Monaco, Nanterre, Hyères-Toulon, and Le Mans Advance to French Basketball Cup Final Four

The quarter-finals of the French men’s basketball Cup took place this Tuesday evening, with Monaco, Nanterre, Hyères-Toulon, and Le Mans securing their spots in the final four. The Betclic Élite season is currently on a three-week break, but French basketball continues with the Coupe de France quarter-finals, the Leaders Cup later this week, and upcoming World Cup qualifier matches featuring the French national team against Hungary at the end of February and beginning of March.

Monaco Edges ASVEL in Thrilling Contest

In a closely contested match, AS Monaco defeated ASVEL 95-98 at the Astroballe. Monaco, who recently resolved salary issues that had prompted a strike threat, took an early lead, winning the first quarter 18-22. ASVEL responded in the second quarter, tying the score 30-30 and eventually taking control. Though, Monaco regained the lead before halftime, leading 42-46. After the restart, Monaco extended their advantage to eleven points (45-56), but ASVEL launched a 13-0 run to close the gap. The lead changed hands several times before Monaco finished the quarter with a 7-0 run, leading 65-71.

Monaco managed the final quarter effectively, despite a late push from ASVEL, who narrowed the gap to 90-94. Elie Okobo led Monaco with 22 points, while Glynn Watson scored 31 points (6/9 from three-point range) for ASVEL, which wasn’t enough to secure the win.

Nanterre Dominates Blois

Nanterre secured a decisive victory over Blois with a final score of 80-109. Blois started strong, winning the first quarter 33-21, but Nanterre equalized in the second quarter (42-42) and took a lead of 46-51 at halftime. Nanterre continued to build on their advantage in the second half, winning the third and fourth quarters 18-30 and 16-28, respectively. Hugo Yimga-Moukouri, 18, led Nanterre with 20 points and 9 rebounds.

Le Mans Eliminates Strasbourg

Le Mans defeated Strasbourg 88-74 to advance to the semi-finals. Le Mans started strongly, leading 21-11 in the first quarter, but Strasbourg fought back to tie the score at 27-27 by the 10th minute. Strasbourg briefly took the lead in the second quarter (29-35) before Le Mans regained control, leading 48-45 at halftime. After a tie at 50-50, Le Mans pulled ahead in the third quarter (75-61) and secured their victory in the final quarter, maintaining a lead of at least 13 points. Trevor Hudgins contributed 19 points to Le Mans’s success, while Mike Davis scored 21 points for Strasbourg.

Hyères-Toulon Upsets Chalon

Hyères-Toulon achieved an upset victory over Chalon 116-112 after overtime. Having previously defeated Dijon in the previous round, Hyères-Toulon, starting with a seven-point lead, won the first quarter 22-20 and led 44-38 at halftime. The score was 70-69 at the end of the third quarter, and Nikola Knezevic forced the game into overtime (96-96). In overtime, Hyères-Toulon trailed until 104-107 before finishing with an 11-5 run to secure their spot in the final four. Bensley Joseph scored 24 points, and Jeremiah Hill added 27 for Hyères-Toulon.

Semi-Final Matchups

• Monaco will travel to Nanterre on March 4.
• Le Mans will travel to Hyères-Toulon.