David Blatt and Dimos Dikoudis highlighted the importance of the win over A.E.K., just four days ahead of the crucial match against Valencia for the Eurocup quarterfinals. The Press Conference:

David Blatt (Aris coach): “A.E.K. had a lot of confidence for two reasons, because they had got a tremendous victory against Panellinios three days ago and because they play the kind of game that allows them to believe they can win a game like this. It was an extremely important game for us, for a number of reasons. We are going through a difficult time physically and we simply have to find ways to win. We have to fight it out and I’m very glad we did this against a good team. Secondly, going into the game against Valencia, you don’t want to have a home loss some days before. You want to play well or at least win and get something out of it for the next game.

There will be twohalves against Valencia, not two games. Obviously the first part is the pressure game for the home team, but the main thing is to play the kind of game you want to play at your gym. Valencia is an outstanding team, which goes 4th in Spain. I have got a lot of respect for them and for their coach Spahija, who is a good friend of mine. However, with all respect for Valencia, I think that every Saturday we see teams just as tough, because the Greek League is a brutal one. Everybody can beat you”.

Dimos Dikoudis (Aris player): “Both teams fought hard. We needed to win and we made it happen, that’s all that matters. We could have finished it off easier, but in the last couple of minutes A.E.K. showed a lot of heart and made it tough on us. This victory is an important boost to our morale ahead of the game against Valencia. We have to win that game, too, regardless if we play well or not, no matter of the score difference. We will fight to qualify to the Final Four until the end, because getting there is a big deal for the club and for ourselves”.

Minas Gekos (A.E.K. coach): “You must do better in order to beat Aris in here. You must avoid mistakes and have higher percentage on free throws than we did. Aris has got four players who shoot more for three than they do for two-point shots. It’s a team that knows how to run on open court and they can beat anybody on a good day. In the 3rd quarter, they took too many offensive rebounds and they controlled the game”.

Torin Francis (A.E.K. player): “My team put a good effort on a big game on the road. However, Aris is a good team and they are a better team when they play at home. Every small thing matters in such games. A missed free throw or a rebound can make the difference between win and loss and in the end Aris won”.