Written on 23 April 2025. Posted in Games.

Olympiacos takes a 1-0 lead in a 'packed' Peace and Friendship Stadium

Olympiacos takes a 1-0 lead in the playoff series against Real Madrid with an 84-72 win at a packed SEF, making the first step toward the Euroleague Final Four.

Before the tip-off, club presidents Panagiotis and Giorgos Angelopoulos honored Žarko Paspalj in an emotional ceremony. The crowd at the Peace and Friendship Stadium gave a warm round of applause to the Montenegrin, setting the tone for the big night.

After Real Madrid's opening basket, Olympiacos responded with a 12-0 run, starting the first game of the series in ideal fashion. Evan Fournier and Sasha Vezenkov led the 'red & white' offense, with the visitors unable to find an answer. A three-pointer by the Bulgarian forward made it 12-2, with Real scoring its second basket only in the 4th minute. Olympiacos showed energy on both ends of the floor and maintained full control of the game. Nikola Milutinov joined the scoring with two close-range finishes (23-8, 8'), as the quarter ended 27-14.

At the start of the second quarter, Thomas Walkup checked into the game to roaring applause, while Shaquielle McKissic provided offensive spark upon entering the lineup (31-16, 12'). Luca Vildoza brought a lot of defensive energy. In the same spirit, Saben Lee stole the ball and slammed it home on the break (37-25, 16'), with the Piraeus team maintaining control through focus and intensity, especially on defense. A three-pointer from Sasha Vezenkov (42-25) ignited the crowd, and the half ended with a triple from Alec Peters (47-29), giving Olympiacos their biggest lead yet.

Vezenkov's three at the start of the third quarter made it a +21 lead (50-29). Real tried to respond through Campazzo, but Olympiacos remained dominant. Luca Vildoza set up Fall for a dunk, and Vezenkov made a steal and scored in transition (56-37). The Madrid side trimmed the lead (56-41) with a few mini-runs, taking advantage of Olympiacos' turnovers and poor perimeter shooting. Fournier kept things steady with his scoring (58-41, 25') as the visitors searched for rhythm. The quarter ended 64-51 with another contribution from the Frenchman.

In the early minutes of the final period, Alec Peters stepped up offensively (70-53, 33'). Real mounted a final comeback attempt with three-point shooting, but Walkup, Fournier, and Peters all had their own long-range answers (82-67), with the game finishing 84-72 and Olympiacos securing the 1-0 lead in the series.

The quarters: 27-14, 47-29, 64-51, 84-72