Reigning champion Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens returned to winning ways with a pair of big wins in a double-round week, bouncing back from adversity in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague on the back of majestic displays from its leader Kendrick Nunn. 
Following a 103-74 blowout of EA7 visiting Emporio Armani Milan on Tuesday, Panathinaikos romped to a 104-69 whitewash of Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz with Nunn racking up 65 points over the two matchups


Vintage Kendrick Nunn caught fire to steer Panathinaikos again

Reigning EuroLeague champion [Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/panathinaikos-aktor-athens/pan/) returned to winning ways with a pair of big wins in a double-round week, bouncing back from adversity in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague on the back of majestic displays from its leader [Kendrick Nunn](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/kendrick-nunn/012774/).

Following a [103-74 blowout of EA7 visiting Emporio Armani Milan](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/nunns-39-points-leads-panathinaikos-past-milan-103-74/) on Tuesday, Panathinaikos romped to a [104-69 whitewash of Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/nunn-shines-again-as-panathinaikos-demolishes-baskonia-104-69/) with Nunn racking up 65 points over the two matchups.

It was a stark change in fortunes for the guard, who had suffered a slump in form and was handed a one-game suspension for inappropriate conduct in his team’s [91-73 loss at Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/partizan-overwhelms-panathinaikos-91-73-to-make-it-four-in-a-row/) in Round 14.

Having missed the [93-67 debacle at Anadolu Efes Istanbul](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/efes-beats-up-panathinaikos-93-67/) in the following round, Nunn came back with a vengeance to pour in [a career-high 39 points ](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/kendrick-nunn-enjoyed-record-night-at-oaka/)against Milan before draining 26 against Baskonia, coupled with a career-high 9 assists and 4 steals.

Kendrick Nunn caught fire to steer Panathinaikos again

In every aspect, Nunn looked like the player who drove the Greens to their [seventh championship in Europe’s premier club competition](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/championship-game-live-real-madrid-vs-panathinaikos/) last season, facilitating the offense in the second half after shooting the lights out in the first.

Unfortunately, his second successive monster performance was overshadowed by [a serious injury](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/all-euroleague-center-mathias-lessort-leaves-game-with-leg-injury/) to the team’s other pillar, [Mathias Lessort](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/mathias-lessort/003842/).

Post-game comments from Lessort’s teammates and head coach [Ergin Ataman ](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/panathinaikos-aktor-athens/pan/ataman-ergin/?season=E2024)amounted to wishing the Panathinaikos big man a speedy recovery, as he was rushed to hospital for an MRI scan.

Game Videos

Profoundly shocked by the incident, Ataman was also struck to learn that a fan had suffered an apparent heart attack after seeing Lessort go down awkwardly and leave in anguish.  

“It was a very strange night and it’s difficult to talk about the fantastic basketball that we played,” Ataman said at the post-game press conference.  “Mathias suffered a very serious injury and I also want to thank Baskonia’s head coach Pablo Laso for agreeing to stop the game for 10 minutes after it happened.

“I was told that somebody \[among the fans\] suffered a heart attack. We are all hoping for good news about Mathias and we’re waiting for the doctors to say what kind of a fracture it is. That’s basketball and things like that can happen, but for the first time in my life I saw a fan get a heart attack over a player’s injury,” the Turkish tactician added with a grim look on his face.

Game News

The 29-year-old guard bounced back from a one-game suspension in a memorable double-week

Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens v Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (2024-12-19T17:45:00.000Z)

Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens blew away visiting Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 104-69 in Round 17 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and improved to 10-7, while the Spanish side dropped to 7-10 after Kendrick Nunn paced the home team with 26 points and a career-high 9 assists.

Nunn shines again as Panathinaikos demolishes Baskonia, 104-69

Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens blew away visiting Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 104-69 in Round 17 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and improved to 10-7, while the Spanish side dropped to 7-10 after Kendrick Nunn paced the home team with 26 points and a career-high 9 assists.

The game was marred by a serious injury to Panathinaikos center Mathias Lessort, who landed awkwardly early in the second half and appeared to have injured his ankle, having to hop off the court in excruciating pain amid screams from both sets of players and fans.

“We have nothing to celebrate and it’s very bad luck for Mathias,” the home team’s head coach Ergin Ataman said in a courtside post-game interview. “It looks like he broke his leg and the whole team was in shock after that.”

