Winners’ Cup 1993 Final: Aris Thessaloniki beats Efes in a pitched battle

In 1993, the Cup Winners’ Cup final was held in Turin, where Aris and Ephes offered us anything but a basketball game. In the midst of a pitched battle the Greeks won (50-48), largely thanks to the efforts of Roy Tarpley

Semi-finals
Galil Elyon – Efes Pilsen (2-0)
Zaragoza – Aris Thessaloniki (2-0)

The opening stages of the game did not seem to augur well for what would later become the match. The age-old rivalry between the Greek and Turkish peoples, coupled with the passion of both fans (especially the Áris supporters), produced a match of poor quality, albeit one with many incidents. In fact, it was more than just a basketball game, it was a real battle of the field. Four players from Efes Pilsen and the FIBA delegate ended up in hospital with injuries of varying degrees after dozens of Greek fans threw chairs at them at the end of the game. Even though his team had won… As for the final itself, it was a technically poor and bad match, as can be deduced from the final score. The match was decided in the final minutes, although long before that, Ephes Pilsen had their opponents on the ropes, a disastrous and overly nervous Áris, as they were the favourites.

Aris Thessaloniki 50
*Yannakis – 2p, 3a
*Gasparis – 0p, 1r
*Anderson – 15p, 9r
*Tarpley – 19p, 18r
*Misunov – 10p, 7r
Angelidis – 2p, 1r
Vourtzoumis – 2p, 1r
Ioannou – 0p, 1a

Efes Pilsen 48
*Naumoski – 7p, 2a
*Sarica – 11p, 1r
*Aydin – 16p, 5r
*Richard – 7p, 8r
*Oyguc – 5p, 1r
Korucu – 0p, 3br
Ozturk – 2p, 2r