date was chosen in 1946, and in most Italian cities, marches and parades are organised to commemorate the event. On 22nd April 1946, the ‘Provisions on festive occasions’ decree created the national holiday. The bill states that “In celebration of the total liberation of the Italian territory, 25th April 1946 is declared a national holiday”.

On 27th May 1949, Law 260 made the anniversary a permanent, annual national holiday.

Today, it is marked by festivities and tributes, including parades, concerts, speeches and street parties. The song of the resistance movement, Bella Ciao, can be heard all over the country, on every street and home. Additionally, in a tradition the Italians do so well, a special meal is served at family gatherings and with friends to commemorate the day.

 

 

Photo by Mauricio Artieda on Unsplash

 

 

 

Rampant Monaco continue unrelenting advance

by: Luke Entwistle
25/04/2022

AS Monaco met little resistance against Saint-Etienne on Saturday, as Philippe Clement’s men earned their sixth consecutive victory (1-4) with just “four finals” left to decide their Champions League fate.

Thanks to Strasbourg’s loss to Lille, Monaco moved up to fourth, behind Rennes only on goal difference.

Since Clement’s declaration post-Braga defeat that there are “10 finals” left to go in the season, they have won every match. Nothing has yet been decided, however, as Aurélien Tchouameni reminded us post-match, “Before today’s game against Saint-Étienne there were five finals, and there are still four to go. I repeat, we still have to take the matches one after another.”

Following consecutive victories against rivals for the European spaces, a different kind of challenge awaited them in the Geoffroy Stadium. But amidst a hot atmosphere, which prompted two delays due to pyrotechnic displays, one of which lasted over 30 minutes, Clement’s men got the job done.

The Principality side started as they meant to go on. Kevin Volland tested the goalkeeper early, whilst Gelson Martins, in for Ruben Aguilar in what was the only change, had to score the rebound, but blazed over with the open goal gaping.

Monaco kept pushing and took the lead soon after. Caio Henrique’s grounded cross was met perfectly by Ben Yedder, who swept home to net his 20th in the league this season.

Only seconds later, the lead was doubled in a near mirror image of the opener. Gelson Martins this time with the cross, and although Volland’s finishing touch wasn’t as clean, it was nonetheless sufficient to give Monaco control of the match.

Wahbi Khazri’s converted penalty following a slightly rash Tchouameni challenge in the box gave Les Verts hope of a revival. That notion was put to pay early in the second half, Timothee Kolodziejczak’s spectacular own goal restored the two-goal cushion, before the lengthy delay.

The much-prolonged game was then wrapped up as a contest by Myron Boadu, who couldn’t miss his open goal attempt from six yards.

Another three points firmly asserts Monaco as the form side in the division, as they chase after an ever-more realistic podium spot. Post-match, Clement reflected on an important victory in a hostile atmosphere.

“I am very happy with my players because they managed the interruption well, and I’m very happy to have scored four goals, even if we could have scored even more.”

Monaco are a free-flowing, free-scoring attacking outfit once more, and should Ben Yedder, Volland and Boaud’s form continue through until the end of the season, that may just be the difference between meeting their objectives or falling agonisingly short.

Photo source: AS Monaco