Fenerbahce Erase 16-Point Deficit to Beat Olympiacos 64-61 in Piraeus

By Taki Panos

There is a particular kind of silence that settles over an arena when a 16-point lead turns into a three-point loss. Olympiacos heard it on Friday night. Fenerbahce beat the Reds 64-61 at the Sunel Arena in Piraeus on October 23, 2026, in round 7 of the EuroLeague, as Gazzetta and Basketnews reported, after scoring just eight points in the whole first quarter. The visitors went ahead for the first time since the opening minutes with 38 seconds left and survived a messy, foul-filled finish.

Some context for anyone just catching up. Olympiacos arrived on a three-game EuroLeague winning streak, including an overtime win at Barcelona a week earlier. They also arrived short-handed, with Evan Fournier injured and Tyler Dorsey out, and neither appeared in the box score. These two clubs know each other well: Olympiacos beat Fenerbahce 79-61 in the Final Four semifinal last May. Friday's loss drops Bartzokas's side to 5-2, per Gazzetta, while Fenerbahce picked up their third straight win and sixth of the season, Star reported.

For ten minutes it looked like a rout in the making. Sertac Sanli scored first and a Shavon Shields three made it 5-1 for the visitors, then Olympiacos ripped off a 17-0 run, started by Sasha Vezenkov and finished by Cory Joseph, to lead 18-5, per Gazzetta and B92. The first quarter ended 20-8. Saras Jasikevicius's team could not buy a basket, and the home crowd was enjoying every second of it. Honestly, it felt like the kind of night where the only question was the final margin.

Fenerbahce did not go away, which good teams rarely do. Wade Baldwin scored five quick points early in the second quarter, but Joseph answered with a three and a free throw to make it 24-13. Six more points from Vezenkov stretched the lead to 30-14 with 2:37 left before the break, the biggest gap of the night. The visitors then closed the half on an 8-2 run, Gazzetta noted, and Olympiacos went to the locker room up 34-24. Ten points is a nice cushion. It is not a wall.

The third quarter is where the game changed shape. Nikola Milutinov scored the first basket of the second half, and then Fenerbahce answered with a 10-0 burst, from Talen Horton-Tucker to Sanli, that cut it to 36-34. To their credit, the Reds responded right away with an 8-0 run of their own, from Tyson Ward to Milutinov, to go back up 44-34. A Codi Miller-McIntyre three and a Vezenkov basket made it 49-42, but Shane Larkin hit a three late in the period to cut it to 49-45.

A Vezenkov three opened the fourth quarter brightly at 52-47, and baskets from Tyrique Jones and Vezenkov pushed it to 59-51 with 6:26 to play. That should have been enough. It was not. Olympiacos managed only two more points the rest of the way, and Fenerbahce chipped away with a 9-2 run to get within one, 61-60, with 1:11 left, as Gazzetta and B92 described it. With 38 seconds on the clock, the visitors took a 62-61 lead. The Reds scored just 12 points in the final quarter.

The last half minute was painful to watch for anyone in red and white. Olympiacos came up empty on their next trip down the floor. Then, with Fenerbahce inbounding the ball, Vezenkov was called for a disruptive foul, and Will Clyburn split the two free throws for 63-61, per Basketnews and B92. Baldwin was fouled on the next play and also made one of two, leaving it 64-61 with about six seconds to go. Olympiacos needed a three to force overtime, and Vezenkov's attempt missed everything.

That ending is harsh on Vezenkov, because for most of the night he was the best player on the floor. He finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds and two assists for a PIR of 21, according to Basketnews and B92, just a week after being named MVP of round 6. Miller-McIntyre added 12 points, five rebounds and six assists, Ward scored 11, and Milutinov pulled down 13 rebounds to go with six points. Joseph chipped in seven off the bench. Nobody should be pinning this one on a single possession.

On the other side, Shields led Fenerbahce with 17 points, seven rebounds and a PIR of 25, and Gazzetta named him the player of the game. Baldwin scored 14 points with five assists, and Larkin added 13 points and five assists, both off the bench, per Basketnews and Star. That bench production was the difference. When the starters were going nowhere in the first quarter, Jasikevicius found answers in his second unit, and they were the ones on the floor when it mattered.

The numbers tell the story of two very different halves. Fenerbahce outscored Olympiacos 40-27 after the break. Both teams finished with 17 assists, but Olympiacos committed five more turnovers, Gazzetta noted, and Fenerbahce had six steals to the Reds' three, per Basketnews. Olympiacos also went 12 of 20 from the free throw line and won the rebounding battle, which makes the loss sting a little more. Elsewhere, Panathinaikos beat Baskonia on Thursday to move to 6-1, so the Greens now sit a game ahead of their rivals.

My take: this is a frustrating loss, but not an alarming one. Olympiacos played without two key perimeter players and still controlled most of the game against one of Europe's best teams. What worries me a little is the fourth quarter. Scoring 12 points in ten minutes at home, with the game in your hands, points to a team that is running out of legs and shot creators when the rotation is this thin. Getting healthy matters more right now than any single result in October.

There is no time to sulk. Olympiacos travel to Istanbul to face Besiktas in round 8 on Wednesday, October 28, at 7:30 PM Greek time, per the club and Gazzetta, and then host Armani Milan at the Sunel Arena on Friday, October 30, according to in.gr. Two games in three days is a test of depth, which is exactly what the Reds are missing. Keep an eye on our Greek Sports section for every result. Friday hurt. Wednesday is a chance to answer.

Sources: Gazzetta, Basketnews, B92, Star, in.gr, Olympiacos BC.

Image: Historic Fenerbahçe crest (1914 to 1928), via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).