Riga's Zeļļi Visit Greece's Aris, Coached by Spanoulis, in Eurocup
In the sixth round of Group A in the ULEB Eurocup basketball tournament, Rīgas Zeļļi play away at Aris Thessaloniki on Wednesday, 11 November. The Greek side is second in the group with five wins from six games.
Latvian basketball club Rīgas Zeļļi will play the sixth game of its ULEB Eurocup Group A campaign (a second-tier European club competition) away at Greece's Aris in Thessaloniki on Wednesday, 11 November, at 20:00 Latvian time. It is the first of two meetings between the teams, with the return game in Riga scheduled for 12 January. With three wins and three losses, Zeļļi are fifth in the standings, while Aris, with five wins and one loss, are second behind Hapoel Jerusalem, who have won all six games.
Club history and present
Aris was founded in 1922 and has ten Greek championship titles and eight Greek Cups. From 1985 to 1991 the team won the Greek league seven seasons in a row, with Nick Galis and Panagiotis Giannakis in the lineup. In Europe, the club won the Cup Winners' Cup in 1993, the Korać Cup in 1997 and the FIBA Champions Cup in 2003. Its last trophy came in 2004, and its last league title in 1991.
Last summer, 90% of the club's shares were bought by Richard Hsiao's company Black & Yellow Holdings. The Greek outlet Sport24 reported that the club's sporting budget would exceed ten million euros; Zeļļi's budget is 2.5 million euros.
Coach and players
The head coach since this summer is 44-year-old Vassilis Spanoulis, who won the EuroLeague three times as a player. He also leads the Greek national team, which took bronze at last year's European Championship. The roster includes brothers Thanasis and Kostas Antetokounmpo, who each hold an NBA championship ring, though their role in the Eurocup has been small so far. The top scorer is American Matt Morgan, averaging 15.2 points per game, but his participation is in doubt because of an ankle injury. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl is averaging 14.5 points and 9.5 rebounds.
Recent games
Aris began the season with five straight wins, but last week lost 73:84 to Hapoel in Jerusalem's home fixture played in Belgrade. In the Greek league, the team is second with a 5-1 record, behind PAOK.
