Monaco lost in Paris (99-93) and will not win its third French championship title

Heads bowed, faces gray, the Monegasques quickly slipped away after the final whistle. At the end of a breathless scenario, a series full of twists and turns, and a breathtaking epilogue, AS Monaco lost at the very end to Paris Basketball in Game 5 (99-93), leaving the French championship title to the capital club. After 2023 and 2024, there will therefore be no new title for the Roca Team, which ends this 2024-2025 season with a blank season. Monaco's first half had already been very difficult for Vassilis Spanoulis' players at the Adidas Arena. Although they were only four points behind at halftime (54-50 for Paris, 29-21 after the first quarter), Elie Okobo's teammates only led for... 12 seconds in the first twenty minutes, after the first basket of the match scored by Mam Jaiteh.

Nine points ahead thanks to Matthew Strazel

They then suffered the wrath of the intractable Parisians. There was first a 10-point gap thanks to TJ Shorts (31-21), then 15 with Tyson Ward (38-23) before the punishment of the former player, Yakuba Ouattara, to give Paris Basketball a 17-point lead, the largest gap of the match (40-23). ​​But carried by the banderillas of Jordan Loyd (17 points in total), with good memories of the 2022 final, the Monegasques gradually came back with panache despite the injury of Jaron Blossomgame, sidelined for the entire second half. Before equalizing in the third quarter, then leading by up to 9 points with Matthew Strazel (75-66).

An 8-2 in the last two minutes

But Monaco collapsed in the final quarter, particularly in the last two minutes. Monaco held the tie (87-87, 89-89, then 91-91), before suffering an 8-2 run in the final 120 minutes. And this time, they didn't come back, letting the title slip through their fingers. Team leader and Finals MVP TJ Shorts scored 27 points, ahead of Nadir Hifi and his 16 points. In Monaco, Alpha Diallo finished as the top scorer with 18 points, two more than the 16 points of Elie Okobo and Terry Tarpey. The Roca Team did not become the second team in history to win a best-of-five series after trailing 0-2. In 2016, Asvel upset SIG Strasbourg in the championship final despite two early losses. The focus now turns to the 2025-2026 season, after a well-deserved rest following a grueling 2024-2025 season.