Nunn added: “We’re praying the injury is not as serious as it looks. We just need everybody to keep him in our prayers. He’s our brother and we are going to have his back, that’s for sure.”

Lorenzo Brown added 18 points for Panathinaikos, Juancho Hernangomez netted 10 and Lessort racked up 10 points to go with 6 boards before the gut-wrenching incident which saw hordes of home fans crying in anguish.

At the other end, Chima Moneke scored 16 points and Kamar Baldwin added 10 for Baskonia, which got trampled on from start to finish.

Having scored a career-high 39 points in Tuesday’s 103-74 home rout of EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, Nunn carried on right where he left off against the Italian side and poured 14 points in the first quarter of the matchup with Baskonia, with Panathinaikos romping into a 33-12 lead.

Baskonia regained some composure early in the second and slashed the deficit to 36-21 and then 48-35 in the closing stages of the first half, but Panathinaikos was still able to take a whopping lead, 53-35, into the locker room at halftime.

The game went flat for some time after Lessort’s injury early in the third quarter and was held up moments later after a fan had collapsed with Ataman saying in his post-game interview it appeared to be a stroke.

Both teams went through the motions for the remainder of the third quarter before Panathinaikos put its foot back on the gas in the fourth, engineering a 16-0 run late in the game for a 99-64 lead.

With both teams huddled together after the buzzer, Baskonia guard Markus Howard led a prayer for Lessort with home fans repeatedly chanting the big man’s name.   

“That’s my brother, it’s bad to see him down like that and I am at a loss for words,” Brown said as he barely held back the tears. “I hope he has a speedy recovery and it’s going to be tough for us to move on.”

The prolific guard followed up on his shooting spree from the previous round with another masterclass

The final round of the first half of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season will also complete the last double round week of the season. Here’s your overview to Thursday and Friday’s games in Round 17.

At a glance: The double-round fun continues!

The final round of the first half of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season will also complete the last double round week of the season. Here’s your overview to Thursday and Friday’s games in Round 17.

## Thursday, December 19

### Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens vs. Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (18:45 CET)

Two of Tuesday’s winners will attempt to complete a perfect week as Panathinaikos (9-7) welcomes Baskonia (7-9), who both teams looking for consistency. Get ready for a long-range shootout as Greens scoring star Kendrick Nunn tries to stay hot after netting an all-time competition record seven first quarter three-pointers in the rout against Milan, while Baskonia also offers an in-form deep threat after Markus Howard netted 28 points – including 6-of-9 from long-range – to inspire a Round 15 victory at Maccabi. That game also saw dynamic power forward Chima Moneke continue his excellent season with 17 points and 8 rebounds, and his personal battle with the always-electric Mathias Lessort – averaging 13.6 points and 7.1 boards per game – will be a bone-crunching highlight.

Round 17 Head-to-Head: Nunn vs. Howard

### Real Madrid vs. AS Monaco (20:45 CET)

After gaining good wins in Round 16, Real (7-9) and co-leader Monaco (11-5) go head-to-head in the Spanish capital. The Roca Team has won four of five games since Vassilis Spanoulis was appointed head coach, scoring at least 91 points in each of those victories. Most recently, Monaco’s collective passing ability shined as seven players dished multiple assists – including five apiece for Terry Tarpey and Matthew Strazel – in a team total of 28 to deliver victory over Bayern. Real ended a three-game losing run by triumphing at Paris on Tuesday, as Walter Tavares controlled the paint with his third double-double of the season. Monaco forces more turnovers than any other team in the league (14 per game), putting pressure on Real leader Facu Campazzo (7.6 assists, 2.0 turnovers per game).

Round 17 Head-to-Head: Tavares vs. Papagiannis

## Friday, December 20

### Anadolu Efes Istanbul vs. Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade (18:30 CET)

Efes (9-7) will look for a second victory this week against a Partizan (7-9) looking to kickstart another winning run. The Serbian team saw a five-game winning streak ended by a home loss to ASVEL earlier on Tuesday, and will hope that Brandon Davies and Frank Ntilikina can recover from illness to make the trip to Turkiye. Visiting big man Tyrique Jones will attempt to damage his former club by continuing his strong form after averaging 15.8 points and 8 boards over the last four games. But he faces a tough task against his replacement in the paint for Efes, Dan Oturu, who paired 17 points with 6 rebounds to power his team’s impressive comeback win over Zvezda earlier in the week.

