U-BT Cluj-Napoca – Aris Thessaloniki, “all or nothing” match in the EuroCup! 500 Greek fans will be present in BTarena

The derby of the 18th round in the BKT EuroCup is undoubtedly the one between U-BT Cluj-Napoca and Aris Salonic. In front of a full hall, the two teams with identical records (8-9) play for the last ticket in the round of 16 of the competition.

Live from 18:00. U-BT Cluj-Napoca – Aris Thessaloniki, an “all or nothing” match in the EuroCup

U-BT Cluj-Napoca aims to reach the EuroCup playoffs for the 3rd consecutive season. But the defeats in the last stages have significantly affected the chances of Mihai Silvășan's team to achieve this goal, and the black and whites are obliged to beat Aris Salonic at home.

on the move the “students” won 98-88 in the “Sports Palace” in Thessalonikibut the Greeks are going through a good period and came to Romania with high morale. The yellow-blacks are also accompanied by 500 fans from Greece.

U-BT Cluj-Napoca won the last match played, the one against Borac Cacak, and ended a long series of negative results. With over 9,000 supporters by their side, Silvășan's team hopes to achieve their 9th success in the EuroCup.

I know that everyone is talking about it being a decisive match, that the hall will be full, that they are coming with supporters. But if we take our thoughts away from what needs to be done on the field, there's a good chance we won't do our job well. That's what I'm trying to convey to them: let's be careful, do what we've prepared, play with intensity, with concentration and try to be the best version of ourselves. It's a match, anything can happen. But in the end, with the help of the public, I hope we will be the ones who will emerge victorious from this battle

– Mihai Silvasan

Igor Milicic: “We are ready for a huge battle against a very good team”

U-BT's leaders are center Dusan Miletic, power forward Mitch Creek and defender Daron Russell. Trey Woodbury and Patrick Richard have also had great performances of late, especially in the spectacular comeback away to Hapoel Jerusalem.

On the other side, Aris is led by Bryce Jones, the former Cluj player. Igor Milicic also has at his disposal basketball players such as Danilo Andjusic, Amine Noua, Arnoldas Kulboka or Kostas Antetokounmpo, the brother of the famous Giannis Antetokounmpo, the double MVP of the NBA.

Obviously, this is the most important game of the season so far. The winner will take it all and we are set for a huge battle against a very good team. To get the victory and the qualification, we have to control the rebounds and the pace of the game. We must not allow Cluj to go on the counterattack and be focused for 40 minutes

– Igor Milicic