A long and intense weekend of basketball in Caen, which had seemed so full of promise, has ended in a bitter defeat for AS Monaco Basketball. Having suffered a bruising 104-96 loss to Le Mans in the final round, the Roca Team has been forced to settle for second place in the 2025 Leaders Cup.
The action began on Friday 14th February when AS Monaco Basketball came up against Bourg-en-Bresse in the quarter-finals.
Mike James was the standout player of the game, contributing 31 points and leading his team through a challenging match-up that ultimately ended 101-88 in Monaco’s favour, putting the Principality side through to the semi-finals against ASVEL.
“I feel I need to be aggressive, and today I had to be more than usual,” said James after the game. “I want to win, this Leaders Cup is a trophy at stake, and I want to win it.”
The following day, the Roca Team entered the court at the Palais des Sports Caen de la Mer with the sole focus of beating ASVEL – a team the players know well – and getting through to the 2025 Leaders Cup finals.
Monaco dominated despite missing key player Vitto Brown, and the team’s chemistry was on full display, with James, Elie Okobo and Matthew Strazel leading the collective charge. ASVEL struggled to match Monaco’s intensity, with turnovers and missed shots hindering their efforts.
By halftime, Monaco had a 12-point advantage, which grew to 20 in the second half. As the game progressed, key contributions from Jaron Blossomgame, Georgios Papagiannis and Mam Jaiteh further extended the lead.
Although ASVEL made a late push, it was too little, too late. The Roca Team sealed their 91-78 victory, sending them to the final against Le Mans.
Off the court, Okobo shared, “We were solid the whole game. At the end of the second quarter, we gave up some three-pointers due to defensive mistakes, but overall, we played well. Now it’s time for the last game. We need to take care of our legs and bodies to maintain the energy and rhythm we had today. It’s been two years since we’ve been knocked out in the quarters or semis, but this year is the one. We all want to win the Leaders Cup, and you can see that on the court. Everyone is putting in the effort.”
AS Monaco Basketball v Le Mans
The final took place on Sunday 16th February, again at a packed Palais des Sports Caen de la Mer.
Despite all the optimism and hope going into the game, Vassilis Spanoulis’ men never found their rhythm and were forced to settle for second place, losing 96-104 to a proud Le Mans side.
“They deserve to win,” said Head Coach Spanoulis after the game. “They had excellent stats, they played freely. We knew Le Mans only had two big men, but those two big men killed us. We didn’t respect basketball, we didn’t respect Le Mans.”
He continued, “We thought it would be an easy game, we thought we had already won the Leaders Cup on Saturday. I’m very disappointed. To concede 104 points in a final, I’ve never seen that. We didn’t deserve to win. The attitudes were not right. We’re behaving like superstars. I would die for this team and its players, but I have to make decisions. Everyone has to look in the mirror. It’s not always someone else’s fault. I want to play with players who want to win.”
Going into the final, Monaco and Le Mans were already the two most successful teams in the competition, each having won the Leaders Cup three times in its history. Now, it is Le Mans who stands alone at the top of this title podium, leaving Monaco in a sorry second place.
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Photo source: AS Monaco Basketball