Olympiacos (19-7) can potentially become the first team to secure postseason qualification when it visits Virtus (7-19), which is sliding rapidly towards mathematical elimination after four straight losses.
Game Notes: Virtus vs. Olympiacos



However, the Reds will need other results to also go their way to advance this week. Unlike the hosts, Olympiacos is high in confidence after heading into the break with a road win at Barcelona as Evan Fournier again demonstrated his big-game credentials by netting the winning basket on the final buzzer. Nigel Williams-Goss is also in his best form of the season after averaging 17 points in the last two games, and he'll look to overcome a Virtus backcourt led by the consistency of Isaia Cordinier (13.2 points and 4.2 assists per night). Another key duel will take place in the power forward position, where Toko Shengelia is one of the league's few players potentially capable of outshining Olympiacos ace Sasha Vezenkov.
Game Videos
- Olympiacos forward Sasha Vezenkov was everywhere in his team's 87-77 home victory over Virtus in Round 16. He had 27 points on 6-of-9 two-point shooting, 2-of-3 on three-pointers and 9-of-11 on free throws, as well as 10 rebounds and 8 fouls drawn for a PIR of 38 to earn MVP of the Round honors.
- Olympiacos has won eight of its nine games against Virtus this century, and all four in Piraeus, including a 117-71 thrashing in December 2022 when it set a club scoring record.
- This rivalry dates back to 1976 and Olympiacos has never lost to Virtus in Piraeus.
- When Virtus edged Olympiacos 69-67 in Round 15 in December of last season, it was its first win over Olympiacos since the 1994-95 season.
- Olympiacos ousted Virtus 2-1 in their 1994 best-of-three EuroLeague quarterfinals series to reach its first-ever Final Four, where it lost in the championship game.
- Virtus guard Daniel Hackett spent two seasons with Olympiacos, from 2015 to 2017. He was a teammate of Olympiacos forward Kostas Papanikolaou.
- Milutinov was a teammate of the Virtus trio of Tornike Shengelia, Daniel Hackett and Will Clyburn at CSKA Moscow for two seasons, from 2020 to 2022. Together they helped CSKA reach the 2021 Final Four.
- Olympiacos forward Alec Peters was a teammate of Efes forward Will Clyburn at CSKA Moscow during the 2018-19 season. The won the 2019 EuroLeague championship together.
- Olympiacos forward Peters was a teammate of Virtus forward Achille Polonara at Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz during the 2020-21 season.
- Olympiacos point guard Keenan Evans and Virtus center Ante Zizic were teammates at Maccabi Tel Aviv during the 2021-22 season.
- Zizic and Olympiacos guard Tyler Dorsey were teammates at Maccabi Tel Aviv during the 2020-21 campaign.
- Zizic posted a career-high PIR of 33 while playing for Maccabi Tel Aviv against Olympiacos in January 2022; he earned the only MVP of the Round honor of his career with that effort.
- Olympiacos guard Evan Fournier and Virtus guard Isaia Cordinier have been teammates on the French national team. Together they won silver medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
- Olympiacos center Moustapha Fall has also been a teammate of Cordinier on the French national team.
- Virtus forward Tornike Shengelia earned weekly MVP honors in October 2019 while playing for Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz at home against Olympiacos. Shengelia collected 25 points and 9 rebounds for a PIR of 28 in an 82-66 win.
- Shengelia tied his career high in steals with 4 for in a 74-69 road loss against Olympiacos last March.
- When Olympiacos edged Virtus 83-85 in Bologna in January 2023, Shaquielle McKissic set a career-high with a PIR of 30.
- Olympiacos guard Luca Vildoza set a new career high with 11 free throws while playing for Crvena Zvezda Belgrade against Virtus in January 2023.