On a poor run of form, tension, discord and frustration are starting to show at AS Monaco Basketball. The Roca Team’s latest defeat came against Barcelona (80-70) on Friday.

Monaco were looking to bounce back after a shock defeat to Bourg-en-Bresse in the Leaders Cup last week. Sasa Obradovic’s men had plenty of time to prepare for the fixture, perhaps too much time, as Monaco looked rusty in the first half.

The Principality club aren’t on their richest vein of form, but they would have to conjure up a performance in the second half to avoid back-to-back defeats. Monaco shored up their defence, allowing them to go on the attack, and having prevented Barcelona from scoring for four minutes in the final quarter, they were within touching distance of their opponents (62-65).

However, it was at this point that the cracks began to show, spilling over into confrontations and arguments, notably between James and Obradovic. The American point guard lost possession twice before arguing with the coach, whilst the game continued. The American then threw the ball against the advertising boards in anger after a Barcelona hoop allowed the Spanish side to pull away once more.

Monaco lost their heads, and logically succumbed to a defeat in Catalunya (80-70), but remain in the playoff spots.

Jordan Loyd didn’t mince his words when criticising the Roca Team’s latest defeat. “There is a lot of frustration. We are going through difficult weeks. We are still learning and we lost our heads at the end; it is something that is happening every match. We’re losing our heads. We’re a good team, but we’re not mature enough,” he said post-match.

Monaco will be hoping to dispel the negative energy currently around the club with a victory against Maccabi Tel Aviv at the Salle Gaston Médecin on Thursday.

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Photo by AS Monaco Basket