The French side leaned on the individual talent of its top players in the face of adversity
Flowing team effort helped Monaco overcome battling Partizan
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Regular Season
Round 6 of 34
Group Regular Season
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AS Monaco ground out a precious 74-79 win at Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade as player of the game Alpha Diallo came off the bench to lead a cohesive team effort in the cauldron of a jam-packed Aleksandar Nikolic Hall.
Diallo finished the game on 18 points, 6 boards and 3 steals in 29:48 minutes on the court to lift Monaco past the home team, which had erased a 16-point deficit with a spirited second-half fightback.
Partizan nosed ahead 73-72 in the home stretch but Monaco had the last laugh thanks to its vast resources, with Mike James and Elie Okobo sinking tough shots in crunch time to silence a raucous home crowd.
Diallo, who hurt Partizan from all over as he shot 7 of 10 from two-point territory, inside and outside the paint, acknowledged that airtight defense when the chips were down made the difference as Monaco closed shop and emerged as a well-deserved winner.
“It’s a great win for us. We locked down on defense and got some crucial rebounds and were able to get the job done,” Diallo said in a courtside post-game interview. “We played with a lot of grit for a longer period of time and that’s going to win you some games.”
James and Okobo netted 15 points each and the latter pointed out that Monaco had to go the extra mile to subdue Partizan, which found an extra gear in the second half and roared back after the home players were galvanized by frenetic support from the stands.
“We showed some real team chemistry today,” he said. “We had a really good first half, they had a really good run in the second but we kept our poise and shared the ball. It’s a crazy crowd every time we come to Belgrade, but we stayed together and showed character.”
Monaco head coach Sasa Obadovic won a personal battle against his Serbian compatriot Zeljko Obradovic of Partizan and praised his team for showing mettle when the hosts looked likely to come out on top.
“We have a lot of talent on this team and I really like the positive impact made by the bench,” Obradovic stated. “Everyone contributed and it’s a very important win for us because it will boost our confidence.”