Aris has the special obligation to play always with heart and spirit, David Blatt said on the eve of the away game against Panellinios (Thursday 22/04, 19:00) for Match Day 24 of the Hellenic Championships.

“For us, every game at this point of the season is important, in terms of how we present ourselves. We can’t end the regular season as high as we would like to, but Aris has the special obligation to play always with heart and spirit. The club’s tradition andfans deservethis.Within these last ten days we worked well and this practice time helped us become better. When there aren’t any official games, there is the fear that you lose game rhythm, but that’s why we played the friendly match against Ilisiakos, as well as last Saturday’s game between us” mr. Blatt said, before speaking about the possible absence of Nikos Chatzivrettas and Andrew Betts:

“Unfortunately at this stage the players suffer of some injuries because of fatigue. Chatzivrettas is in such a situation, similar to what has happened to Richardson earlier this season, but his condition is less serious. Hopefully he will be able to play against Panellinios, but I’m not sure. Betts, on the other hand, has been having problems with his back, which is normal for such a tall guy. He missed practice in the last three days and I don’t know if he will be able to play. However, we will have to make up for any absentees by playing with fight”.

The American-Israeli coach also sent out his best wishes to the soccer team of Aris, which will play the Hellenic Cup final on Saturday (24/04). Also, he praised Panellinios for their presence in the Eurocup: “It’s admirable that they made the Final Four. They will be surely be disappointed after losing the last two games, but they did a great job in the Eurocup anyway. Tomorrow we will see how they respond to this loss”.