AS Monaco Basket will compete for the first time in the history of the club in the EuroLeague, starting Thursday against the Greek giants Panathinaikos.
Donatas Motiejunas will make his return to the competition, as he last played in the EuroLeague 10 years ago. Since then, he made several stops in his career, including the NBA and the Chinese CBA.
Motiejunas spoke on Monaco’s participation in the European top-tier competition, after the Reds won the EuroCup in the 2020-21 season campaign.
“Thursday is the club’s first in the Euroleague. We know what to expect during this competition. We are going to face big teams. Faced with Panathinaikos, we want to make all the Monégasque people proud of this team.
There is a lot of excitement surrounding us leading up to this home premiere,” the Lithuanian national said recently in the official site of AS Monaco Basket.
“…(Panathinaikos) It’s a club with many titles and this match will be a real fight for us. The EuroLeague is rough, competitive, solid and very physical. The best teams are there, and it won’t be easy.
There will be many obstacles in front of us. But that’s what drives us, this desire to cross them and go as far as possible.”
Monaco improved their roster ahead of the new season, adding several EuroLeague veterans, like Mike James, Will Thomas and Danilo Andjusic.
The French team made several changes this offseason, and, as a result, Zvezdan Mitrovic and his players will need time to adjust and work together on the court.