Round 17 Head-to-Head: Bryant vs. Washington

### Zalgiris Kaunas vs. LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne (19:00 CET)

Two teams heading in the right direction meet in Kaunas with Zalgiris (10-6) welcoming in-form ASVEL (7-9). Zalgiris has climbed into a share of third place by winning three straight, most recently easing past ALBA on Tuesday behind 16 points from Sylvain Francisco. ASVEL gained its first road win of the season by edging out Partizan earlier this week, led by 17 points and 9 boards from big man Joffrey Lauvergne, meaning the French team has won four of its last five. The game will feature an exciting backcourt duel between two of the competition’s most spectacular young players, with Zalgiris star Lonnie Walker (16.4 points per game) aiming to outgun Theo Maledon (18.8 ppg), who has passed 20 points in seven of the last eight games.

Round 17 Head-to-Head: Birutis vs. Lauvergne

### Virtus Segafredo Bologna vs. FC Barcelona (20:00 CET)

After returning to top form by crushing Fenerbahce on Tuesday, Barcelona (9-7) will look to stay strong with a road trip to Virtus (3-13). Kevin Punter inspired the Spanish team earlier this week with 25 points, but coach Joan Penarroya will be more interested in seeing a repeat of Barca’s defensive efforts which limited Fener to just 63 points. Virtus succumbed at Olympiacos on Wednesday despite sharpshooting veteran Marco Belinelli returning to action with 20 points. The Italian team, which will hope to welcome back Toko Shengelia after injury, allows more offensive rebounds than any other team, so Barca will look to crash the glass through the in-form Justin Anderson, who has scored 15, 16 and 17 points in the last three games.

### Olympiacos Piraeus vs. ALBA Berlin (20:15 CET)

Olympiacos (10-6) will look to cement its position in the top six with a visit from last-placed ALBA (3-13). The German team has only ever won once in Piraeus, and needs to somehow stop the unstoppable Sasha Vezenkov, who drained 27 points as the Reds overcame Virtus two days ago – the former EuroLeague MVP has recorded two straight double-doubles and averages 18.8 points per game. And if Vezenkov doesn’t get ALBA, Alec Peters is ready to step in after netting 12 points on 3-of-3 triples plus 8 rebounds last time out. To counter that duo, the visitor could use another strong game from Yanni Wetzell, who combined 15 points with 8 boards and 5 assists in the home loss to Zalgiris in Round 16.

### Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade vs. Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv (20:30 CET)

Zvezda (8-8) and Maccabi (4-12) will meet in a familiar Belgrade environment for both teams as they look to rebound from losses earlier this week. Zvezda, which has won three of its last four at home, needs to cut out the mistakes which led to 21 turnovers in Wednesday’s loss at Efes, while hoping that top scorer Filip Petrusev stays hot after he netted 15 points in that game. Maccabi, on a four-game losing run, will be led from the backcourt by Rokas Jokubaitis, who had an impressive 22 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists in Tuesday’s loss to Baskonia, but desperately needs to improve a leaky defense which has allowed at least 84 points in seven consecutive games.

### EA7 Emporio Armani Milan vs. FC Bayern Munich (21:00 CET)

After suffering heavy road losses earlier this week, direct rivals Milan (9-7) and Bayern (10-6) will look for an instant reaction to get back on track. The German team has a 2-6 record on the road this season, while Milan has been victorious in five straight at home. Both teams will be seeking defensive improvement after respectively allowing 103 and 93 points in Tuesday defeats. Competition scoring leader Carsen Edwards again led Bayern with 17 points in the loss at Monaco, while Milan’s equally free-scoring Nikola Mirotic maintained his outstanding form with 16 points in his team’s defeat in Athens. These are the top two scoring teams in the league, with Milan’s 87.4 points per game only bettered by Bayern’s 88.7, so it should be a high-scoring thriller.

