Georgios Papagiannis stepped up in the final minutes of Fenerbahçe Basketball's Round 6 EuroLeague game against Olympiacos B.C. to help his team come out with the win.

Papagiannis came up big in crunch time to down Olympiacos

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul center Johnathan Motley committed his fifth foul of the game with 4:47 left on the clock [against Olympiacos Piraeus](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/news/euroleague-live-blog-fenerbahce-basketball-vs-olympiacos-bc/) and the score 69-66 in the hosts’ favor. Just as things seemed to be going south for Fenerbahce, up stepped [Georgios Papagiannis](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/georgios-papagiannis/005844/).

The Greek center, who was on 7 points by that point, came off the bench for the final minutes of the game to try and halt an Olympiacos comeback attempt, with the visitors having trailed by as many as 16 in the first half.

Nikola Milutinov tied the game, 71-71, for the first time with 3:35 to go, but Papagiannis stepped up and drilled a big triple on the other end. However, Nigel Williams-Goss responded with a crucial three-pointer, 74-74, with 2:27 remaining, forcing Fenerbahce head coach Dimitris Itoudis to call a timeout.

Georgios Papagiannis had 15 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block and 0 turnovers as Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul beat Olympiacos Piraeus 79-77 in Round 6 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season.

Georgios Papagiannis's highlights vs. Olympiacos

### Papagiannis to the rescue

When his team needed him most, Papagiannis came to the fore and dunked off a Marko Guduric alley-oop pass before stealing the ball on the other end. In the space of a few seconds, he sank his third triple of the night for a 79-74 Fenerbahce lead with 1:10 remaining.

The Turkish side’s big man ended up finishing the game with a team-high 15 points, having gone 3-for-3 on two-pointers – all of which were dunks off alley-oops passes – and 3-of-5 on triples.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="tl" dir="ltr">MVP MVP MVP! 🔥 <br><br>👉 Georgios Papagiannis! 👏<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/YellowLegacy?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#YellowLegacy</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bug%C3%BCndenYar%C4%B1naHaz%C4%B1r?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BugündenYarınaHazır</a> <a href="https://t.co/KHfoC6qW7Z">pic.twitter.com/KHfoC6qW7Z</a></p>&mdash; Fenerbahçe Beko (@FBBasketbol) <a href="https://twitter.com/FBBasketbol/status/1720178091983564881?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 2, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Heading into Thursday’s duel, Papagiannis had gone an impressive 6-for-7 from downtown, making him a huge threat for any opponent both from behind the arc and in the paint.

“When us bigs have the freedom to shoot, it opens up space for everybody in the basket,” Papagiannis said in the post-game flash interview. “We have really good chemistry passing to each other. Of course, we made some mistakes, but we are going to look forward and learn from our mistakes.”

### Coach Itoudis focused on Papagiannis’s defense

As Itoudis stressed afterward, Papagiannis also stood out on the other end as his contribution on defense was crucial in the last few minutes of the contest. After all, in addition to his 15 points, the former Panathinaikos Athens star grabbed a couple of rebounds to go with 2 steals and 1 assist, while he had zero turnovers.

“Today, Papagiannis needs an extra applause,” Itoudis stated. “He was big on both ends. Not only scoring-wise, because he played great defense and rebounded the ball and was intimidating with his verticality and his length, trying to challenge all the shots and all the layups.”

Fenerbahce Istanbul-Olympiacos Piraeus | Round 6 Highlights | 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

Papagiannis’s PIR of 19 is his highest of the season, despite having scored 15 points both against Panathinaikos and EA7 Emporio Armani Milan as well.

It has to be noted that in crunch time he was assigned with the task of facing Milutinov, whose average PIR of 20.2 was the sixth best in EuroLeague heading into this game. Nevertheless, the Greece international delivered on both ends, making a big impact down the final stretch.

After recording its fourth straight victory, Fenerbahce's next game is on the road at Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade next Thursday night, with Itoudis once again coming up against his mentor, Zeljko Obradovic.

More Fenerbahce News

Georgios Papagiannis of Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul smiles after his team beat Olympiacos Piraeus in Round 6 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season.

The Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul center played a pivotal role in his team grabbing the win.

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul v Olympiacos Piraeus (2023-11-02T17:45:00.000Z)

There are no more winless teams in the EuroLeague as LDLC ASVEL finally grabbed its first victory of the season, rallying from 13 points down to beat Zalgiris Kaunas 88-91 in Round 6. 

ASVEL stuns Zalgiris, 88-91, for Coach Pozzecco's first win

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LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne center Joffrey Lauvergne scored 13 points to lead his team to victory in Kaunas. 

