Noley and Toliopoulos did not arrive for Aris in Romania

He fought with all his might, but left Romania empty-handed Mars.

Giannis Kastritis’ team may have found themselves chasing the score for almost the entire game, however, they were in contention for victory against Cluj. The hosts, however, were more effective in the last part of the match, taking the victory with score 87-79 in the context of the 9th EuroCup competition.

This was also the third consecutive defeat of the “yellows” in the competition and a total of fifth in a row in all competitions, as a result of which they remain in the penultimate place of the B group of the competition with a 2-7 record.

Noley had an excellent performance for the Thessaloniki team with 22 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, with Toliopoulos following with 19 points. Positive debut with the “yellows” for Sharif Cooper, with the American guard finishing the game with 15 points, 3 assists and 2 rebounds, at the time when Darrahl Willis remained in… shallow in his own debut (2p. with 1/8 shooting, 7 rebounds.

The match:

The start of the match was rather sluggish for him Marswith his offense having unimaginable difficulty finding a rhythm, resulting in a low score. Something Cluj took advantage of with Guzman and Hawkins in the foreground, leading 11-4 in the 4th minute. The entrance of Cooper and Roberts on the floor improved the image of the Greek team, which gradually reduced the difference (17-13) in the 7th minute, before Mokoka with six consecutive points, sent the Romanians for the first time at +10 (23-13). With two shots by Toliopoulos and two back-to-back baskets by Cooper, the Thessalonians managed to sort the situation out in the last minute, with the quarter ending with score at 26-19.

In fact, with a three-pointer by Toliopoulos, but also with 6 points by Noley, the “yellows” not only tied the match, but also overtook for the first time in the evening for the pro 28-26 at 13′! The home team responded and thanks to their good defense, took the lead again (37-34) five minutes later. Despite Noley’s amazing performance with 16 points in the half (!), Aris could not get a head on the scoreboard, thus going to the locker room at -4 and 42-38.

The scene of the third was similar to the first quarter, since the team of Yannis Kastritis did not enter the match focused, as a result of which Cluj escaped at +9 (51-42) in the 22nd minute. Significantly improving its defense and spearheading Toliopoulos, Aris once again managed to get back in contention for the match, reducing to 51-48 and shortly after at 58-55. A moment of inaction in the last minute, however, allowed Cluj to close out the quarter at +6 and 63-57, thanks to the baskets of Stephens and Mokoka.

As if that wasn’t enough for the Thessalonians, a quick 6-0 run by the Romanians at the start of fourth and last periodraised the gap for the first time at +12 for 69-57. However, Aris did not lose his composure and concentration and with baskets by Hatzidakis, Noley and Roberts, he halved the difference (71-65) in the 35th minute. But then, Hawkins and Mokoka effectively “cleaned up” the victory for the home team, after writing +12 and 83-71 in the 38th minute, with the visitors unable to return to the match, finally knowing the defeat with score 87-79.

The quarters: 26-19, 42-38, 63-57, 87-79.

See here the statistics of the match.