ATHENS. Olympiacos Piraeus defeated Fenerbahce with authority 79-61 in the EuroLeague Final Four and secured their place in the continental championship game following a defensive masterclass and near-total dominance from start to finish.
The team coached by Georgios Bartzokas started the game with brutal intensity on defense, completely shutting down the reigning European champion in the opening minutes. Fenerbahce took more than two minutes to score their first basket and suffered a devastating early run that put the scoreboard at 12-0, driven by an inspired Tyler Dorsey from beyond the arc.
Olympiacos' defense set the tone for the entire EuroLeague semifinal. The Greek team closed passing lanes, dominated the boards, and constantly forced poor offensive decisions from Sarunas Jasikevicius's squad. Dorsey and Vezenkov led the early offensive charge, while Walkup provided balance and controlled the game's pace.
Although Fenerbahce managed a timid reaction in the second quarter thanks to points from Tarik Biberovic and Talen Horton-Tucker, Olympiacos never lost control. Alec Peters came off the bench with enormous offensive impact and allowed the Piraeus team to maintain a solid lead heading into halftime, which arrived at 33-24.
The decisive moment came after the halftime break. Sasha Vezenkov exploded offensively and led another devastating run that pushed the lead to 20 points. The Bulgarian MVP completely dominated the third quarter, punishing every defensive lapse from Fenerbahce and restoring calm to Olympiacos when the Turkish team threatened to make a comeback.
Fenerbahce managed to close the gap partially with a positive stretch led by Wade Baldwin and Horton-Tucker, cutting the deficit to 44-34. However, Vezenkov appeared again in crucial moments and Olympiacos quickly regained control of the game with a combination of defense, ball movement, and outside accuracy.
https://youtu.be/FbtN6DBw5Y0?si=XLDw54xvqPGFOwj5
In the fourth quarter, the Greek team definitively put away the semifinal. Evan Fournier appeared with several key plays, Peters continued punishing from mid-range, and Tyrone Ward provided energy to prevent any final comeback attempt. Olympiacos surpassed the 10-point margin again and closed out the game without drama until the final 79-61.
Alec Peters finished as Olympiacos' leading scorer with 17 points, while Sasha Vezenkov added 16 and Tyler Dorsey posted 15 in a very solid perimeter performance for the Greeks. Fournier and Ward contributed 10 points each, while Nikola Milutinov dominated the paint with 13 rebounds.
On Fenerbahce's side, Tarik Biberovic was the standout with 17 points, followed by Talen Horton-Tucker with 16 and Wade Baldwin with 10. The Turkish team never found offensive rhythm and ultimately fell clearly to Olympiacos' physical and tactical superiority.
With this victory, Olympiacos Piraeus returns to the EuroLeague final and will seek to win the fourth European title in their history.