On just its second Final Four appearance, the Monegasque side will take part in the title decider for the first time in its history
Mike James leads Monaco past Olympiacos and into championship game, 68-78

AS Monaco made history at Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Arena on Friday night by beating Olympiacos Piraeus 65-75 in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Semifinals to advance to the EuroLeague Championship Game. Monaco led for the final two and a half quarters to reach its first-ever championship game and condemn the Reds’ to a fourth successive Final Four heartbreak.
Mike James had a fantastic all-round performance with 17 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals and 1 block, while Alpha Diallo led Monaco in scoring with 22 points. Jaron Blossomgame, who played a game-high 37 minutes, netted 12 points and Mam Jaiteh added 11. For Olympiacos, Evan Fournier set a semifinal record this century with 31 points, and Nigel Williams-Goss scored 12 points. Sasha Vezenkov was restricted to just 7 points.
Game Videos
Williams-Goss got the passionate Olympiacos crowd to roar even louder by scoring the first two baskets of the game, 4-0, but Diallo and Jaron Blossomgame ensured Monaco stayed calm by tying the score at 4-4. James then gave the visitors their first lead at 4-7, before Vezenkov and particularly Fournier combined to give Olympiacos a 15-11 edge. But Monaco responded every time with James and Diallo levelling it at 15-15. It was 17-17 after 10 minutes.
Monaco continued its momentum at the start of the second as Nick Calathes and Elie Okobo put the Monegasques 17-21 ahead, their biggest lead of the night to that point. The swings continued, though, as Nikola Milutinov scored twice in a row before Thomas Walkup netted to give Olympiacos a 23-21 advantage. James moved to 11 points in the game with 3 foul shots made and a three-pointer as Monaco took a 26-27 lead, then Blossomgame and a wonderfully worked team move capped by a Daniel Theis dunk swelled the advantage to 26-31. Fournier pulled it within one point, 30-31, then Moustapha Fall dunked to respond to Diallo’s score, 32-33, but James ensured it was 32-35 at halftime.
Kostas Papanikolaou converted inside with the first score of the second half, 34-35, then Theis’s three made it 34-38. Diallo’s off-balanced jumper kept it at a four-point game, 36-40, then Blossomgame responded to a Fournier floater by scoring five points in a row, 38-45. Diallo and Okobo joined forces as the lead grew to 40-52, the first time either side had been up by double digits. Fournier then led an Olympiacos fightback by scoring nine points in an 11-5 run, but Monaco led 51-57 entering the final frame.
Jaiteh gave Monaco a big boost by netting five points to start the final frame, 51-62, to put his team in a great position. Williams-Goss struck from long range and Fournier converted a mid-range jumper, 56-64, but Elie Okobo and Diallo kept it at a double-digit margin, 58-68. A wonderful assist by James for Jaiteh made it 58-70, but Fournier wasn’t going to give up without a fight, draining two threes either side of a Diallo three-point play, 63-75. Yet it was a turnover by Fournier that led to a Diallo dunk, 65-75, which proved to be one of the final baskets of the game as the Monegasques went on to grab a 68-78 victory.