By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Pulling away late, Fenerbahce prevailed, 88-80, over Olympiacos in Istanbul’s Ulker Sports Arena on Tuesday.
Against his former side, Wade Baldwin IV netted a 17-point, 11-assist double-double to go with six rebounds and two steals. The 29-year-old guard extended a double-digit scoring streak to eight EuroLeague showings.
“This is an Olympiacos game, typical for Greek teams, very physical,” he said in a postgame interview, referring to a cut on his shoulder. “They are a tremendous team, obviously. The success they have had over the last four or five seasons has been at the top of the EuroLeague. We are right there with them.”
Packing at least 12 points for a sixth straight contest, Talen Horton-Tucker went for 17 points. Brandon Boston Jr. and Nicolo Melli followed with 14 and 11 points, respectively.
The reigning champions of Europe’s premier club competition improved to 13-6 on a fourth consecutive win in the 2025-26 Regular Season and fifth across all competitions. The Round 20 winning display included a team and EuroLeague debut for Chris Silva with four points and one rebound over 10:32.
Fellow recent roster addition on the team coached by Sarunas Jasikevicius, Nando De Colo, was unavailable. Jilson Bango (left knee), Onuralp Bitim (right ankle), Scottie Wilbekin (right knee), and Arturs Zagars (right hamstring) stayed on the injury list, with Metecan Birsen, Mert Emre Eksioglu, and Yigit Hamza Mestoglu also out.
On the opposite side, missing players for Giorgos Bartzokas went from newcomer Tyrique Jones to Keenan Evans (left leg), Moustapha Fall (left knee), Shaquielle McKissic (thigh), Nikola Milutinov (left knee), Frank Ntilikina (leg), and Tyson Ward (leg).
“I don’t think that we were so physical, especially in the second half, but Fenerbahce was really. This is how they play on defense. They are really aggressive. From our side, we allowed 52 points in the second half, largely due to second chances, lost rebounds, and poor communication on defense. I think there is an excuse, because our roster was really not so deep for this game,” noted the Greek tactician.
Meanwhile, Sasha Vezenkov put up a game-high 24 points with 8/11 field goals, but the Greek champions were reduced to 11-8 after entering the game with three wins in a row. Donta Hall posted a 16-point, 11-rebound double-double.
Completing EuroLeague’s two-game week, the Turkish side visits Dubai in Coca-Cola Arena on Thursday and the Greek side hosts FC Bayern Munich in the Peace and Friendship Stadium on Friday.