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Eighthfinals breakdown: Prometey Slobozhanske vs. Aris Midea Thessaloniki

Eighthfinals breakdown: Prometey Slobozhanske vs. Aris Midea Thessaloniki

Game Preview

6 March 20246 Mins read

Javier Gancedo

Eighthfinals breakdown: Prometey Slobozhanske vs. Aris Midea Thessaloniki

This eighthfinal showdown that sees Prometey Slobozhanske (10-8) host Aris Midea Thessaloniki (9-9) in Riga, Latvia, marks the first-ever meeting between these sides. The winner will advance to the quarterfinals to face Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse (14-4).

Prometey seeks another shot at the title

Prometey is in its second BKT EuroCup season and hopes to make as much noise as it did last year when it turned Arena Riga into a fortress, losing just two home games and making it all the way to the semifinals. Its season came to an end with a heartbreaking 74-76 loss against Turk Telekom Ankara. Eight of the 10 players who were in that semifinal game last season are still with the club, as well as D.J. Kennedy, who was injured at that time and is available for this year's playoffs. Center Tai Odiase also lost against Turk Telekom in last season's playoffs when he was with Germani Brescia.

Prometey has been up and down all season. It had to bounce back from losing one its main signings to injury, forward Arnoldas Kulboka, before the start of the EuroCup season. Once Prometey registered Kennedy and brought back sharpshooter Gian Clavell, things started to roll. Prometey won three of its last four regular season games, downing Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv 105-113 on the road and Joventut Badalona 94-80 at home. Ondrej Balvin (10.6 ppg., 9.1 rpg., 19.4 PIR) and Roland March (13.3 ppg., 3.3 rpg., 12.8 PIR) have been the team's main players until now.

Aris's happy EuroCup return

By qualifying for the EuroCup Playoffs, Aris reached its initial goal in its first season in the competition since 2016. Of course, the ever-ambitious Aris wants more. The club has advanced past the group stages for the fourth time. In 2005, Aris reached the eighthfinals before losing a two-game total-points series against Rytas Vilnius 156-154. A year later, Aris reached the 2006 championship game in Charleroi, Belgium, but fell 60-73 to Dynamo Moscow. In 2010, Aris was swept by Valencia Basket in the two-game quarterfinals.

It took Aris 14 years to get back to the EuroCup Playoffs and it did so in style, winning six of its last eight games to finish fifth in Group B. There were several highlights in Aris's final regular season push. Roberto Gallinat had a game-winning put-back dunk to lift Aris to a 76-75 win against Buducnost VOLI Podgorica. Vassilis Toliopoulos and Jonathan Stark combined for 39 points and 11 assists to lead their team past Turk Telekom, 85-95. Ronnie Harrell simply did everything right when Aris beat ratiopharm Ulm 66-86. Different go-to guys stepped up at the right time!

Frontcourt battle will be critical

Prometey relies on its two centers to make things happen in the paint and balance the team's offense. Odiase and Balvin ensure that Coach Ronen Ginzburg always has a scoring threat in the paint. Balvin and Odiase have combined for 21.2 points, 12.4 rebounds and a PIR of 32.1 so far this season and have barely played together. Balvin is at the prime of his career and has posted four double-doubles this season, had a PIR of 23 or higher nine times already and is second in the EuroCup in PIR per 40 minutes (32.0). Odiase gives Prometey plenty of physicality and effectiveness, hitting 64.8% of his two-point shots, mostly on dunks and his trademark jump hooks.

Is Aris physical enough to challenge Balvin and Odiase? Definitely. Silvio de Sousa has been strong all season, averaging 7.9 points on 65.3% two-pointers and 5.2 rebounds in less than 18 minutes per night. If Aris head coach Ioannis Kastritis wants even more athleticism, Kris Bankston is always ready to deliver. A human highlight reel, Bankston has averaged 6.1 points on 70.9% two-point shooting for a PIR of 7.0 in less than 15 minutes on the floor. Prometey may have an edge, as Balvin is more experienced than any of his potential opponents, but Aris has its frontcourt weapons, based on power and intensity.

Toliopoulos on the spotlight

A late bloomer, Toliopoulos grew up with Olympiacos Piraeus, where he learned a lot from Vassilis Spanoulis even though he only took part in 15 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague games in three seasons. He found his way to grow and is now in his second stint and third season with Aris. This time, Toliopoulos is enjoying a career-best season, averaging 14.4 points on 91.9% free throw-shooting (seventh overall) and 3.5 assists for a PIR of 12.9. Some of his best skills are not seen in the stats, such as poise, determination, a high basketball IQ and above all, leadership.

Stopping Toliopoulos should be a priority for Prometey, which can use several players against him. Issuf Sanon is a lightning-quick guard who usually comes off the bench to give other playmakers trouble with his transition game. Illia Sydorov is a great on-the-ball defender who can also change games with his three-point shots. Caleb Agada may see the most playing time against Toliopoulos. Agada can use his size advantage and also be active on defense to give Toliopoulos trouble. Aris has other backcourt options, but if Toliopoulos can run its offense smoothly, it should give the visitors a better chance to win.