PRO SPORT
Basketball in the 2018 – 2019 Season , entering the 7DAYS Euro Cup , making the top-16 . In 2019 Saša Obradović , skilled coach raised the Team to the stars , excelling over opponents of the French challenge . La Roca Team “ rocked ” in the following 2019-2020 Season within the Jeep Élite Championship securing a place in the 7DAYS EuroCup quarterfinals until the forced halt caused by the pandemic . Soon after , Zvezdan Mitrovic came back in his role as official coach just in time to celebrate one of the greatest victories of all time . After a spectacular Season where the Red & White team prevailed over the strongest well-known teams , they won over the Russian UNICS Kazan in the Final , lifting the 2021 EuroCup for Monaco . This had never happened before to a French League team to reach such a remarkable success worldwide .
Great satisfaction for Monaco ’ s basketball was followed by very good news for the current Season . Most of 2021-2022 EuroLeague matches will be held in the Principality at the iconic Gaston Médécin Stadium . A winning combination with some new
Aleksej Fedoricsev ( left ) and Sergey Dyadechko
talent like the point-guard Léo Westermann , French skilled professional player acting as the new team leader , and Mike James , gifted American player , both from LNB Pro A & EuroLeague .
The current Season is going great and the return of Saša Obradović in early December resulted in a steady victorious crescendo that had its peak with four-consecutive successful outcomes at the beginning of 2022 , holding second position in the French Bet- Clic Elite . Aleksej Fedoricsev , new President of AS Monaco Basket , pointed out on January the 27th : “ Since Sergey Dyadechko suggested to me to come onboard the La Roca Team venture , my heart has belonged to Monegasque basketball ! I am very proud to keep supporting red-and-white colours and write the next chapter in the club ’ s history ”. “ The Roca Team is like my fifth child and now HE is spreading his wings and becoming an adult ”, concluded Mr . Dyadechko in his words of farewell .
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH OLEKSIY YEFIMOV , GENERAL MANAGER AT AS MONACO BASKET
HelloMonaco : Oleksiy , you ’ ve had a fairly long career as a basketball club director . After some brilliant results in your native Ukraine , you continued in Monaco . Are you happy with your Roca Team ’ s impressive success ?
Oleksiy Yefimov : What we have managed to achieve is nothing short of a fairy tale ! Another club that would have come up from the fourth national division to the Euroleague in such a short period of time would be
Hello Monaco Spring 2022 / 71 www . hellomonaco . com