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Alba open the Eurocup in Veszprem 40 km away

PAOK made a great progress compared to the season start, and have the role of the favorite in the away game in Hungary

Hungarians haven't been in Europe for years, and with the competition expanding, they were in the main lot of Eurocup. The Russians opened it, got defeated badly by Nizhny, but it was something that could have been expected. Today, they face a great challenge in front of the home audience, even though the game will be played 40 km away, in Veszprem who have better conditions and Veszprem Arena.

Alba lost to Kormend on Sunday (Zarko Rakocevic 24 points) in the last second, but judging by the words of coach Frade, it won't influence the today's match. 

- We have a very difficult match ahead of us, and a demanding opponent. It's hard to say whether they're better than Novgorod, the time will tell. We have to play our best, the guys are training their hardest, and that's the first condition for a good game - the Spaniard on the Alba's bench pointed out.

Alba have a lot of Americans, and the two on the backcourt stand out the most, Kemp and Moore. The Greek have already named them as the biggest danger, and they definitely won't have mercy for them.

- They won Aris in the away game, they're clearly full of self-confidence. My only wish is to progress, that the players understand where they made mistakes against Novgorod, so we can fix them. Every game is a chance for improvement - Frade stated.

Alba are a young team, averaging a bit over 23 years, and it will be hard for them against the lot more experienced Greeks. Besides, their new center, Eloy Vargas, didn't arrive yet, and by the looks of it, won't be there for Frade today.

- We're not that shaken up mentally because of the championship defeat. I think the journey to Novgorod had more effect on us, and today we're facing an opponent who plays a physically tough basketball. We're professionals, and enter each game with a desire to win - the American Kemp, the best Alba shooter so far, said.

PAOK opened the season by falling out of from the cup in a game against their biggest rival Aris, but we've been seeing a completely different team since then. First they started the championship with a win, and did the same in the Eurocup against Buducnost, and then continued the series with a revenge in the away game against Aris. The team climate went from grim to glam:

- We played a top notch game in the right moment. We showed this team's character once again, just like against Buducnost, by not giving up in any moment, and took the win in the equal final moments of the game. We had more jumps, 11 assists more, and outplayed them in any segment of the game - coach Markopoulos was thrilled.

PAOK got the biggest reinforcement under the basket this summer. Even though it was believed that there will be a giant hole under the basket when Papadopoulos left, the opposite happened. Young center Bogris is brilliant at the beginning of the season, and proved to be a team leader. He had 28 points and 7 jumps against Buducnost, and 21+8 against Aris. In both games, the most important actions when through him and the point guard Cooper. Bogris attributes his progress to the team:

- This kind of team play I've only seen in Panathinaikos, with Zeljko Obradovic. Even though I didn't play then, I think of those three years as the best ones in my career because that's when I learned everything about basketball. The same game system I see here now, in PAOK, and I feel incredible in a team like that one.

Coach Markopoulos could hardly get a better compliment. PAOK go to the away game against the newbie in the Eurocup feeling really self-confident, and everyone expects a win, but Markopoulos warns:

- This is a very important game for us. We play against a team that are new in the Eurocup, and that means we'll be facing a full arena. Alba have an aggressive game and excellent backcourt shooters. Hobbs and Moore are great players and amazing shooters, but we also have to keep an eye on the others.

It's evident the key duel will happen under the basket, where it should be interesting to see how the Hungarians keep hold of the great Bogris. A big part of the job should be done by their giant, 220cm high Somogyi, but the question is, how can he stop the pick and roll by Cooper and Bogris, who's very fast, and should give a lot of trouble to Alba.

The Hungarians are quite hyped ahead of hosting the eminent club from Greece although their reputation is not the best. Alba won the Hungarian title (won against the ABA League team of Szolnoki) but little is left of the last year's team. Their game is lead by the young 22-year-old Americans Kemp, Moore and Hobbs who don't have too much experience in matches like these. In addition, they are not really playing at home but in the 40 km distant Veszprem where they are not used to playing and the court and the surroundings are perhaps just a little bit better known to them than to the away team. PAOK are traditionally relying a lot on defense. Lately they are playing very well and they are full of confidence. They should dominate in rebounds and they are aware that a wrong step against Hungarians in this difficult group will put them in a submissive state. Alba went over this margin 2 out of 4 times in Hungarian league where they meet a much more modest teams than this one.