By Stefan Acevski / info@eurohoops.net
Aris defeated Panathinaikos 101-91 in the fifth round of the Greek championship, after a great match in Thessaloniki.
This was also Vassilis Spanoulis’ first victory in direct clashes with Zeljko Obradovic, following two losses while he was on the bench of Monaco.
In his statements during the press conference, Spanoulis made special mention of the Serbian coach when asked about any potential rivalry between them.
“Zeljko Obradovic is a legend of European basketball, one of the greatest, if not the greatest coach in history. We all know what he has achieved, how many titles he has won with different teams, how many players he has coached, and I was one of them and have great respect for him. I learned a great deal from him in basketball. Whether I won or lost, we move forward. It is not a personal rivalry between me and Mr. Obradovic. I have tremendous respect for him and thank him for what I learned during the years we were together.”
Spanoulis congratulated to his team at the press, following an important victory.
“Congratulations to my team for the excellent performance and the victory, congratulations to Panathinaikos as well. I believe we saw an excellent game, of high level, with a lot of points. I think everyone enjoyed it, the people who came, the people who watched it on TV. We gave our soul for 40 minutes against a great team. At the moment, along with Olympiacos, they are the top teams in the EuroLeague with huge budgets, super teams, with excellent coaches and players.
We managed to play our own basketball, we showed energy, played smart, we had heart when Yabusele hit that big three-pointer and took the lead. It’s not easy for a new team to react there, it’s a difficult point. But we were united, played as a team, and got an important victory for the Aris organization. I want to thank the fans once again for being here, they gave us strength, and we continue.”
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