AEK ATHENS vs. TAU CERAMICA
Galatsi Olympic Hall
19:45 CET
January 18 2006
AEK Athens hosts Tau Ceramica in Greece on Wednesday for a Group A game that both teams feel they must win. A victory for Tau (7-3) will seal its participation in the Top 16, while ensuring a least a share of the group lead with Zalgiris. A win for AEK (3-7) will keep alive the team's narrow hopes of reaching the next stage. Currently, AEK is three victories from fifth place, which guarantees a Top 16 spot, and just one victory away from the wild-card 16th berth to the next round, which goes to the best sixth-place team across the three groups. Group B's sixth-place team from Athens, Olympiacos, has four victories to lead that particular race. All of which means that every game from this point on will have do-or-die intensity for AEK. When these teams last met in November, Luis Scola scored 16 to take Tau to a 77-62 victory in Spain. AEK has played well at home this year, winning three of four, two against teams above it, Climamio and Zalgiris AEK should also have a healthy roster for this game. Giannis Bouroussis (7.4 ppg., 7.1 rpg.), who had missed the last two games, was back in action for a Greek League win on Sunday, while illness had also slowed down reserve Amit Tamir of late. Taylor Coppenrath (10.2 ppg.) and Pantelemeimon Papaiokeim were playing most of the minutes recently, but a healthy four-man frontcourt will be important against Tau. Last year's Euroleague runner-up boasts power in the paint, starting with Scola (16.3 ppg., 6.8 rpg.), Kornel David (10 ppg., 5.3 rpg.), Tiago Splitter (9.1 ppg.) and Predrag Drobnjak. Scola is on the verge of a Euroleague milestone this week as 9 points scored would make him just second player to reach 1,500 for his career, after Marcus Brown of Unicaja. Splitter is coming off a big week after leading Tau with 17 points and 8 boards in only 18 minutes in a home victory over Union Olimpija. Lionel Chalmers (18 ppg. and 3.2 apg. in his last five games) has become AEK's first option on offense, but he is also capable of finding the open man when if double-teamed. Slaven Rimac (9.2 ppg.) and Michalis Pelekanos (17.5 points over last two games) are among those who benefit from better looks when defenses chase Chalmers. The league leader in assists, Tau's Pablo Prigioni (6 ppg., 6.8 apg.), is the opposite of Chalmers. He passes first and scores only as a last resort, often freeding perimeter scorers Serkan Erdogan (10.5 ppg.) and Casey Jacobsen (7.7 ppg.). Both of them will be needed against AEK because forward Travis Hansen (11 ppg., 46.1% 3FG) will miss a second consecutive game with back trouble, while another swingman, Sergi Vidal, is doubtful after a foot injury. AEK might be without backup point guard Spiros Panteliadis (9.7 ppg.), too, after he missed the last Euroleague and Greek League games. Tau's depth makes it difficult to focus on particular players to stop, but AEK might have to risk such a tactic, considering how important this game is. It will be up to Chalmers to dictate the game's pace if low-scoring AEK (67.8 ppg.) is to narrow the gap with its high-scoring visitors (79.9 ppg.). If Prigioni and backup Roko-Leni Ukic are allowed to control the tempo, Tau's big men will be free to do damage that can endanger AEK's survival.
Lefteris KAKIOUSIS
"We have the ambition."
"We are hosting a high-quality team with players of great personality. Definitely, we have the ambition to give them a tough battle, and our first goal is to control their rhythm, since they are a naturally offensive team with a dangerous transition game. It is not the first time we hear that it is our last effort to stay alive in the Euroleague. We have heard it before the previous games and we hear it now. So, I think my players have to fight with all the strength they've got for the best result against the 2004-05 Euroleague finalists."
Velimir PERASOVIC
"They surprise me because of their defense."
"The game is very important for us to clinch the first place of our group in order to avoid the strongest teams in the Top 16. I watched AEK against Climamio and I saw they played pretty well, with a very good defense. The team was dead serious, the opposite of what I saw when they played in Vitoria, when they were under the normal level you used to see from every Greek team. They surprise me because of their defense. They play good basketball, especially the playmakers and the frontcourt, so they will be very hard to beat at their home court. There are players like Pelekanos, Panteliadis or Bouroussis who have started to play pretty well. I think they will try to play a good game because they still have a chance to qualify for the Top 16. It's always difficult to win on the road in such a strong competition like the Euroleague."
Giannis BOUROUSSIS
Center
"It is a great challenge to face such a front line."
"Tau Ceramica is a very big European club and one of the top teams so far, but we are facing them at home and we must go for the win. I remember the game against them in the first round, when we lost due to a terrible last period. I guess our lack of experience and some bad offensive options helped the home team outscore us by 20-8 and seal the victory. Nevertheless, our effort was great in Fernando Buesa Arena, and we want to play well at our home court, too. For me as a center, it is a great challenge to face such a front line, but also for the rest of my teammates, it is a chance to show what we can do as a team."
Roko-Leni UKIC
Guard
"They made us struggle in the first meeting."
"We face next game with a big desire to win because we have to try to secure one of the first places in our group. We know they made us struggle in the first meeting. We found many problems to beat them in Vitoria, so we expect a tough game. I'm not the most suitable one to explain why we didn't win our last two road games in Euroleague, because I didn't play either, but I honestly think there is no big problem with us playing on the road. Both games were different, Climamio player really great in Bologna while we had some problems getting in the game against Strasbourg. I think we must learn from our mistakes by not repeating them in Athens against AEK. I feel great after the injury, I think I'm in normal shape so I'll try to do my best in Greece in order to help my team win the game."