Monaco’s basketball club has become the first team to reach the semi-finals of the FIBA Basketball Champions League despite a narrow 75-74 home defeat to Banvit on Tuesday night.
Banvit pushed Monaco all the way at Stade Louis II, but paid the price for an 85-77 defeat in the first leg, going down 159-152 on aggregate.
Monaco’s Gerald Robinson hit five three-pointers in the first-quarter and scored a game high of 30 points, claiming seven rebounds in the tense second leg. The Turkish side were seven points up in the third quarter, but fell short despite Andy Rautins’ 19-point haul.
Robinson said after the game: “We expected that from a good team, a well-coached team. We just had to stay focused. Basketball is a game of runs. It’s a good thing we had the (first-leg) advantage.”