Aris’s defeat in Le Mans three weeks ago proved to be fatal for the team’s aspirations to make it to the Eurocup Final Four, David Blatt said after the 85-67 loss to Power Electronics Valencia.

David Blatt (Aris coach): “Within a 6-minute stretch we got upscored by 14-15 points and that was the game. Mentally some of our guys were let down and stopped playing. In the second half we stood our ground and fought, but the difference was too big and we couldn’t make up in 20 minutes.We’re trying not to put pressure on the players and on Tuesday’s training they played correct and strong, but in the game things were different.

It’s disappointing to end this way, but I believe that we lost the chance in Le Mans. We had to win there, we were prepared to win but we didn’t. We got to play against Valencia with the second game here and we paid it. At the moment Valencia is the strongest team out there.

Now, we must think about the Greek League. We have 4 games left in the regular season. You always have to set a goal, big or small. So now we have to commit ourselves to win 4 games in a row and finish a good position. We will givethe last drop of our blood to achieve this”.

Neven Spahija (Power Electronics Valencia coach): “I wish to thanks my players for this victory and for the whole season. We were very confident after our big win in Thessaloniki. We were strong there and we expected the same to happen here, too. I believe we deserved to win and qualify to the Final Four. Panellinios, which will be our opponent in the semifinals, is a very good team. It’s no surprise for us. We know them well from our previous encounters. We know their players and their tactics”.