Monaco clinches historic Final Four qualification

Maccabi goes down 97-86 in Game 5, Obradovic's side qualifies for the Finals in Kaunas

AS Monaco will make a Final Four debut in just its second EuroLeague season after outlasting Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv 97-86 in Game 5 to win their back-and-forth series 3-2. Monaco advances to meet Olympiacos Piraeus in the semifinals on Friday, May 19 in Kaunas. Alpha Diallo detonated a dunk early in the fourth to make it 74-71 but Josh Nebo hit 2 free throws and Wade Baldwin exploded a dunk as Maccabi suddenly went ahead, 74-75. Bonzie Colson put back a miss but Chima Moneke detonated a dunk and Donta Hall kept Monaco close until Jordan Loyd could take it back with free throws, 80-79. Loyd drilled a triple with the next shot and again was fouled shooting a triple, with those free throws making it 86-79 with 3 minutes left. Wade Baldwin cut it to 90-85 from the arc with 2 minutes left, but Elie Okobo answered with a lane jumper and free throws to seal the victory. Mike James and Jordan Loyd led the winners with 21 points each while Baldwin led Maccabi with 26 points.