Coach Igor Milicic’s men find themselves in a more challenging position. At 7-7 and having lost their third game in a row, Aris faces a battle to hold on to its playoff hopes. They will need a turnaround in form and some good fortune to take them to the next stage. To pull it off, Milicic feels they need to focus on effort in one particular area of their play.
“We didn’t accomplish what we asked before this game – to put up a fight on rebounds. This is the comment on the game, and on the last five games,” Milicic exclaimed.
“This is embarrassing, especially for the bigs. Whatever we do, whatever we practice to improve this, it’s pretty much bullsh*t. You have to want to do it, you are getting paid for it, so you better do it. If you don’t do it, there’s no place for you here, with this mentality.”
One hopeful sign for the coach’s hunt for rebounds was the introduction of center Kostas Antetokounmpo. The Greek native and recent Aris loanee from Olympiacos Piraeus experienced mixed fortunes in a tough debut, making promising defensive plays, along with careless and unnecessary fouls. The 28-year-old center feels he can improve and capitalize on the fresh opportunity.
“Sometimes you have to dive straight into the deep end,” said Antetokounmpo. “It’s something that will help me, and I’m truly ready for the opportunity that lies ahead.”
The immediate challenge that lies ahead for Aris is a trip to Poland to face Slask Wroclaw next Tuesday. On that same night, Jerusalem will face off against Bahcesehir College Istanbul.