Mitrou-Long and Andjusic score 26 apiece as Aris dominates the boards and outlasts Slask in Poland
Aris survives double-OT epic in Wroclaw to stay in playoff hunt
Game Report
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Regular Season
Round 15 of 18
Regular Season
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Aris Thessaloniki BetssonARI
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Overview
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Aris Thessaloniki Betsson kept its BKT EuroCup playoff dreams alive with a dramatic 107-113 double-overtime victory over Slask Wroclaw at Centennial Hall, surviving nearly 50 minutes of back-and-forth basketball in Poland. The Greek side improved to 7-8 and climbed to seventh place in Group A, just outside the playoff zone, while Slask dropped to 4-11, suffering its seventh straight loss and being formally eliminated from postseason contention.
Elijah Mitrou-Long and Danilo Andjusic were the driving forces behind Aris’s win, scoring 26 points apiece and delivering in the biggest moments. Mitrou-Long opened the night with a pair of early triples to set the tone and later iced the game from the free-throw line with 13.4 seconds left in the second overtime. Andjusic was a constant threat, steadying Aris whenever Slask threatened to pull away. Bryce Jones added 17 points, including a tough layup with 3.9 seconds left in regulation that forced the first overtime, while Amine Noua contributed 13 points and 9 rebounds, highlighted by a crucial put-back slam for a 104-109 lead with a minute to go in the second extra session.
Afterward, Andjusic underlined the stakes for his team: “We needed to leave everything on the court because we knew this was a very important game for us. We needed to win if we want to go to the playoffs. For now, every game is a final for us in EuroCup until the end. We have to catch that spot for the playoffs.”
One of the key factors in such a high-scoring, tight game was Aris’s control of the rebounding battle. The Greek club collected 49 rebounds to Slask’s 37, including a remarkable 20 offensive boards compared to the hosts’ 10. Those extra possessions were crucial in a game that went to double overtime and in which every basket mattered.
Head coach Igor Milicic acknowledged both his team’s resilience and its flaws: “This is a really tough thing to do, to win in two overtimes... But we’re happy we took the win. It was not easy. We made a lot of mistakes, but also, we pulled it out and we kept our dreams alive.”
At the same time, Milicic was candid about his team’s flaws, including a loss of focus late in the first half: “In the first half, we had the momentum and then we made some turnovers that gave Slask the chance to feel good. And on defense, off the ball, we were out of position and they were shooting the ball wide-open. This cannot happen when we are practicing this on a daily basis. We need to step up our concentration… We were more watching them do what they want than provoking them to do what we want.”
In the end, however, Aris did just enough at both ends of the floor to escape with a vital victory, turning a marathon in Wroclaw into a significant step forward in the race for the EuroCup playoffs.
Despite the loss, Slask delivered an impressive offensive performance. Noah Kirkwood led the hosts with 24 points and 7 assists, while Blazej Czerniewicz added 17 points, including a late second-quarter three-pointer that capped a strong run and gave Slask a 50-48 halftime lead. Kadre Gray, who finished with 15 points, provided an important spark with 8 points in the second quarter, and Angel Nuñez hit a huge triple in the first overtime to tie the game at 98-98 and force double-overtime.
Slask’s head coach Ainars Bagatskis lamented some missed opportunities: “We didn’t use our opportunities because the way they played on defense, it was easy for us to find good shots. We started the game with five open threes. It sounds maybe funny – we scored 107 points and we didn’t use 40 percent of our opportunities.”
Bagatskis also criticized his team’s defensive focus: “We have to be a little bit smarter. We have to earn with hard work. We have to know that one-on-one defense starts from the three-point line, at least. We have to know who we play against… We know how to play, we don’t know how to win.”
Slask heads to Germany next week where it will try to snap its losing streak against Veolia Towers Hamburg, while Aris visits Bahcesehir College Istanbul.
