poorly in a single-elimination game in Athens). Especially between 1985 and 1988, the question was not who the Greek League champion would be, but if Aris would go undefeated or not, as the club won an unparalleled 80 games in a row at one point. European distinction In the 1984–1985 season, came Aris' first significant European success: Aris reached the semifinals of the 3rd-tier level FIBA Korać Cup, eventually losing to Ciaocrem Varese of the Italian League, and without the services of Galis for the first game in Thessaloniki (he was injured in practice 3 days before the game). Aris formed the backbone of the senior Greece men's national basketball team, sending Galis, Giannakis, Filippou, Romanidis, and Lipiridis (to help Greece win the gold medal at the EuroBasket 1987, and the silver medal at the EuroBasket 1989). The back court combination of Galis-Giannakis first came to European prominence at the 1986 FIBA World Championship in Spain, where upstarts Greece performed surprisingly well, while Galis won the top-scorer of the tournament award. It was during that year, 1986, that Aris made headlines in Europe in the FIBA European Champions Cup (EuroLeague) qualifying round. Having been unceremoniously eliminated by Limoges CSP of the French League in 1985 (1985–86 season), Aris was arbitrarily paired against Tracer Milano in the qualifying round. An insurmountable task, considering that Tracer were arguably the best team in Europe, and furthermore had acquired Bob McAdoo, possibly the best American player (still) to ever play in Europe. Aris, sporting Nikos Galis, Panagiotis Giannakis, Lefteris Subotić, and a third rate American player, Jackson, managed an unbelievable win in Thessaloniki, by 31 points, almost assuring the elimination of Tracer, and an advancement into the final group of the 6 best European teams. However, the return leg game saw Olimpia win by 34 points, thus eliminating Aris. Galis was absent due to an injury problem. Aris had to wait for another year to compete in Europe again, but their strength had been established. In 1987, Aris was not paired against an established FIBA European Champions' Cup (now called EuroLeague) team, and thus advanced to the final round of the 8 best European champions. The same was achieved in the next four years, and while Aris did not win the FIBA European Champions' Cup, they were very successful in the tournaments, reaching the Final Four of the tournament in 1988, 1989, and 1990.