Greek basketball club Aris earned an 87-74 victory away against French side Le Mans Sarthe Basket to start their EuroCup campaign with a win.
The team, coached by Vassilis Spanoulis, recovered from a poor opening quarter in France, overturning an early deficit to secure control in the second half of the match.
Aris struggled at the start of the game, quickly falling behind 10-2 after four minutes of play. Le Mans pushed their advantage to 20-10 by the eight-minute mark and ended the first period holding a 26-15 lead over the visitors.
The response from Spanoulis' side was impressive in the second period. Aris mounted a 2-12 scoring run to cut the gap to 28-27 at the 15-minute mark and eventually took the lead, before Le Mans regained a narrow 40-39 edge at half-time.
Second half turnaround
Aris adjusted the game to their pace in the third period. Scoring from Vassilis Toliopoulos and Vasileios Charalampopoulos allowed the visitors to move ahead by seven points at 51-58, before Aris extended that lead to eight points at 55-63 to control the period.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Morgan landed a three-pointer to extend the lead to 55-66. Liddell then took over for Aris, helping the Greek team open up a 13-point cushion at 57-73 before wrapping up the 87-74 victory. The quarter-by-quarter breakdown finished 26-15, 40-39, 55-63, and 74-87.
Club and competition profile
Aris, based in Thessaloniki, is one of the most traditional basketball clubs in Greece, with a long history in domestic and European competitions. Le Mans Sarthe Basket is a top-tier French club based in Le Mans that regularly competes in European club tournaments.
The EuroCup is Europe's secondary professional basketball competition organized by Euroleague Basketball, featuring clubs from across the continent. Head coach Vassilis Spanoulis, a former EuroLeague star player, leads Aris as they aim to make progress in the group stage of the tournament.
