A top trainer like the Spaniard John Plazaa squad with players with significant European ancestry, the ambition to be one of the best teams in the Basketball Champions League and, above all, to try and upset Olympiakos and Panathinaikos at home.
On their debut, the Greeks defeated Ludwigsburg 84:79, fended off the German attack, led practically the entire game and were overtaken in the photo finish by AEK, where an old friend from the Corona era Dinamo plays Justin Tillman.
Fire zone for the Athenians who can count on experience, talent and unpredictability. Dinamo will need to put in a great individual performance in 1v1s against players of this caliber Chasson Randle, Langston Hallalready seen in Italy and growing strongly at European level and Jordan McRaewithout forgetting a prominent winger like McLemore, who played real NBA and dominated the championship on Saturday against Patras.
Key players Kuzminskas Who has a great European career, played in Milan in Italy, Olympiakos, New York Knicks, Lokomotiv Kuban, Zenit, Pinar, atypical winger who has everything to make a difference. Plaza uses the Greek Flionis as the team’s playmaker and controls the tempo. Look for the physically fit Canadian Kabengele, while the young Netzipoglou from 2002 comes off the bench
Experience and muscle for big man Kouzeloglou, AEK is a complete, talented team that needs to be attacked on the perimeter, while they won the game against the Germans by allowing 22 offensive rebounds.
Here are the words of captain Stefano Gentile, who lived in Athens as a child when his father Nando played for Panathinaikos: “Aek is certainly a very competitive team, both in the championship in Greece and in the cup, where it is always very dangerous. It has an important top-class squad. I think the BCL has grown a lot in the last few years, I think it’s the second best European cup, they’ve made a lot of progress. But playing two games a week is not easy, also because the Italian championship has eight to ten improved teams that have spent significant budgets. The level has risen a lot, every game is a real fight.”
“We are striving to improve significantly, we have had a lot of problems, we definitely want to be a team that has a defensive identity, grow as a team and as an organization, like we have done in the last two seasons.” Our group made the difference by competing even with teams with higher budgets. I try to be a role model for my teammates and especially for the new signings, I do my best in training and try to manage myself intelligently.”
