The Reds have now won five straight in the EuroLeague
Sasha Vezenkov makes history as Olympiacos thrashes Bayern, 112-69
Olympiacos Piraeus and Sasha Vezenkov enjoyed a historic night on Friday as the Reds demolished FC Bayern Munich 112-69 at the Peace and Friendship Stadium. Despite the absences of Evan Fournier and captain Kostas Papanikolaou, Olympiacos led from start to finish, with Vezenkov recording a career-high 45 points – the third most points in EuroLeague history.
The hosts shared the ball smoothly throughout the game, registering a club-record 36 assists. Olympiacos remains top of the standings with a 14-6 record, while Bayern dropped to 11-9 after suffering its fourth loss in five games.
Vezenkov paced all scorers, with Shaquielle McKissic netting 16 points and Alec Peters scoring 15. Luca Vildoza had 12 points and Moustapha Fall added 10. For Bayern, Devin Booker was the only player to record double digits in scoring, netting 16 points.
Game Videos
Olympiacos started strong, with Vezenkov opening the scoring before a bucket from Fall and 5 straight points by Peters gave the hosts a 9-0 lead. Gordon Herbert reacted by changing the whole starting five, with Niels Giffey netting Bayern’s first field goal from beyond the arc to make it 12-4. Fall responded with a monster slam before a three-point play by McKissic and a bucket from Vezenkov gave Olympiacos a 21-4 cushion. Voigtmann ended Olympiacos’s run with a triple before a Giffey basket cut the difference to 23-9. Vildoza replied with 4 unanswered points, but Booker dunked in style and Shabazz Napier completed a three-point play that trimmed the deficit to 28-14 after 10 minutes.
Booker opened the second quarter with a three-pointer, before a Napier layup and a triple by Andreas Obst brought Bayern within 30-22. Yet, Vezenkov netted from deep and Fall scored inside to restore a 35-22 lead. Then, Olympiacos went on a 10-2 run fueled by Venenkov, whose 7 straight points made it 45-28. Yet, Bayern fought back, with Ivan Kharchenkov adding 5 points to his tally and Danko Brankovic scoring inside before a buzzer-beating jumper from Nigel Williams-Goss allowed the Reds to maintain a 51-37 lead.
Bayern hit the ground running in the second half, with Voigtmann drilling a corner three and Booker scoring inside to cut the deficit to 51-42. Fall and Vezenkov scored in the paint before a triple from Vildoza extended Olympiacos’s lead to 58-45. Booker and Vezenkov netted 5 points each, but a triple from Obst brought Bayern back within 65-53. Olympiacos responded with a 7-0 run inspired by Vildoza for a 72-53 lead. Then, Nikola Milutinov made 2 of 2 from the line and Vezenkov drained one from beyond the rainbow to maintain a 78-57 cushion heading into the closing quarter.
Olympiacos opened the fourth with a 16-0 surge, as back-to-back triples from Peters and Vezenkov were followed by two three-point plays from McKissic and a Williams-Goss dunk for a 91-57 lead. Then, a red-hot Vezenkov scored 3 consecutive triples, with Giannoulis Larentzakis nailing one of his own to finish the game off.