Despite trailing by as many as 13, ASVEL took charge late to rally for the club's first win of the season.

Zalgiris Kaunas v LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne (2023-11-02T18:00:00.000Z)

Fenerbahçe Basketball grabbed an important 79-77 victory at home against Olympiacos B.C. in Round 6 of the 2023-24 EuroLeague Regular Season to extend its winning streak to four games. 

Fenerbahçe holds on to beat Olympiacos, 79-77

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Nigel Hayes-Davis of Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul attempts to get past Nigel Williams-Goss of Olympiacos Piraeus during the two teams' matchup in Round 6 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season.

After an electrifying start to the game, the hosts almost let a 16-point slip but managed to still come away with the win.

Fenerbahce holds on to beat Olympiacos, 79-77

KK Crvena zvezda rallied from a 14-point third-quarter deficit to beat FC Bayern Munich 74-68 at Stark Arena in Round 6 of the 2023-24 EuroLeague Regular Season.

Crvena zvezda rallies from 14 down to nip Bayern, 74-68

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Adam Hanga of Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade celebrates during his team's Round 6 win against FC Bayern Munich in the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season.

Yago Dos Santos's triple made sure of the win with 20 seconds to go.

Crvena Zvezda rallies from 14 down to nip Bayern, 74-68

Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade v FC Bayern Munich (2023-11-02T17:30:00.000Z)

Check out four bold predictions from EuroLeague.net staff members for Round 6 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season. 

Bold predictions for Round 6

### Mike James will put on a show against Milan

#### *by Geoff Gillingham*

Ever since being told by Ettore Messina that he should leave EA7 Emporio Armani Milan in the summer of 2019, Mike James has always tried to remind the Italian coach of just how great a player he is. This Thursday night, the three-time All-EuroLeague guard will face Milan for the eighth time since leaving. Excluding a Round 14 game in the 2021-22 season when he played just 2:42 minutes due to injury, James has averaged 19.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 8.2 assists and 1.2 steals when playing against his former Italian employer. James has started the 2023-24 season in red-hot form, showing once again that he will be in consideration for the EuroLeague MVP prize come next May, and I expect him to play a key role as the 3-2 AS Monaco piles more misery on Messina’s 1-4 Milan.

Since leaving EA7 Emporio Armani Milan in the summer of 2019, Mike James has averaged 19.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 8.2 assists and 1.2 steals in six games against his former employer while playing for CSKA Moscow (2019-21) and AS Monaco (2021-present).

Mike James magic vs. Milan

### Sfairopoulos will get his first win with Zvezda

#### *by Frank Lawlor*

Ioannis Sfairopoulos has had 10 days and two close losses against the maestro across town, Zeljko Obradovic of Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade, with which to work out how he wants Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade to play and get his charges to buy into that vision. Although his counterpart on Thursday, Pablo Laso of FC Bayern Munich, has had a head start on a similar process, enough time has passed now for Sfairopoulos to put the kind of discipline and positivity in Zvezda's game that he's known for – and to see it start bearing fruit. His rotations in the backcourt with Shabazz Napier, Milos Teodosic, Yago Dos Santos and, if he's available, Nemanja Nedovic, will be key. But Sfairopoulos is well practiced at figuring out what players work best together, and with a home crowd at their back and plenty of incentive not to drop a game at home while the new system takes hold, I see him and Zvezda getting into the win column together on Thursday.

### Ibaka will have a monster game in Belgrade

#### *by Javier Gancedo*

FC Bayern Munich travels to the Serbian capital to face Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade. It could be a good opportunity for Bayern center Serge Ibaka to show he can still play at a really high level. Ibaka has been seeing limited playing time, around 20 minutes per night, but still manages to lead the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague in blocked shots (2.2 bpg.), also averaging 9.2 points and 7.5 rebounds for a PIR of 12.5. He is the best per-minute rebounder in the competition, averaging 14.9 prorated over 40 minutes. Ibaka posted those numbers without shooting the ball particularly well (56.0% 2FG, 16.7% 3FG, 60.0% FT). He can match Joel Bolomboy's physicality and can also give Mike Tobey and Marko Simonovic a lot of trouble. With added playing time, a fully adjusted Ibaka can be a major problem for all opponents from now on.

