Monaco's Chima Moneke rose to the occasion in Game 5
Just when AS Monaco needed a spark in Game 5 of its series against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv in the 2023 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs, Chima Moneke was there. The 27-year-old has had a turbulent time with the club since arriving in mid-season, yet his energy, hustle and determination were all on display as he helped Monaco book its ticket to the Final Four for the first-ever time.
It would have been easy for Moneke to feel a little disheartened coming into Game 5, as he had back-to-back DNPs in Games 1 and 2 before ending with totals of 0 points and 0 rebounds from Games 3 and 4 in Tel Aviv, in which he spent a combined 12:54 on the court. Yet, Monaco head coach Sasa Obradovic gave him a chance in Game 5 – and it paid off.
Moneke spent 22:53 on the court in Game 5, finishing with 10 points, having gone 3-of-5 on two-pointers and 4-of-4 from the free-throw line, while he also grabbed 4 rebounds – 2 on each end of the court – and blocked 1 shot. All in all, it was an impressive night's work for the EuroLeague rookie.
"This is definitely one of the happiest moments of my basketball career, for sure," Moneke said in the post-game interview afterward. "[Mainly] because of how my season has gone, being injured for a month and then coming back and not playing, and not playing as much as I thought and deserved. Yeah, I couldn’t be happier right now."
Monaco was led by the 21 points scored by Mike James in the first half, but after the break – and especially it in the fourth quarter – the likes of Moneke, Elie Okobo and Donta Hall, all of whom started on the bench, came up with big plays. For Coach Obradovic, it was just what he wanted to see ahead of the Final Four: all of his roster stepping up when their season is on the line.
Game Videos
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FC Barcelona-AS Monaco | Playoffs Game 4 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:20
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Diallo's big dunk! Motorola Magic Moment of the Night
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Follow the Efes-Panathinaikos Game 4 post-game press conference
- 02:05
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Shane Larkin: 'Big game from everybody'
- 00:13
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James finds Theis! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:10
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Blossomgame's two-handed dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
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Anadolu Efes Istanbul-Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens | Playoffs Game 4 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:17
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Elijah Bryant with a big three! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:10
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Nunn with a deep three! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:13
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Yurtseven with a sublime dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:08
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Juancho rocks the rim! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:14
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Yurtseven on the alley oop! Motorola Magic Moment
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FC Barcelona-AS Monaco | Playoffs Game 3 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:15
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Diallo's big block! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:56
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Alpha Diallo: 'It's really hard to beat us'
- 00:27
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Monaco Showtime! Motorola Magic Moment of the Night
- 01:15
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Mam Jaiteh: 'If we play like this defensively, we will do good'
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AS Monaco-FC Barcelona | PO Game 2 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:12
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Tarpey’s big driving dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:28
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Jaiteh’s poster dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:17
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From defense to slam-dunk offense! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:14
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Jaiteh’s diving hustle! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:07
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Diallo’s chasedown block! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:26
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Tarpey's big block! Motorola Magic Moment of the Night
- 00:58
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Daniel Theis: 'Matthew Strazel sets the tone for our defense'
- 00:55
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Elie Okobo: 'We showed great character today'
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AS Monaco-FC Barcelona | PO Game-1 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:12
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Theis throws it down! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:11
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James turns defense into offense! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:56
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Mike James: 'We can celebrate a little bit'
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LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne-AS Monaco | RS Round 34 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Olympiacos Piraeus-Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv | RS Round 34 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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The EuroLeague & Friends gang are joined by Nick Calathes for episode 22
- 00:39
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Levi Randolph: 'This shows the character of our team'
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Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv-FC Bayern Munich | RS Round 33 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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AS Monaco-Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens | RS Round 33 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Anadolu Efes Istanbul-Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv | RS Round 32 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 01:24
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Jaron Blossomgame: 'We played Monaco basketball’
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Olympiacos Piraeus-AS Monaco | RS Round 32 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:16
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Jaiteh’s ferocious finish! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:10
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James feeds Theis for the flush! Motorola Magic Moment
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Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv-Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens | RS Round 31 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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AS Monaco-Zalgiris Kaunas | RS Round 31 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:20
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Okobo with a classy jumper to close the half! Motorola Magic Moment
- 01:18
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Rokas Jokubaitis: 'We play for pride and are doing an amazing job'
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Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv-Virtus Segafredo Bologna | RS Round 30 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:45
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Mike James: 'We played with more energy than we have been'
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AS Monaco-Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul | RS Round 30 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:17
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Diallo with a clutch dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:13
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Jimmy Clark we have take-off! Motorola Magic Moment
