After a promising start at the Palau Blaugrana, AS Monaco Basket stumbled against a fierce FC Barcelona team, resulting in a demoralising 86-71 defeat—their first loss of the 2024/25 EuroLeague season.

The opening stages of the away game on 16th October saw the Roca Team and FC Barcelona trade leads. AS Monaco Basket looked to be in good shape, but Barca’s Kevin Punter eight points in quick succession had put the Monegasque side on the back foot by the end of the first half.  

Their performance dropped off dramatically in the third quarter and the team struggled against their clearly more united rivals. The Rocas were unable to maintain their momentum and allowed the Barca side to extend their lead significantly, reaching a 17-point deficit by the end of the third quarter. 

With the end in sight, AS Monaco Basket made an attempt at a comeback, narrowing the gap to 11 points as the minutes ticked down, but it wasn’t enough. FC Barca continued to press and ultimately won the game by a 15-point margin. 

Coach Sasa Obradovic acknowledged the team’s struggles, saying post-game, “Barcelona deserved this victory, well done to them. They put a lot of energy into it, as they always do at home. We didn’t know how to control the rebound. We needed to play a little more together to hope for something. It wasn’t our day, we missed too many things. We needed to be more consistent, which we didn’t know how to do. We also missed a lot of shots. We’ll have to bounce back. “ 

The Roca Team will now try to regroup and return to form ahead of their game against Virtus Bologna at the Salle Gaston Médecin in Monaco on 18th October.  

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Photo credit: AS Monaco Basket