Round 17 Head-to-Head: Mannion vs. Napier

The game between Paris and Fenerbahce has been suspended, meaning there are two games on Thursday and six on Friday

EA7 Emporio Armani Milan v FC Bayern Munich (2024-12-20T20:00:00.000Z)

Olympiacos Piraeus v ALBA Berlin (2024-12-20T19:15:00.000Z)

Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade v Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv (2024-12-20T19:30:00.000Z)

Virtus Segafredo Bologna v FC Barcelona (2024-12-20T19:00:00.000Z)

Zalgiris Kaunas v LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne (2024-12-20T18:00:00.000Z)

Anadolu Efes Istanbul v Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade (2024-12-20T17:30:00.000Z)

Real Madrid v AS Monaco (2024-12-19T19:45:00.000Z)

Paris Basketball v Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (2024-12-19T19:30:00.000Z)

### Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens

 

Streaks

 

Mathias Lessort has pulled down at least 5 rebounds in 10 straight and 22 of his last 23 games.

 

Lessort has had a PIR of 10 or more in 24 of his last 25 games.

 

Kendrick Nunn has scored at least 10 points in 21 straight and 36 of his last 37 games.

 

Nunn has made at least 1 three-point shot in 21 straight games.

 

Nunn has had a double-digit PIR in 20 of his last 21 games.

 

Juancho Hernangomez has pulled down 5 rebounds or more in five of his last six games.

 

Kostas Sloukas has had at least 1 steal in eight straight games.

 

Sloukas has made 25 consecutive free throws.

 

 

Season rankings

 

 

Mathias Lessort ranks sixth in average index rating with 20.5 per game.

 

Kendrick Nunn ranks 10th in average index rating with 18.3 per game.

 

Lessort is tied for second in rebounding with 7.1 per game.

 

Lessort ranks fourth in offensive rebounding with 2.7 per game.

 

Lessort ranks fourth in two-point accuracy at 73.6%.

 

Nunn ranks second in scoring with 19.8 points per game.

 

Nunn leads the league in three-pointers made with 2.8 per game.

 

Panathinaikos leads the league in average PIR with 101.8 per game.

 

Panathinaikos ranks third in three-point shooting at 38.5%.

 

Panathinaikos allows 9.5 offensive rebounds, the third fewest in the league.

 

Panathinaikos allows a league-low 31.3 rebounds.

 

 

Records/Milestones

 

 

Kostas Sloukas ranks third all-time with 1,772 assists. Sergio Rodriguez is second with 1,874.

 

Sloukas is in fifth place all-time with 938 free throws made. Felipe Reyes is fourth with 967.

 

Sloukas is eighth all-time with 3,827 career points. Nikola Mirotic of EA7 Emporio Armani Milan is seventh with 3,834 and counting. Jan Vesely of FC Barcelona is sixth with 3,991 and counting.

 

Sloukas is ranked fourth all-time with 4,764 index rating points. Mike James of AS Monaco is third with 4,984 and counting.

 

Sloukas ranks 17th all-time in free-throw accuracy at 88.9%.

 

Marius Grigonis ranks eighth all-time in free-throw accuracy at 90.6%.

 

Grigonis needs 4 steals to reach 100 for his career.

 

Jerian Grant is the all-time leader with a 3.0-to-1 career assist-to-turnover ratio.

### Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz

 

Streaks

 

Chima Moneke has had a double-digit PIR in 10 straight games.

 

Moneke has pulled down at least 5 rebounds in 14 of his last 15 games.

 

Nikos Rogkavopoulos has made at least 1 three-pointer in 11 of his last 12 games.

 

Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot has made 15 consecutive free throws.

 

Trent Forrest has made 12 consecutive free throws.

 

Donta Hall has accumulated a double-digit PIR in six of his last seven games.

 

Hall has had at least 1 block in four of his last five games.

 

Markus Howard has made multiple three-pointers and scored at least 13 points in four straight games.

 

Tadas Sedekerskis has had a PIR of 13 or more in four of his last five games.

 

 

Season rankings

 

 

Chima Moneke ranks eighth in average index rating with 18.8 per game.

 

Moneke is tied for eighth in rebounding with 6.2 per game.

 

Donta Hall is tied for third in blocks with 1.2 per game.

 

Tadas Sedekerskis ranks fifth in three-point accuracy at 52.0%.

 

Markus Howard is tied for eighth in three-pointers made with 2.4 per game.

 

Baskonia ranks second in rebounding with 36.3 per game.

 

Baskonia has limited its opponents to 80.1 points per game, which is third lowest in the league.

 

Baskonia has held opponents to a league-low 50.5% two-point shooting.

