Entering its second consecutive season in the competition, Aris Midea Thessaloniki will be looking to improve on the last season's result when the team reached the postseason, but bowed out in the eighthfinals on the road against Prometey Slobozhanske.
Games to watch: Aris Midea Thessaloniki
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Aris has a revamped roster, but has two main pieces still in place – head coach Ioannis Kastritis and team top scorer Vassilis Toliopoulos. That alone make Aris a team with high aspirations, but to reach its goals, Aris will have a tough task in Group B.
Here is our choice of what feel like team's games you don't want to miss:
Round 2: Toliopoulos faces his favorite opponent
Last season Aris guard Toliopoulos had his best scoring game when Turk Telekom Ankara visited Thessaloniki, netting 22 points in a 68-66 victory. He also scored 20 points and dished a season-high 9 assists in Ankara, in a 10-point win. And guess who arrives to Thessaloniki for Aris's home opener. It will be telling to see in first game in front of its home fans how confident is Toliopoulos, one of EuroCup's top scorers last season. If he will performer, Aris can do a lot of damage.
Round 7: Valencia comes to town
It is always a special EuroCup night when a four-time competition champion comes to town, and that will be the case for Aris in Round 7. Welcoming Valencia Basket, a perennial EuroCup contender which is back to the competition in three years, will be the biggest test of the season for Aris. By early November, when this game will be taking place, both team will be rolling and it will give Aris all the answers where it is when it comes to faring with the best of them. With the fans behind them, it will be a fun Wednesday evening in Thessaloniki.
Round 15: Big late-season test
Aris will have a luxury to play three of its last four regular season game on home floor, and the first of those fixtures will be against last season's runner-up Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse. Last season Bourg won both of their head-to-head games, including blowing past Aris in Thessaloniki 68-76. Apart from this looking like a potential high-stake game, make sure that Aris players, the likes of Toliopoulos, Lefteris Bochoridis, who missed that game, or coach Ioannis Kastritis, will have that in mind when they welcome Bourg again.