Monaco, reigning French basketball champion and big favorite to succeed him, came close to defeat on the 3rd day and its first home match, against promoted Saint-Quentin on Tuesday before winning (77-75) on a basket from Mike James 1 sec 3/10 from the siren. ASM, imperial in Limoges (72-59) then Chalon-sur-Saône (104-68) gleans a third success after recovering from a delay of 10 lengths at the start of the last quarter (47-57), by eight with four minutes remaining (60-68) and by four at the dawn of the last minute (71-75).
James (19 pts, top scorer with Elie Okobo), already brought the “Roca Team” back to a unit with a basket with the board with the foul, converted by a free throw, before the throw-in Terry Tarpey intercepts the ball and is then fouled. The French international, one of the many recruits of the offseason, succeeded in one of his two attempts on the penalty line, then Alpha Diallo “cleaned” on the hoop a lay-up from Tyger Campbell, offering James possession of the victory.