Serge Ibaka Top Plays of the 2023-24 Regular Season

2023-24 EuroLeague season highlights: Serge Ibaka, FC Bayern Munich

### ALBA will upset Valencia

#### *by Igor Petrinovic*

Valencia Basket is on a high. It shares second place in the standings, having won four of its first five games, including [a resounding 15-point victory last week in Kaunas](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/game-center/2023-24/zalgiris-kaunas-valencia-basket/E2023/45/), where it led by as many as 29 points. Over the weekend, Valencia downed FC Barcelona in domestic league action. Through five rounds Valencia's defense has not allowed a team to score more than 77 points. Meanwhile ALBA [stunned EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 85-82](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/game-center/2023-24/alba-berlin-ea7-emporio-armani-milan/E2023/37/#boxscore) last week behind a career-best game from big man Johannes Thiemann and solid performances from other veterans such as Matt Thomas, Louis Olinde and Sterling Brown, who is averaging 16.7 points over the last three games. I see Valencia letting down a little bit after a series of challenging games, which also included clashes against Maccani Playtika Tel Aviv and Anadolu Efes Istanbul in the last 14 days. A confident and pressure-free ALBA is a dangerous visitor and I see the team from the German capital going into Valencia and upsetting the hosts.

Virtus Segafredo Bologna v Anadolu Efes Istanbul (2023-11-03T19:30:00.000Z)

Valencia Basket v ALBA Berlin (2023-11-02T19:30:00.000Z)

Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz v Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade (2023-11-03T19:30:00.000Z)

FC Barcelona v Panathinaikos Athens (2023-11-03T19:30:00.000Z)

EA7 Emporio Armani Milan v AS Monaco (2023-11-02T19:30:00.000Z)

### Roger Grimau, Barcelona head coach

"Obviously, we always want to win, and coming from losses is harder. I try to see the good things in the last two games we lost. We played bad for a few minutes, and that is enough to lose at this level. The team is happy however, and they want to play this game at home. We had been regular in our first games, but we are still trying to find the way to face the bad situations we suffer in games. We want to try to stop the game somehow when we start having turnovers and such. Against good opponents these details kill you, so we must still learn how to do that. Having Real and Valencia below 70 points is a good thing, but we still have to find the way to work on that."

### Ergin Ataman, Panathinaikos head coach

"Every game in the EuroLeague is difficult. Of course, playing in Barcelona maybe is a bit more difficult than the other games, but people know that I like Palau Blaugrana. Even if we will miss some very important players, we are going there to win the game. Barcelona is a very good team, but we will fight and play our game. We know that they have strong perimeter players, and inside it will also be interesting with the Hernangomez brothers. We will see which of the two brothers is better. I hope that the will play a good game, and of course, the most important thing will be to try to win the game. We will need balance in offense and prevent them from running too much."

### Tomas Satoransky, Barcelona player

"We lost a couple of straight games in the same way. Both were against top teams in Europe, but you do not want to make that negative streak longer. We must stay calm and manage the pressure. Every game is important, especially in the EuroLeague. A great team is coming to town, and they just defeated Olympiacos in the Greek League. I am sure they will give us a hard time."

### Panagiotis Kalaitzakis, Panathinaikos player

"We are on a pretty good track. We got a big win on Monday in the Greek derby. The EuroLeague is different, we play with one of the best and most formed teams in the EuroLeague like FC Barcelona. Let's go there and get an away win that will help us going forward. We all know what a team Barcelona is. There is no need for scouting and anything more. They have a lot of offensive weapons. They have many assets in offense. Let's play our game and reach the victory."

Game News

Barcelona (4-1) will look to bounce back from last week's close El Clásico defeat against a Panathinaikos (2-3) team that boosted its confidence with a convincing home win over Baskonia. Mathias Lessort excelled in that triumph, winning the weekly MVP award with 23 points and 14 rebounds, and he faces a big fight with another player who grabbed a double-double last week, Jan Vesely (12 points and 10 rebounds). In the backcourt, a battle between two of the league's best guards will see Nico Laprovittola (13.8 ppg., 6.8 apg.) showdown with Kostas Sloukas (11.2 ppg., 5 apg.). And judging by previous visits, Panathinaikos coach Ergin Ataman returning to Palau Blaugrana will be well worth watching.

Pre-game quotes: Barcelona vs. Panathinaikos

### Zeljko Obradovic, Partizan head coach

"We are going to Vitoria to play against a team that has certain problems with injuries, but we expect their reaction due to the change of coach, who knows us very well. However, what is important is that we go to Spain with great motivation after two great games against our great rival. There is no doubt that they will also show a high level of motivation, because every game in the EuroLeague is important. We talked to the players that they need to find energy and motivation, everything is quickly forgotten, both wins and losses, because a new opponent is already waiting. Baskonia has a new coach who will try to bring something new, but much more important than how they will look is how we will look." 

### PJ Dozier, Partizan player

"We love to play, that's why we signed. We are ready for the next game which is always the most important. Every point is important, we try to play all 40 minutes and come back as winners. There are many games, every team is doing their best and everything can turn around at any moment."

