Matthew Strazel, the hero of the evening at Gaston-Médecin! Subscribe now to enjoy a smooth, fast, and ad-free reading experience. From 5€Essai gratuitEn seeing Mike James crash on a counter-attack at 60 seconds from the end of the regular time and with a score of parity (79-79), one could fear that the bad waves around the Principality would prevent ASM from offering a beautiful victory against Olympiakos. But continuing to show abnegation, as throughout the match, the teammates of Matthew Strazel were finally rewarded, by a basket of his at 4 seconds from the final buzzer (81-80). AS Monaco (9th) thus keeps all its playoff hopes, even after the officialization of Vassilis Spanoulis' departure. A new man with the costume of head coach And it's with Manuchar Markoishvili in the skin of head coach that AS Monaco welcomed Olympiakos on Thursday, March 12, while Sergii Gladyr officiates in the French championship (for a diploma necessary in Betclic ELITE). The least one can say is that, despite the heavy context around the Rock, the Monégasques showed an irreproachable state of mind when welcoming one of the favorites of the EuroLeague. The whole while the team for this match was composed of only nine professionals, due to the absences of Élie Okobo and Nikola Mirotic. Whatever, AS Monaco got back into its part, with a certain plurality of threats. Despite a lead of about 15 points in the middle of the 2nd quarter (35-22), the Roca Team saw the Reds come back close at halftime (43-38). And even passed ahead at the return of the vestiaries, led by a Nikola Milutinov at ease in the Monégasque racket (13 points and 10 rebounds). Not necessarily adroit (5/24 at 3-points) but applied (26/41 at 2-points, 14/16 at LFs, 11 lost balls), AS Monaco has however always managed to stay in contact... to finally get out of the money-time. Mike James injured at the knee Even if ASM could have just as well bitten its fingers if the result had been in its favor. In addition to the abandoned counter-attack of Mike James (14 points including 8/8 at LFs) due to his injury (which forced him to join the vestiaries directly), Jaron Blossomgame (13 points including 6/6 at 2-points) also had his hands on another quick attack at the entrance of the last three minutes. Fortunately, like Élie Okobo at the Leaders Cup, AS Monaco can count on its French leaders to snatch precious victories in the midst of the storm. Heroic Strazel Despite the defense of Frank Ntilikina, Matthew Strazel (1.82 m, 23 years old) (9 points at 4/8 shots) managed to find a way to the Greek circle to deposit a floater on the board at 4 seconds from the buzzer; a basket that would prove to be the winning basket a few moments later (81-80). In this difficult period for AS Monaco, all the bright spots are good to take.