The game against Power Electronics Valencia (Wednesday 24/03, 18:30) is arguably the most important for Aris, up to this point of the season, and David Blatt highlighted the need for his team to forget all injury woes and do their best in the first leg of the Eurocup quarterfinals.

“Valencia is a team which has a very clear picture of how they want to play and the style they want to play. With Perovic, Nielsen, Lishchuk and Pietrus in their front line, they have a mix of inside and outside play. They have outstanding guards, as well. DeColo, Martinez, Kelati, Simeon and Claver are real talented players, who make their team complete”, the American-Israeli coach said and added: “Maybe they have best record in the Eurocup up to this point. With the, exception of their heavy defeat in Le Mans, where they played without 5 players because it was an insignificant game for them, the numbers show that Valencia is the toughest opponent we could have”.

Mr.Blatt, who also revealed the story of his long-time friendship with Valencia’s coach, Neven Spahija, quoted that his team should forget the injury problems: “Right now, we must forget about injuries and everybody must contribute as much as they can. Also, we must have in mind that you don’t get anything for winning one of the two games. You only go to the Final Four if you win the aggregate of the two games”.

Ivan Paunicspoke on behalf of Aris’s players and said that his team will try to win with with as many points as possible: “Valencia has got a lot of good players, such as Martinez, who is a skilled point guard, or Perovic, whom I have played with in the Serbian national team. It’s very important for us to win tomorrow with as many points as possible, so that we gain advantage for the qualification and the return game in Spain gets easier for us. For sure there will be a great atmosphere in the gym. I also think that defense will be the key in the game for us”.