The forward netted 45 points, with the Reds registering a club-record 36 assists against Bayern
Sasha Vezenkov’s historic performance came on special night for Olympiacos
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Regular Season
Round 20 of 34
Group Regular Season
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When words may not be enough, numbers could help to describe Sasha Vezenkov’s extraordinary display on Friday night.
Having pulled off an MVP performance at the Peace and Friendship Stadium, the Olympiacos Piraeus forward set numerous personal records to lead his team to a 112-69 beatdown of FC Bayern Munich. Let’s take a look at all the figures.
Vezenkov needed just three dibbles to net a career-high 45 points – the most any Olympiacos player has ever scored in a single game and the third most in Turkish Airlines EuroLeague history. He also recorded a mind-boggling PIR of 52 – the best in club history and sixth best all-time in the competition.
The Bulgaria international, who was greeted by "MVP" chants by the home crowd, went 10 for 10 from inside the arc to set both a career high and club record in two-pointers made.
“I’d never dreamt to make history for this big club,” he told EuroLeague TV after the game. “I want to thank the fans. It’s really important for them. It’s 2025 – the 100-year [anniversary] of the club.”
Vezenkov may have missed his first three-point attempt but finished the game on 8 of 10 from deep, recording a career high in three-pointers made.
“It’s one of those nights where you feel good,” he added. “I started by missing my first shot and then I found the space and my teammates did a great job at everything, starting from defense. I don’t want to talk about me. I’ll keep working. It’s just a regular night.”
Yet, it was anything but a regular night for either Vezenkov or Olympiacos. The Reds saw Evan Fournier and captain Kostas Papanikolaou miss out due to illness, with starting guard Thomas Walkup playing just over 5 minutes due to back injury.
However, the next-man-up mentality instilled in the team by coach Georgios Bartzokas saw several players step up in what could be described as the epitome of team basketball. In fact, Olympiacos recorded as many as 36 assists, which is both a club record and the joint second-highest tally recorded by a team in the history of the competition.
“Everybody stepped up,” Vezenkov added. “We had two really important absences, Evan and Kostas. We dedicate the win to them. But as I said before, we have 15 players ready to play. [Recording] 36 assists is a really high number. This is our philosophy. We want to pass the ball – this is what Coach likes. Almost everybody is a great passer. We tried to share the ball. We didn’t play selfishly and we were capable of scoring 100 points.”
With Walkup benched due to injury, Luca Vildoza recorded season highs in both points (12) and assists (6). The absences of Fournier and Papanikolaou left a huge void in the small forward position that was effectively filled by Alec Peters, who scored a season-best 15 points, and Shaquielle McKissic, who netted 16.
“Of course, Sasha was amazing, but the whole team worked great for him and this number of 36 assists is fantastic in the EuroLeague nowadays,” Bartzokas told EuroLeague TV.
For the first time this season, Olympiacos doesn’t share top spot in the standings, currently boasting a league-best 14-6 record. A tough double-round week is coming, with a trip to Spain to visit Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz and red-hot Real Madrid, but Friday’s team outing and Vezenkov’s extraordinary performance have sent a strong message to the rest of the top-four contenders.
To cap off a special night, Vezenkov took the game ball home as a memento.