 

Baskonia allows a league-high 39.9% three-point shooting.

 

 

Records/Milestones

 

 

Markus Howard made 148 triples last season to set the all-time single-season record.

 

Donta Hall leads the all-time charts in two-point accuracy at 74.2%.

 

Tadas Sedekerskis ranks eighth all-time in two-point accuracy at 66.3%.

 

Ognjen Jaramaz needs 15 points to reach 500 for his career.

Game Facts: Panathinaikos vs. Baskonia

A stunning individual performance in an outstanding team win allowed Sasha Vezenkov of Olympiacos BC to earn Round 16 MVP honors with a PIR of 38.

Round 16 MVP: Sasha Vezenkov, Olympiacos BC

A stunning individual performance in an outstanding team win allowed [Sasha Vezenkov](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/sasha-vezenkov/003469/) of [Olympiacos Piraeus](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/olympiacos-piraeus/oly/) to earn Round 16 MVP honors with a PIR of 38.

Vezenkov was everywhere in his team's 87-77 home victory over Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade. He had 27 points on 6-of-9 two-pointers, 2-of-3 three-pointers and 9-of-11 free throws, as well as 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 8 fouls drawn to get a PIR of 38, the highest in this round and his highest PIR this season. This is Vezenkov's 12th MVP of the Round award, only trailing Shane Larkin (17 times) and Nando De Colo (16). Vezenkov has earned MVP of the Round honors for the third time this season, having shared this accolade with Neal Sako of LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne in Round 2 and exclusively in Round 3.

[Kendrick Nunn](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/kendrick-nunn/012774/) of Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens led his team to a 103-74 home victory over EA7 Emporio Armani Milan with a career-high 39 points on 4-of-7 two-pointers, 8-of-16 three-pointers and 7-of-7 free throws, adding 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 5 fouls drawn for a personal-best PIR of 37. 

[Maodo Lo](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/maodo-lo/007032/) of Paris Basketball amassed a PIR of 35 in his team's 85-96 home loss against Real Madrid. Lo had 30 points on 9-of-10 two-pointers and 4-of-8 three-pointers, in addition to 2 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal and 5 fouls drawn. 

[Kevin Punter](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/kevin-punter/009862/) led FC Barcelona to a 90-63 home win over Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul with 25 points on 6-of-11 two-pointers, 2-of-2 three-pointers and 7-of-7 free throws. He added 2 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 6 fouls drawn to reach a PIR of 32. 

[Rokas Jokubaitis](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/rokas-jokubaitis/007519/) of Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv, with a PIR of 31, completes the top individual performances in Round 16. Jokubaitis posted 22 points, shooting 7 for 10 on two-pointers, 1 for 2 from deep, and 5 for 5 on free throws, and he also had 7 rebounds and 5 assists.

### Individual highs: Balsa Koprivica, Partizan, 4 blocks

Kendrick Nunn of Panathinaikos led all scorers with 39 points, a new season high among all players. [Carsen Edwards](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/carsen-edwards/011987/) of FC Bayern Munich remains atop the overall standings with 20.4 points per game.

[Walter Tavares](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/walter-tavares/005791/) of Real Madrid led all rebounders by pulling down 14 boards. He is also the runaway leader with 8.4 boards per night.

[Shane Larkin](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/shane-larkin/007200/) of Anadolu Efes Istanbul dished 12 assists, more than any other player in this round. [Tamir Blatt](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/tamir-blatt/011193/) of Maccabi is first overall with 8.6 assists per game. 

Larkin also led Round 16 in steals, getting 4. Alpha Diallo leads the way in steals with 1.6 per game.

[Balsa Koprivica](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/balsa-koprivica/011050/) of Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade had 4 blocks in this round. Tavares leads this season's standings with 1.6 blocks per night.

Tavares (10 points, 14 rebounds) and Olympiacos Piraeus’s Sasha Vezenkov (27 points, 10 rebounds) were the only players to get a double-double in Round 16.

Round 16 MVP: Sasha Vezenkov, Olympiacos Piraeus

The Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season Round 17 game between Paris Basketball and Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, scheduled to be played on December 19, has been suspended due to the impossibility of Paris Basketball to have a minimum of eight players included on the Authorization List and fit to play due to injury or illness.

