AS Monaco secured a critical 80-79 EuroLeague victory over Olympiacos Piraeus on Thursday night at Salle Gaston Medecin, overcoming injuries, roster changes, and the recent departure of coach Vassilis Spanoulis. The hosts were led by interim head coach Manuchar Markoishvili.
The win lifted AS Monaco to 17-14 in the 2025-26 EuroLeague regular season and kept the club firmly in the playoff race after Round 31.
The matchup unfolded in unusual circumstances for the home side. Monaco entered the game without injured guards Elie Okobo and Nikola Mirotic, while David Michineau and Yoan Makoundou had also departed the roster earlier in the week.
Olympiacos also played shorthanded, missing star forward Sasha Vezenkov, yet the visitors remained second in the standings entering the night at 20-11.
Despite the circumstances, Monaco produced a disciplined performance built on ball movement and rebounding. The Roca Team finished with 19 assists and committed 11 turnovers while forcing Olympiacos into 15 giveaways.
The hosts also dominated the glass late, outrebounding Olympiacos 9-1 in the fourth quarter to create extra possessions during the closing stretch.
Daniel Theis anchored Monaco’s interior play with 13 points, five rebounds and three assists in 21 minutes for a performance index rating of 16.
Mike James led Monaco with 14 points, five rebounds and five assists before leaving the game with an injury late in the fourth quarter.
Jaron Blossomgame added 13 points, while Matthew Strazel recorded nine points and five assists.
The final minute delivered the decisive sequence. Olympiacos forward Alec Peters tied the game at 79-79 with a layup with 51.7 seconds remaining.
After both teams missed opportunities, Peters drew a foul but split his two free throws, leaving Monaco trailing by one.
Strazel then banked in the go-ahead jumper with four seconds left, giving the home team an 80-79 lead.
Olympiacos used its final timeout to draw up a play, but center Nikola Milutinov was forced into a three-point attempt as the clock expired. The shot missed, sealing Monaco’s victory.
Olympiacos was led by 19 points from Tyler Dorsey and 17 from Peters, while Milutinov finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Monaco will begin a three-game road stretch on March 19 against Anadolu Efes Istanbul before returning home for the final three games of the regular season.
Olympiacos returns to Greece to host Baskonia on the same day.
