This was a clash between the last two EuroLeague season champions: Fenerbahçe became the strongest in 2025, Olympiakos – this spring.
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In the first half of the game, Šaras’s trainees looked more solid and led for much longer. They won the first quarter 25:20, and in the second had built an 11-point lead (35:24).
“Oly” made a 10:2 run just before the long break and almost erased the deficit (43:45), and in the third quarter the Greeks took the lead after a long pause (56:55).
Fenerbahçe was pushed forward by Talon Horton-Tucker, who had been quiet before, hitting two consecutive three-pointers and initiating his team’s 15:3 run – after which the “yellows” again enjoyed a record 11-point lead (76:65).
However, Fenerbahçe quickly squandered the lead again – Olympiakos needed only four minutes in the fourth quarter to tie the score (81:81), and soon the Greeks took the lead (85:83).
The “Reds” soon built a 5-point lead (90:85), but Fenerbahçe erased it in a few attacks (90:90).
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However, at the crucial moment, the Piraeus basketball players were more accurate. Evan Fournier scored a two-pointer with 53 seconds left (92:90), and shots by Shavon Shields and T. Horton-Tucker in the final seconds, which could have tied or reversed the score, missed the mark.
These teams also met in last season’s EuroLeague semifinals, when Olympiakos confidently triumphed 79:61.
Ignas Sargiūnas, who moved from Vilnius “Rytas” to Fenerbahçe in the summer, was not registered for the game. Also absent was probably Fenerbahçe’s most notable summer signing – EuroLeague star Shane Larkin.
In the other semifinal at 8 p.m., last season’s EuroLeague finalist Real Madrid will face the host team Dubai club.
The match for third place and the final are scheduled for Saturday at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m., respectively.
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To be updated
