Sasa Obradovic: “We want to write another chapter in the club’s history”

AS Monaco Basketball marked their return to pre-season training with a press conference in the Monte-Carlo Casino on Tuesday, where the objectives for the upcoming campaign were outlined.

Last season, the Roca Team surpassed expectations on a European level, reaching the playoffs in their debut Euroleague season. However, the season ended in heartbreak on a domestic level as the side were narrowly beaten by ASVEL in a five-leg thriller in the Betclic Elite.

Season objectives

The objectives this year are clear: consolidate and build-upon last season’s success. Once again, the club will be competing in the top tier of European basketball, and matching last season’s achievement is the minimum requirement. Coach Sasa Obradovic told Monaco Life, “I have always set big goals and there are so many factors that decide whether you reach them or not. I can guarantee that this team will give their maximum to achieve your expectations and goals.”

He continued, “For us, reaching the Euroleague playoffs is a must-do, and anything more than that is another step in writing another chapter in this team’s history and also the Principality’s history. In the Euroleague, this has to be the goal.”

New signing Jordan Loyd added, “Reaching the final four is always the goal, but besides just saying it, I think we really just need to put the work in. On paper we have a great team and if we all just buy in and sacrifice a lot we can do a lot of good things this year. I think we have a chance every night, no matter who we’re playing.” (Watch the video interview below)

Bringing continuity

To reach those goals, Monaco are counting on a highly altered roster. For consecutive seasons, there has been a high turnover at the Roca Team as the squad is moulded around ever more ambitious objectives. However, having found a “balance”, Oleksiy Yefimov is now aiming for a greater continuity, and he doesn’t foresee the same level of squad upheaval in the future.

Roca Team general manager Oleksiy Yefimov told Monaco Life, “We want to build a stable roster and we want that continuity. We want to avoid situations where we’re significantly changing the roster. Once you reach Euroleague level you cannot build up the team the same as you’ve been doing before. Last year, we entered the Euroleague as an unknown team, because of certain circumstances we took a risk in having four rookies, and we succeeded.”

There is also a very discernible shift in the club. Gone is the underdog mentality that has thus far defined a club, which has seen a sudden and steep rise. “It’s no longer the time for a Cinderella story; we need to be more professional and show that we’re well prepared for the Euroleague level. That’s why we have players with experience and players ready to commit long-term deals,” said Yefimov.

It is not only the quantity of reinforcements at Monaco that catches the eye, but the quality of those recruits. Many of those who arrive at the Salle Gaston Medecin do so with years of experience at the highest echelons of the game. Last year, Monaco were heavily reliant on star man Mike James, but the club’s summer business will ease that burden.

“Mike James is a really good player. We depended on him a lot last year. This year we have more options. He’s a key player, but we can also rely on the other guys, who can take over and make the difference in every position, even more so than in the previous year. I’m expecting even more team basketball to be played, and I’m expecting contributions from everyone. I also expect a bigger rotation, which will give us more consistency in the Euroleague and in the French division,” said Obradovic.

Notably, there are many more French players in the squad compared to last year. Betclic Elite rules stipulate that only six foreigners can play in any one match, and due to the lack of French players in the squad, it became difficult to be consistent on the European and domestic fronts.

“Now the team is more balanced with more French players in the roster and with fewer foreigners. This will help the coach rotate the team,” said Yefimov.

Stadium renovation

During the press conference, the club’s pre-season plans were unveiled. The club will first travel to Bormio. Then they’ll go directly to Sardinia to play a friendly tournament before travelling for a German tour. They will then finish their preparation in Antalya, Turkey.

None of the preparation for the season, which starts at the end of September, will take place in the Principality. That is due to the continued construction taking place at the Salle Gaston Medecin to make the court comply with Euroleague requirements.

The government’s Interior Minister, Patrice Cellario, revealed that the work on the hall was on schedule and that it will be ready for the first home game of the season on 2nd October. He also revealed that the capacity of the stadium will be 4,600, just above the minimum requirement stipulated by Euroleague regulations (4,500 minimum).

As Yefimov exclusively revealed to Monaco Life, the changes will allow the club to meet short-term goals, although in the long-term, they have more grand plans. “If we want to remain part of the Euroleague family, of course we have to think about having a new venue, but at the same time this isn’t the only thing we have to work on. We need to show Euroleague that due to our participation in the competition, that the organisation as a whole will benefit. This is also a huge element that will have an impact on our Euroleague future,” said Yefimov.

What underpins this ambition is new research, which shows the potential of the Roca Team. Yefimov revealed to Monaco Life that latest research shows that Monaco have overtaken ASVEL and Limoges, historic French clubs, to become the most recognised basketball brand in France.

To confirm their exponential growth off the court, another strong season on the court is a must, and ideally one which sees the club surpass last season’s Euroleague achievements, whilst also finally sealing that all-elusive Betclic Elite title.