Paris Basketball – Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul suspended

The Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season Round 17 game between Paris Basketball and Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, scheduled to be played on December 19, has been suspended due to the impossibility of Paris Basketball to have a minimum of eight players included on the Authorization List and fit to play due to injury or illness.

Euroleague Basketball will evaluate with the affected teams the best possible options to reschedule the game. Further information will be released as warranted in the coming days.

Turkish Airlines EuroLeague fans, we have our 16th winner in this season's EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge! Furkan K beat everyone else in Round 16 with their team 'KastapooL', which had a Fantasy Challenge score of 239.60.

EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge Round 16 winner

Turkish Airlines EuroLeague fans, we have our 16th winner in this season's [EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge](https://euroleaguefantasy.euroleaguebasketball.net/)! Furkan K beat everyone else in Round 16 with their team 'KastapooL', which had a Fantasy Challenge score of 239.60.

Furkan had the following starting lineup: Kendrick Nunn of Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens as captain, then Olympiacos Piraeus's Sasha Vezenkov, Real Madrid's Walter Tavares, and Anadolu Efes Istanbul duo Elijah Bryant and Dan Oturu. His sixth man was FC Bayern Munich's Nick Weiler-Babb. On the bench, Furkan had Efes's Ercan Osmani, Paris Basketball's Maodo Lo, Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade's Vanja Marinkovic, and ALBA Berlin's Tim Schneider. His team's head coach was Zalgiris play-caller Andrea Trinchieri.

The prize for finishing first in Round 16 is a free VIP Euroleague TV subscription for the 2025-26 season, so congratulations, Furkan!

Marko Dukic and his team 'Kughat' remains the leader of the [EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge](https://euroleaguefantasy.euroleaguebasketball.net/) overall standings with 2,759.90 points.

Trades are now open for Round 17. Remember, four trades are allowed before each round. You can either trade up to four players, or a head coach and three players.

The first game in Round 17 tips off on Thursday, December 19, as Panathinaikos hosts Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz at 18:45 CET. That game marks the next round's deadline.

Make new teams now or improve your existing ones and try to become our next round winner!

EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge offers weekly prizes to the top team manager. 

Olympiacos BC overcame a second-quarter collapse to subdue Virtus Bologna 87-77 after the home team’s top performers Sasha Vezenkov and Evan Fournier produced masterclass performances against the Italian outfit.

Olympiacos leaned on Sasha Vezenkov and Evan Fournier to beat Virtus 

[Olympiacos Piraeus](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/olympiacos-piraeus/oly/) overcame a second-quarter collapse to [subdue Virtus Segafredo Bologna 87-77](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/olympiacos-sinks-virtus-87-77-thanks-to-strong-second-half/) after the home team’s top performers [Sasha Vezenkov](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/sasha-vezenkov/003469/) and [Evan Fournier](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/evan-fournier/013380/) produced masterclass performances against the Italian outfit.

Vezenkov engineered an enviable PIR of 38 on the back of 27 points and 10 boards, having shot 8 of 12 from the floor and 9 of 11 from the foul line, while Fournier added 20 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds as Olympiacos bounced back from a second-quarter slump.

<center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="und" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/bwinMVP?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#bwinMVP</a> of the game, Sasha Vezenkov! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OlympiacosBC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OlympiacosBC</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreOlympiacos?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreOlympiacos</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TogetherWeFight?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TogetherWeFight</a> <a href="https://t.co/REMO6GbrX9">pic.twitter.com/REMO6GbrX9</a></p>&mdash; Olympiacos B.C. (@Olympiacos_BC) <a href="https://twitter.com/Olympiacos_BC/status/1869495356381405391?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Having led 25-7 late in the first, the hosts lost their way and allowed Virtus to turn the matchup on its head as [Marco Belinelli](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/marco-belinelli/bcn/) caught fire and facilitated a 43-46 advantage at halftime for the visiting team.

Having been under pressure to deliver after a patchy run of form, including [last week’s fiasco at Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/shorthanded-crvena-zvezda-blows-away-olympiacos-87-73/), Vezenkov acknowledged that Olympiacos was forced to dig deep against its Italian rival.  

“It was tough as we had a very bad performance last week and we knew that we didn’t play well the last two or three games,” Vezenkov told EuroLeague TV in a courtside interview. “We started well but the second quarter was terrible and at halftime we knew we had to start over again.

