Match Preview
Salon Vilpas are the Finnish champions who just earned their first appearance in the FIBA Champions League after winning the qualifying tournament. Are they capable of putting up a fight against AEK in Athens?
AEK Athens Finally Find Their Winning Touch
AEK Athens had a lot of problems during the pre-season, failing to register a single victory in three test games. After losing the first two appearances to Trabzonspor 76-66 and Panathinaikos 78-56, they drew against Spartak Subotica 82-82.
Their first official match in the new campaign was in the Greek Super Cup semifinals, losing to Olympiakos 93-80. Their shooting numbers were solid here but they failed to control the glass (25-35 rebounds).
The Double-Headed Eagles finally ended their winless run last weekend by taking down Maroussi 91-70 in the Greek Basket League opener. Nelly Joseph was named man of the match, scoring 18 points (8/11 FG shooting) and adding six rebounds to his name.
Salon Vilpas Making History in Europe
Salon Vilpas had to go through the qualifiers to reach the FIBA Champions League main phase. After edging out Levice 90-87 in the quarterfinals, they had no problems beating Bakken Bears 90-72 in the semifinals.
The deciding clash was against CSM Oradea, a true thriller with the Finnish side taking a 98-96 victory, heavily carried by Leland Walker, who scored 42 points.
Last weekend, Salon Vilpas had no problems defeating Pyrinto Tampere 97-79 as visitors in the Finnish top flight, recovering from an unexpected 107-104 defeat to Honka in the opening round.