After badly losing its way to suffer three straight defeats, Baskonia (1-4) will look to get back on the right path as it welcomes a Partizan (2-3) team still high after downing local rivals Zvezda in a Round 5 derby thriller. Aleksa Avramovic played a big part in his team's comeback last week, and his 11.6 points per game is just one of the weapons that have made Zeljko Obradovic's team the most potent offense in the league, with 86.8 points per game. Baskonia needs to generate better looks after ranking worst in two-point shooting (49.8%) and second-worst from long range (30.6%) so far, but the rebounding power of Tadas Sederkerskis (8.8 rpg.) has at least made the Spanish team the fourth-best team on the boards (37.8 per night).

Pre-game quotes: Baskonia vs. Partizan

### Kazys Maksvytis, Zalgiris head coach

"ASVEL, which has had a change in its coaching staff, arrives to Kaunas. Usually teams play with a better emotional factor for a while after such a change, and that’s probably the case for this game as well. The team has changed, it’s still finding its way, but it has a lot of talent, a lot of height. They have a lot of veterans, a lot of physicality.  First of all, we will look at ourselves, how to squeeze out the maximum, improve our game and get the win."

### Gianmarco Pozzecco, ASVEL head coach

"Honestly, I haven't had enough time to think about the preparations for this game, as I'm focused on getting to know my players. In practice, my players are sending me excellent signals, which is positive for our next games. The most important thing is that we're playing good basketball, and the wins will come on their own."

### Dovydas Giedraitis, Zalgiris player

"We have a physical opponent ahead of us. They play in a very tough French league, so ASVEL players are really physical. Let’s hope that we learn from our mistakes and show what we can do. We have to play our own basketball, we have to defend well and then we will be able to run on the fastbreak. I think ASVEL will try to play slower, not so fast, because they are older, they will try to save some energy, we’ll see what they have prepared."

### Joffrey Lauvergne, ASVEL player

"With Partizan Belgrade, Kaunas was an incredible experience in my career, and I have a lot of very good memories. It was exceptional! They're passionate about basketball, with big knowledge. And it's always a great pleasure to return to this arena." 

Zalgiris (3-2) will look to bounce back from last week's heavy home loss to Valencia against an ASVEL team (0-5) looking for its first win of the season in new coach Giancarlo Pozzecco's road debut. With Paris Lee leading the offense by dishing 10 assists, ASVEL put up a good fight in last week's narrow loss to Virtus and will hope for a similar improvement to finally get into the W column. Big man Joffrey Lauvergne (11.8 ppg., 4.2 rpg.) returns to Kaunas to face his former team and will do battle with Zalgiris power forward Rolands Smits (14.4 ppg., 5.0 rpg.), who has also started the season well.

Pre-game quotes: Zalgiris vs. ASVEL

### Luca Banchi, Virtus head coach

"We are coming in a good way, from four wins in a row, but we are aware that we will be facing one of the candidates for the Final Four. Efes is a team that has won two titles in the last five years and, despite the change of coach and some new players, has a team structure that makes it a protagonist. It will be a special night, in front of our audience for the first time at the Segafredo Arena."

### Erdem Can, Efes head coach

"Virtus Segafredo Bologna is a team that plays very consistent basketball in both the EuroLeague and the Italian League and has a winning habit. We will play on the road in a very tough atmosphere. We must be very well concentrated for 40 minutes."

### Bryant Dunston, Virtus player

"We’re playing against my old team, Efes, a team with a lot of history that recently had a lot of success. A lot of talent on that team, it’s going to be difficult for them coming here. They’re going to be hungry, they lost their last game so we have to come with a lot of energy, play together with a strong defensive presence. We have to play together, it’s also our first game in the new arena so it’s gonna be great having all the fans here supporting us, we’re gonna give everything we have."

### Derek Willis, Efes player

"This week we have had two really good practices getting ready for Virtus Segafredo Bologna game. Virtus is a physical team that is playing very well together. Shengelia is a much-improved shooter and playing a lot of minutes. To win we have to secure rebounds and match the energy Virtus will bring."

Friday's first tipoff will see one of the league's hottest teams seeking to extend its winning run as red-hot Virtus (4-1) welcomes inconsistent Efes (2-3). Virtus's efficiency is reflected in the fact that the Italian team ranks second in the league in both two (57.9%) and three-point (42.2%) shooting efficiency, with Toko Shenglia excelling in all aspects on his way to 18.4 points per game. Efes needs to reignite an offense that was held to just 57 points at Olympiacos last week, with only Elijah Bryant netting in double digits as he scored 10 points. Efes will need its leaders like Will Clyburn and Shane Larkin to step up against a confident and highly effective Virtus which is looking to best the Turkish team for the first time since 2002.