Aris Thessaloniki spends Christmas in Athens
With two big games in Athens within three days, the league match at Olympiakos on Christmas Eve and the knock-out cup semifinal at Panathinaikos on Sunday, the coach of the Aris basketball team decided to keep his squad in the capital and not return to Thessaloniki for Christmas, pampering the players’ loved ones too.
Coach Dimitris Priftis took his players to court on Christmas Day itself, at Olympiakos’s home Peace and Friendship Stadium in Piraeus for a training session ahead of what might be the pinnacle of the Aris’s season against Cup holder Panathinaikos in the knockout match at the Olympic Sports Hall on Sunday evening.
Notably, Aris tried to make it easier for its players to spend Christmas 500 kilometers away from home by paying to host the players’ families too in Athens.
On Christmas Eve, after the 76-64 league loss to Olympiakos, Aris held a special Christmas dinner for the players and their families in Athens.
Then on Christmas Day Aris offered some special pampering to the players’ families, including presents for everyone, a visit to a Piraeus amusement park, beauty care sessions for wives and partners etc.
