Olympiacos claimed their fourth EuroLeague title on Sunday night, beating Real Madrid 92-85 in a pulsating final at a packed Telekom Center in Athens to end a 13-year wait for European glory.
Evan Fournier top-scored for the Greek side with 20 points, with Alec Peters adding 16 and EuroLeague MVP Sasha Vezenkov contributing 12. Thomas Walkup also reached double figures with 10 points and delivered crucial plays at both ends in the closing stages. For Real Madrid, Trey Lyles was outstanding with 24 points, including 21 in the first half alone, while Mario Hezonja added 19 and Andres Feliz 13 — though it was Feliz who missed the open three-pointer that would have tied the game in the final seconds.
Real Madrid fly out of the blocks
Real Madrid, missing key big men Walter Tavares, Usman Garuba and Alex Len, gave little indication of their injury problems in the opening quarter, racing into an early lead through Lyles. After Tyler Dorsey opened Olympiacos’s account from the free-throw line, Lyles hit five straight points to make it 1-9. Nikola Milutinov scored the first Olympiacos basket from inside, but Lyles responded with a three-pointer to extend the lead to 3-12. Alberto Abalde stretched it further from long range before Vezenkov hit a crucial and-one to make it 6-15.
Thomas Walkup hit an important three-pointer to bring Olympiacos back to 9-15, with Vezenkov adding another and-one for 12-15. Lyles continued his relentless scoring, Facundo Campazzo and Sergio Llull kept the ball moving, and Théo Maledon added an acrobatic finish as Real Madrid closed the first quarter leading 19-26.
Olympiacos fight back
Abalde opened the second quarter with another three-pointer to extend the lead to 19-29, but Olympiacos began to find their rhythm. Tyson Ward grabbed an important offensive rebound and scored, Corey Joseph slipped cleverly into the basket, and Jonathan Peters extended the run to make it 25-29. Lyles kept answering every Olympiacos surge, but Fournier caught fire, hitting a basket and free throw to give Olympiacos their first lead of the game at 38-36.
Lyles refused to let Real pull away, but Peters delivered a massive buzzer-beater to send Olympiacos into the break leading 46-44, with Fournier having scored 11 consecutive points during the quarter.
Real Madrid regain control
Shaquielle McKissic opened the second half with a three-pointer to push the lead to 49-44, but Real Madrid responded sharply. Abalde tied it at 49-49 before Andres Feliz took over, hitting back-to-back baskets including a three-pointer to give Real the lead at 54-58. Hezonja added to the damage, and Maledon converted after a Fournier turnover as Real moved into a 59-65 lead. Milutinov hit a buzzer-beater to end the third quarter at 61-65.
A fourth-quarter classic
Fournier struck immediately in the fourth with a three-pointer to make it 64-65, before Corey Joseph hit his own three to put Olympiacos ahead 67-65. Maledon responded on the other end, and the game swung back and forth with both sides trading baskets in a breathless finale.
Vezenkov finally imposed himself with a crucial basket to give Olympiacos the lead, and Fournier, magnificent throughout, converted consecutive free throws to push the advantage to 88-80 with the game seemingly won. But Lyles and Campazzo dragged Real back to within three at 88-85, and when Feliz got a clear look at a three-pointer that would have tied it, the Telekom Center fell silent. The Dominican forward missed, and Peters stepped coolly to the free-throw line to seal the victory and send 18,000 red-clad fans into rapture.
Quarter scores: 19-26, 46-44, 61-65, 92-85.
