Ivan Paunic arrived at Thessaloniki today (03/01) and expressed his ambition to reach the Eurocup final four with Aris. The 22-year-old Serb, who had his first training session with his new teammates, didn't hide his optimism on this new opportunity in his career.
"I'm very happy for coming to a big team with great players. The Hellenic League is one of the best in Europe and my presence in Aris is a big step in my career. I know that Aris holds the first place in their group in the Eurocup and I want to help the team reach the final four of the tournament", Paunic said and added: "At the Eurobasket 2009, and also at the Acropolis Cup just before that, I had seen many of the players who are here. I want to show the maximum of my potential and be helpful to Aris".
The former guard of Oostende also spoke about reuniting with his compatriot Dragan Labovic: "We were teammates for many years in the junior national teams of Serbia. We won three gold medals in junior European Championships together. His presence will help me adapt faster here. It's always good to have a compatriot at your side".
Wrapping it up, Paunic had words of praise for the national head coach of Serbia, Dusan Ivkovic, who had given good credentials to Fotis Katsikaris, when asked about the 22-year-old player: "Dusan Ivkovic is a great coach, a big name in basketball, and he has helped me very much in my career".