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oct 23 2026Fenerbahçe pulled off a dramatic comeback victory against Olympiacos in a battle of EuroLeague leaders on Matchday 7, winning in the most painful way possible for the hosts. Georgios Bartzokas' Olympiacos team controlled play for nearly the entire game at SUNEL Arena, built a 16-point lead, and remained ahead entering the fourth quarter, but went cold at the crucial moment: they failed to score in the final three minutes. Šarūnas Jasikevičius' Fenerbahçe team capitalized to win 61-64 and move to 6-1, tied with Panathinaikos atop the standings.
Suffocating defense in the first half
Olympiacos came out with enormous defensive intensity. With an 18-5 start just minutes in, they held Fenerbahçe to just 8 points in the first quarter (20-8), during which Jasikevičius received a technical foul for protesting. The lead ballooned to 16 points in the second quarter (30-14) following a three-pointer by Vezenkov, though the Turkish side cut into the deficit before halftime and went into the locker room trailing 34-24.
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Olympiacos' final blackout
Fenerbahçe came out of halftime with a 0-7 run that signaled the game was far from over. Shane Larkin connected on back-to-back three-pointers and the third quarter closed with just a four-point gap (49-45). Olympiacos, severely short-handed due to injuries to Fournier, Montero, and Dorsey, still had enough to pull away again with Vezenkov (59-51), but that's when they ran out of gas.
A three-pointer by Will Clyburn, his first make of the game, gave the Turkish side hope, and from that point on Olympiacos couldn't score again. Larkin cut it to one point with 1:20 remaining, and Baldwin gave Fenerbahçe the lead at 38 seconds left (61-62). Fenerbahçe added two more points to seal the 61-64 victory, and Olympiacos' final attempt, a three-pointer by Vezenkov with 4.6 seconds left to force overtime, came up short.
Shavon Shields led Fenerbahçe with 17 points and 7 rebounds, Baldwin added 14 points and 5 assists, and Larkin contributed 13 points and 5 assists. For Olympiacos, Vezenkov recorded 17 points and 10 rebounds, Codi Miller-McIntyre had 12 points and 6 assists, Tyson Ward scored 11, and Nikola Milutinov added 6 points and 13 rebounds. It's Olympiacos' second EuroLeague loss and, according to Greek media, their first home defeat of the season.