Watch Luke Entwistle’s interview with American basketball player Jordan Loyd about his move to Monaco and his objectives for the season ahead…

 

 

 

Photo above credit: Manuel Vitali, Government Communication Department

 

 

 

 

The mission: to recycle gray water in Antarctica

Newly minted Monaco Tech alumni FGWRS will join the Prince Albert Foundation, Paul-Émile Victor French Polar Institute and the European Space Agency for a sustainability mission to Antarctica in December.

1,600 kilometres from the South Pole, the French-Italian Concordia base is about to be the test centre for a new type of gray water recycling system. The Firmus Gray Water Recycling System (FGWRS) will debut the programme on 6th December and will have a special guest join the team at the base camp.

Special guest Justin Sargenti, former student of Institut François d’Assise, Nicolas Barre (FANB) and winner of the Students On Ice 2015 competition organised by the Prince Albert II Foundation (FPA2), as well as a graduate of the National School of Architecture in Strasbourg, will live on the Franco-Italian Antarctic research station until 4th February 2023.

Passionate about photography and polar environments since his expedition to the Arctic in 2015 with Students On Ice, Justin has always been interested in the protection of the poles and life in this hostile environment. In addition, he is currently working toward a doctorate relating to comfort in the stations.

Justin Sargenti will join the mission on 6th December.

He has had to undergo rigorous medical examinations and will participate in a training course by the Concordia technical team for enduring Concordia winters by Monaco’s French counterpart FGWRS France.

“Since my expedition to the Arctic in 2015 following the Students On Ice competition with the FPA2, my dearest dream was to set foot on the Antarctic continent,” said Justin Sargenti. “Today, thanks to FGWRS and its work on the Concordia scientific base, I am offered the opportunity to live there for two months. It goes beyond anything I could ever dream of and motivates me to continue working in the polar environments and their preservation.”

The mission at Concordia station, which is in partnership with the Prince Albert II Foundation, the French Polar Institute and the European Space Agency (ESA), will test a new type of membrane that consumes less energy than the one currently in place. It will also, in conjunction with ESA, study the possibility of installing other recycling processes for yellow and black water at the research station.

Previous collaborations have been carried out by the French Polar Institute, the European Space Agency and FIRMUS, and gray water recycling was officially put into use at Concordia in 2005.

Since its installation, the process has been free of any technical or health incidents and more than six million litres of water has been saved via recycling water from the kitchen, showers, sinks and washing machines, which is treated and reused.

 

 

 

Spider’s sister sells for record €40 million

A steel version of Louise Bourgeois’ iconic Spider, similar to the giant sculpture featured last year in the gardens of Monte-Carlo, has been sold by art gallery Hauser & Wirth for €40 million, the biggest sum ever paid for a work by the artist.

The all-steel 1996 version of artist Louise Bourgeois’ Spider went on the block at Art Basel’s first VIP day, selling for the enormous sum of €39.9 million. The massive piece, which matches its hefty price tag, is 3.35 metres long and towered over the Hauser & Wirth booth at the Art Basel Fair, which was held in June.

The sculpture came from the private collection of Ursula Hauser, mother of gallery co-founder Manuela Hauser, and was passed onto another private collection. As the Spider is made from steel not bronze like many of Bourgeois’ other works, it is an “indoor-only” piece.

The spider sculpture that featured in the Boulingrins Gardens as part of Hauser & Wirth’s Louise Bourgeois exhibition last year, was the bronze version. The art gallery confirmed to Monaco Life that this particular piece is still part of the private collection.

Louise Bourgeois has had huge success with her Spider sculptures. A 1997 bronze version sold in 2019, also at Art Basel, via auction house Christie’s for €31.9 million, and a smaller rendering, Spider IV, sold in April at Sotheby’s Hong Kong for €16.4 million, making it the most expensive sculpture ever sold in Asia.

The big sums being bandied about for the sales of these works is significant, as female artists usually don’t command the same as their male counterparts. Andy Warhol’s Shot Sage Blue Marilyn (1964) became the most expensive 20th century artwork to sell at auction when it sold last month at Christie’s New York to Larry Gagosian for $195 million. The three most expensive sculptures to ever sell at auction are all by Alberto Giacometti, each going for more than $100 million, with L’Homme au doigt (1947) selling at Christie’s New York in 2015 for $141.3 million.

Though the €40 million is an impressive number, American modernist artist Georgia O’Keeffe holds the record for the biggest sale by a woman artist. Her Juimson Weed/White Flower No. 41 sold for $44.4 million in 2014 at Sotheby’s in New York.

SEE ALSO:

PAUL MCCARTHY’S PIRATES STEW POT IN MONACO

HAUSER AND WIRTH TO OPEN GALLERY IN MONACO

 

 

Photo above by Monaco Life

 

 

 

 

Monaco qualify for Rugby 7s final

Monaco Rugby 7s won the second round of the In Extenso Rugby Sevens on Saturday to qualify for the grand final, which will take place in Paris later this year.

