Bryce Jones credits traveling supporters as Aris wins fourth in five games, 92-89, despite Hamburg’s late surge
Lively crowd plays sixth man for impressive Aris to outlast Hamburg
Game Report
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 11 of 18
Regular Season
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Veolia Towers HamburgHAM
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Aris Thessaloniki BetssonARI
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Overview
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“Just our resilience,” said American guard Bryce Jones, when asked what made the difference for his Aris Thessaloniki Betsson team, which narrowly defeated winless Veolia Towers Hamburg, 89-92, on Wednesday night.
Jones and his teammates picked up an early lead, but Hamburg continuously fought back into the game, every time Aris earned a sizeable advantage. Hamburg found itself a point ahead at the start of the final period, before both teams went back and forth down the stretch. The visitors even tied the contest with 11 seconds remaining, but it wasn’t to be. Key free throws from Elijah Mitrou-Long pulled Aris over the line.
Aris scored as a unit throughout, with Jones’s 20 points and 8 assists leading the way. Danilo Andjusic recorded 18 points, Amine Noua posted 14 points and 10 rebounds, andArnoldas Kulboka netted 15 points.
According to Jones, the raucous Aris crowd played a major part in the victory.
“Honestly, it doesn’t feel like we’re away,” said Jones. “It felt like a home game. Big shout out to our fans for supporting us. It’s been rocky throughout the year, but they’re still here, still supporting us, still travelling. I think we’ve got the best fans in the world, honestly.”
Igor Milicic shared a similar sentiment, taking time to praise the constantly-chanting and occasionally mosh-pitting Aris faithful. The Croatian-Polish coach revealed some frustration with his team’s pre-game travel experience.
“I know it’s a little bit unusual for Germany to see this, but we are very proud,” said Milici. “They were our sixth player today. You could see that the bus driver driving us all around Hamburg, just not to the gym, took a lot of energy from us, but the crowd gave us a boost in our legs.”
Devon Daniels scored a game-high 25 points for Hamburg in defeat. The result spells further frustration for his side, which remains winless in the EuroCup for the season. Despite picking up their first domestic victory at the weekend, they couldn’t get it done.
Much like in their last match-up, Benka Barloschky’s team showed positive signs against Aris. Hamburg put together multiple spirited runs to shrink deficits, even taking numerous leads down the stretch. The hosts seem closer than ever to that cherished first win and their coach remained positive.
“We put ourselves in a position to win the game, there isn’t much else I can ask for,” said Barloschky. Now with both of their meetings out of the way, his counterpart sportingly wished the Hamburg coach well.
“I can only wish that they get some wins, before the end of the EuroCup,” Milicic said.
The result means that Aris has won four of their last five games, moving them to 6-5 in their EuroCup campaign and strengthening their hopes of postseason action. They will face Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana after the break.
Despite the gutsy battle, Hamburg slid to 0-11. The Germans will have another bite of the apple when they compete against Bahcesehir College Istanbul on December 30.
