Aris BSA grabbed the win against Panellinios BC with a 3pt shot just 3 seconds before the final whistle, for the first game of group D of EuroCup competition.
Panellinios BC started the game more enthusiastically than Aris BSA did and managed to take the lead in the score by 18-11, having in a great night Brand Newley who scored 7 points. On the other hand, Aris BSA went on a 6-15 tear and the first half ended by 38-36, with Clark and center Blagota Sekulic being the score-leaders for the “yellows”.
The second half continued in the same pace, with both teams staying close to the score. Ivan Radenovic and Spencer Nelson scored for both teams, while Manolis Papamakarios and Keydren Clark answered with 3pt shots. Panellinios BC had the lead by 5 (60-55) with 3 minutes to go, but Clark and Sekulic helped Aris BSA to reach the 62-63 in the score. During the last minutes Aris BSA had the chance to finish the game, but wing-forward Dimitris Tsaldaris missed a 3pt shot and Clark a 2pt shot after an offensive rebound. Ivan Radenovic missed one free-throw and Clark fired a 3pt shot leading the “yellows” to the big win by 69-71.
During the press-conference coach Andrea Mazzon stated:
“During these days we had some physical injuries and as a result we did not have the chance to have right trainings. We tried a lot during the match and I would like to thank my players for their effort, even if we would have lost the game. Our philosophy is to go game by game and at the end we will see what we will have done.”
Coach Elias Zouros noticed:
“We did not manage to play good, so we did not deserve to win this game. There are 5 more games for the groups of EuroCup's competition, but definitely we cannot say that this game leaves us behind. We were unlucky, because Golemac is injured, and when a player like him is out the team gets confused.”
Also, Keydren Clark stated:
“During the game I was feeling confident for my shots and just before the last shot, I saw the coach and I understood that he wanted me to take the shot.”
Giorgos Kalaitzidis noticed:
“During the last defence we could not stop Aris' BSA guard who is a great player, and this cost us lose the game. We did not play as we wanted to, and now we have to concentrate on the upcoming games.”
Finally, Turk Telekom managed to take the win against Bnei Hasharon in Israel by 54-76, having in a great night American forward Kennedy Winston and Serkan Erdogan who scored 10 and 15 points too.
**The chairman of Aris BSA, mr. Thanasis Tzevelekis, during the today's training spoke to the team, congratulating the players and the coaching staff for the win against Panellinios BC. More specifically he noticed:
"Congratulations for the last night's big win against Panellinios BC. You had a great performance in the courts and I am sure that you exaggarated the fans of the team. If you continue to play so passionately as you did yesterday and fight for the win in every single game, the fans will be on your side and support you as they know how to do."
Also, Dimitris Tsaldaris, Spencer Nelson and Blagota Sekulic did not follow the today's training program and the captain of the team, Savvas Iliadis, is in the stage of recovering from his injury.
