Coach Igor Milicic's team snapped a three-game losing streak in Group A
Aris's first-half defense seals the deal against Slask
Report partita
3 Minuto di lettura
Regular Season
Round 6 of 18
Regular Season
group a
Aris Thessaloniki BetssonARI
8578
Slask WroclawWKS
group a
Overview
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Sometimes, basketball comes down to something as simple as the ball not going in. That’s exactly what Slask Wroclaw experienced in the first quarter of its Round 6 game against Aris Thessaloniki Betsson. From missed dunks to unforced turnovers, everything went wrong for Slask, resulting in a negative record that had stood for over two decades.
Slask missed its first seven shots—five of them from beyond the arc—without committing a single turnover. Aris’s defense was sharp, and it paid off. Arnas Kulboka and Bryce Jones combined for 8 points in a 10-0 opening run that allowed the hosts to take control of the game from the very beginning. Jakub Urbaniak attempted a dunk, but the ball hit the front of the rim, bounced up, and fell through the net for Slask’s first basket of the game. Just a minute later, Urbaniak had another uncontested dunk attempt, which he incredibly missed.
Things continued to unravel. Issuf Sanon came off the bench and missed an uncontested layup—the ball simply went in and out. Stefan Djordjevic, who had been an 80.0% free throw shooter this season, missed all four of his attempts from the line in the first quarter. Djordjevic scored around the basket at the end of the quarter to bring Slask within 21-6.
Slask made just 2 of 18 field goal attempts in the first quarter, missed all 7 of its three-point shots, and finished with a team PIR of -4. The team didn’t execute poorly, but missing open shots and failing to find effective ways to break Aris’s defense led to a historic low.
"They punched us in the mouth in the first quarter," Slask guard Noah Kirkwood said at halftime. "We are not playing together right now. We are not playing our brand of basketball and we have to bring something, and that comes with energy in the second half."
It was Slask’s worst scoring quarter in its EuroCup history. The previous low was 7 points in the second quarter of a 59-57 home win against Telekom Baskets Bonn on January 18, 2005.
"I think what's most important is that we played defense," Kulboka said at the break. "With defense comes everything, offense is flowing but everything starts on the defensive end and I think that if we control the defensive rebound a little bit better, we are going to be up [by] 40."
Of course, it takes two to tango. Aris played a solid game, snapping a three-game losing streak. The hosts extended their lead to 31-8 and went on to control the game, backed by a loud and passionate crowd. Slask needed 13 three-point shots to bury its first, when Sanon downed one off the dribble with less than 3 minutes left in the first half. The hosts used their physicality to dominate the boards and go to the foul line often. Added to Slask's 25 missed shots before the break, Aris won the battle of the boards 24-18, made 7 of 11 two-pointers (63.6% 2FG) and 21 of 22 free throws (95.5% FT). All that gave Aris a 50-30 halftime lead.
"We were soft. We did everything that we prepared but missed seven layups," Slask coach Ainars Bagatskis said. "I don't know what is the team practicing if you miss seven layups, and we made some of their team's players like real superstars. They did whatever they wanted. We have to be playing with respect, first of all."
Slask got the message and fought back, getting within 81-76 in the final minute. Jones sealed Aris's victory from the free throw line. Jones was the best player on the floor, finishing the game with 28 points on 17-of-18 free throw shooting for a PIR of 35. After the game, Jones was glad that his team stopped Slask's fourth-quarter comeback.
"Up 20 points, sometimes you tend to get relaxed but we are not in no position to be relaxed at all. I am happy we came out with the win at the end of the day, but we still have a lot of work on, a lot to improve. That's about it, I am happy that we won," Jones said. "Being up by a lot of points, sometimes you might think the game is over, but this is one of the best competitions in the world. Everybody is going to fight for each possession, nobody is going to give up. Historic things happen all the time. I am just happy it didn't happen tonight."