“We confined Virtus to just 10 points in the third quarter and kept pushing, although we didn’t play our best basketball. We are a great team and we’ve got big expectations, but we have to prove it every week.” 

Fournier, who ignited the second-half comeback when he drained in his shots from all over in the third quarter, revealed that the team took some bruising criticism from head coach [Georgios Bartzokas](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/olympiacos-piraeus/oly/bartzokas-georgios/?season=E2024) at halftime, after the stalwart tactician charged his team with being “softer than butter” on defense in last week’s 87-73 reverse at Zvezda. 

“I was frustrated with how we closed out the first half as the second quarter was really bad,” said the Frenchman. “If we want to be at the top, we need to have certain standards and they have to be maintained for the full 40 minutes. I tried to give the team a boost and some energy in the third. The coach cursed us \[at halftime\] big time, which is exactly what we needed.”

Fournier also heaped praise on Vezenkov, as the two linked up to devastating effect when the chips were down. “Sasha is such an easy player to play with because he is even better without the ball in his hands than with it. That creates a lot of danger for the opposition because of his movement,” Fournier pointed out.

Bartzokas too was unhappy with his team’s temporary meltdown but overall he was pleased to see his team grind out an important win on the back of 23 assists and 42 rebounds, 13 of which were on the offensive end. Olympiacos also shot a solid 13 of 29 from deep, while committing only 9 turnovers.

“For three quarters we controlled the pace but the second quarter was a disaster,” he said. “We stopped passing the ball and defending hard but we are happy that in the end, we returned home with a win. In two days we have another home game against ALBA Berlin and we are looking forward to it.” 

The Greek team’s dynamic duo led the charge in the wake of adversity 

Olympiacos Piraeus v Virtus Segafredo Bologna (2024-12-18T19:15:00.000Z)

Olympiacos BC improved to 10-6 in the EuroLeague with a workmanlike 87-77 home win over Virtus Bologna (3-13), having ramped up its defense in the second half after spilling an 18-point lead in the first.

Olympiacos sinks Virtus, 87-77, thanks to strong second half

Olympiacos Piraeus improved to 10-6 in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague with a workmanlike 87-77 home win over Virtus Segafredo Bologna (3-13), having ramped up its defense in the second half after spilling an 18-point lead in the first.

Sasha Vezenkov capped a fine individual performance with a game-high 27 points and added 10 rebounds for an impressive double-double, while Evan Fournier added 20 points, 7 assists and 5 boards for the home team. Alec Peters chipped in with 12 points and 8 rebounds.

Marco Belinelli paced Virtus on 20 points and Matt Morgan added 15 for the visitors, who staged a brief second-quarter comeback to turn a 25-7 deficit into a 43-46 lead at halftime but were unable to keep up their momentum after the interval.

Determined to make amends for last week’s crushing 87-73 defeat at Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade, Olympiacos came out with all guns blazing and led 29-17 at the end of the first quarter. Vezenkov rifled in 14 points on the back of effervescent shooting, 4 of 4 from the floor and 5 of 5 from the foul line.

Olympiacos had dished out 9 assists in the opening period and then suffered a complete meltdown in the second, as Virtus gradually clawed its way back into the contest with Belinelli catching fire. The evergreen 38-year-old veteran sank 12 of his 14 first-half points in the second quarter, allowing Virtus to nose ahead at the interval after Will Clyburn drained a buzzer-beating triple off the glass. The visiting team had totally turned the tables on Olympiacos, dishing out assists like confetti while the home side’s offense came to a screeching halt at the other end.

Facing the prospect of another embarrassing defeat, the Greek outfit shifted back to top gear in the third quarter as Vezenkov, who had a quiet second quarter, rediscovered his scoring touch in the third while Fournier caught fire from all over.

A 7-0 run enabled Olympiacos to turn the tide and the hosts never looked back after edging ahead 50-46, as they went on to engineer a commanding 64-56 advantage ahead of the final 10 minutes.

Virtus was still in it early in the fourth when it trailed 71-64, but the writing was on the wall for the Italian team after a Vezenkov triple ignited an 8-0 Olympiacos run which effectively sealed the contest. The visitors fought hard to keep the deficit down but ran out of time down the stretch, as Olympiacos closed it out for a hard-fought victory.

The home team played ironclad defense after the break to get back to winning ways