The win over Olympiacos is a good start according to David Blatt, who expressed his satisfaction on the fact that Aris played the kind of basketball that he hopes to bring to the team. The coaches’ quotes at the Press Conference, after the Hellenic Cup semifinal:

David Blatt (Aris coach): “First of all, I must thank coach Yannakis for his kind words. He’s a great coach and a legend in this country, so it’s nice to hear these words coming from him. Today we won the battle. We didn’t win the war, but certainly we can be happy and proud that we were able to beat a great team. We played the kind of basketball that I hope to bring here, we had a lot of people in the gym that saw the game and saw the kind of Aris that they expect to see. For me, it was a lot of fun being back on the lines, because I was sitting at home for six months and I’m tired of it. I’m satisfied with the effort, the fight and the result. However, one game doesn’t make one season. The test for us will be what’s coming forward, what’s ahead of us. Certainly this is a good start”.

Panagiotis Yannakis (Olympiacos coach): “It was a very interesting game for the spectators. Aris always plays in an enthusiastic way at home, but tonight it was even bigger, because of the recent arrival of an old friend, David Blatt, to whom I wish good luck. Aris put tempo into the game and made some very quick shots, taking more risk than usually. All these things made us nervous and the game was open until the end. It was a good test for us, though, in terms of realizing that we mustn’t lose concentration at any point. Compared to the previous matches, tonight Aris tried to play faster and had more long-distance shots. Mr. Blatt will make his effort and try to get Aris higher. I wish them to be equally good and effective in the future, too. It’s too early for us to speak about the Hellenic Cup final, since we have a whole month until that day comes. Every team is only thinking about the upcoming game and that’s the way it should be”.