A tough test for PAOK in Bulgaria!
The “Double-Headed Eagle of the North” takes on (7:30 p.m.) against Balkan Botevgrad in the 7th round of the EuroCup, seeking a victory that will keep them on track for the top spot in Group 4 of the competition.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Andrea Trinchieri’s team is coming off a comfortable 93-67 home victory against the Vikos Falcons, thanks to which it remains undefeated (6-0) at the top of the Stoiximan GBL standings.
In the EuroCup, they have a 4-2 record and are tied for second place with Manresa, continuing their pursuit of the leader (5-1), Bahçeşehir. Last week, PAOK emerged victorious (113-111) in their… wild showdown with Roma, thanks to a buzzer-beater by Moore, thus returning to winning ways after their loss in Turkey.
On the roster front, Gray is ill and did not travel with the team to Bulgaria, while Omoruyi also remained in Thessaloniki. Osman remains sidelined and will continue to be so for some time yet.
“If we make the mistake of looking at the standings, we’ll have a very difficult night. First of all, they’re newcomers to the competition. They just won a very tough away game in Sarajevo. For example, Bahçeşehir lost there, while we managed to pull off the win at the end of the game. So, they’re a tough team. They have nothing to lose, and I believe it will be a very physical game, with a lot of intensity. “What happened in the past is in the past,” said the PAOK coach ahead of the match.
As for Balkan, they’re stuck in last place in the group with a 1-5 record. However, last week they managed to celebrate their first victory, winning 75-69 in Sarajevo at Bosna’s home court. At home, it has lost to Bahçeşehir (101–60), Lietkabelis (57-64), and Manresa (65-76), while in the Bulgarian league they remain undefeated after 5 games.
*photo source: KYPE