The Principality side won the La Rochelle round of the competition, demolishing Pau 26-12 at the Stade Marcel Deflandre. Their success sees them qualify for the grand final, which takes place at the La Défense Arena on 19th November. The side will be hoping to go one better than last year, where they were defeated in the final by the Barbarians.

Monaco booked their place in the finals in convincing style. They outclassed Toulouse (40-7), Bordeaux-Bègles (34-19) and Stade Français (31-7) in order to reach the final against Pau.

Monaco swept Pau aside in the first-half, scoring 14 unreplied points. The onslaught continued into the second-half as Monaco eased to a 26-12 victory. Saturday’s win is particularly sweet given that Pau beat Monaco in the final of the first qualifying round the previous weekend.

The identities of Monaco’s rivals in that grand final in November will be known after the third and final round of qualifying, which takes place on 27th August. Having got a taste of lifting a trophy on Saturday, the objective will now be to replicate their dominance later this year and bring a more coveted piece of silverware back to the Principality.

 

 

Photo source: Supersevens – presseport

 

 

 

 

The deadly storm that Corsica never saw coming

Prince Albert has sent his condolences after hurricane-strength winds and rain ripped across Corsica killing five people, including a 13-year-old girl. 

As the south of France experienced more rain in just a few hours than in recent months combined, hail, heavy rain and winds reaching upto 225 km per hour hammered the island of Corsica Thursday morning, smashing boats and cars, uprooting trees and damaging houses.

“It’s such a paradox,” Gilles Simeoni, President of the Executive Council of Corsica, told franceinfo. “For weeks we had been living in fear of fires … and this rain which was supposed to be beneficial turned into a deadly windstorm.”

The storm claimed five victims: a 46-year-old man whose bungalow was crushed by a tree in a campsite in Sagone, a 13-year-old girl who was also killed by a falling tree in Corse-du-Sud, a woman aged 72, also in Corse-du-Sud, who was killed when a straw hut’s roof landed on her car, a 62-year-old fisherman whose cause of death has not been revealed, and a female British tourist, who clung to the side of a stricken kayak with her husband for two hours before dying.

A natural catastrophe decree is expected to be approved next week, which will help residents and businesses with insurance claims for damage caused by the storm.

“I was woken around 7:30am by a very huge storm that knocked out both electricity and mobile phone networks,” said Benjamin Roux, a 26-year-old tourist. He had planned to go scuba diving but found himself saving the passengers of a boat who were sleeping aboard when it was suddenly thrown onto the shore by waves.

“They managed to get out without injuries, but they’re just devastated,” he told AFP.

Monaco’s Head of State, Prince Albert, has sent his condolences to the people of Corsica. In a letter addressed to Gilles Simeoni, he says, “With my family and the population of the Principality of Monaco, I would like to express our deep sympathy for you with regard to the dramatic consequences of the violent storms which fell in Corsica.

“In this painful circumstance, I express my deepest condolences to you and express to the families of the victims, to the injured and to all those affected by this tragedy, my feelings of deep sympathy.”

Two people in Italy also died in Thursday’s storms.

The storm warning in Corsica was only upgraded to orange – the second highest alert level – just moments before the violent storm battered the island, making any emergency evacuation impossible.

During a press conference Thursday, Météo France called it an “exceptional” and unforeseen phenomenon, with extreme winds that had formed in a matter of minutes.

“We were a little surprised by the strength ​​of the gusts, which were quite exceptional and had never been observed before,” admitted Christophe Morel, head of the forecasting office. The situation was “difficult to predict” because “we cannot observe the gusts as long as the storms are on the sea,” added forecaster François Gourand.

Monaco and mainland France bore less of the brunt of the storm than originally expected, although intense rains, which produced flash flooding and fierce hail, did hit much of southern France following weeks of punishing drought.

Photo above: credit Jules Jagger on Facebook

 

 

 

Enjoy the last days of Mada Lounge

Jardins des Boulingrins near Casino Square has been hosting the Mada Lounge pop-up bar since the start of July. Now, it is in its last days, so get out and enjoy an al fresco drink under the stars before it ends with the summer breeze.

Mada One’s summertime pop-up, nestled in the Jardins des Boulingrins, has been a hit since it first started serving refreshing cocktails on 1st July. Now, the lounge is wrapping up the season, with the last day set for Sunday 28th August, so guests have a few last chances to enjoy the beautiful setting with an unparalleled view onto the Casino de Monte Carlo.

The Mada Lounge has made a name for itself not only for the beverages served, but also for the cool vibe set to the backdrop of live music or DJs.

For its last week, the performances will be by Pab Emsen or London Harlem accompanied by live music and a DJ on Wednesday evening. Thursday features a local DJ and Friday evening chilled out musician Sylow Music will play for the crowd. The summer at Mada Lounge winds up Saturday and Sunday with more live music.

The lounge is open from 4pm to 10pm. No reservations are required.

 

Photo by Monaco Life