A pair of EuroLeague giants go against one another on the Asian side of Istanbul on Friday night
Final Four-chasing Fenerbahce, Olympiacos set for Round 1 collision
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Regular Season
Round 1 of 34
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Two powerhouses with super-high expectations, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul and Olympiacos Piraeus, clash on Friday night (19:30 CEST) in Round 1 of the 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague campaign.
Both teams are coming off appearances at the 2024 EuroLeague Final Four in Berlin, where they met in the third-place game. It was not the finish to the season they wanted, so both clubs went out and made the changes they felt were necessary to take another step forward.
Now, following the additions they have made, Fenerbahce and Olympiacos enter the new season as not only a strong contender to make the Final Four but to win the whole thing.
Fenerbahce let Nick Calathes and Georgios Papagiannis head out the door, but coach Sarunas Jasikevicius was able to welcome several notable signings. All-EuroLeague guard Wade Baldwin and forward Bonzie Colson joined from Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv, while Nicolo Melli – returning to Fenerbahce after playing there between 2017 and 2019 – came in from EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, as did Devon Hall. The Turkish side also added size under its rims with the arrivals of ex-NBA duo Boban Marjanovic and Khem Birch.
Olympiacos, meanwhile, brought back the 2023 EuroLeague MVP, Sasha Vezenkov, as well as Tyler Dorsey, two key players in its run to the 2023 championship game. The Reds then bolstered their perimeter with scorer Evan Fournier and playmaker Luca Vildoza, while the only significant loss from last year’s roaster was the departure of Isaiah Canaan.
So, after a lot of additions and just a few subtractions, both clubs are not hiding anything: they are ready to fight for the 2024-25 EuroLeague title.
If one wonders what kind of a game to expect on the Asian side of Istanbul on Friday night, just take a peek at how their three head-to-head games went last season.
In the third-place game at the 2024 Final Four in Berlin, Olympiacos beat Fenerbahce 87-84. Both clashes between Fenerbahce and Olympiacos in the 2023-24 regular season were also decided by three points or fewer. In Round 6, Fenerbahce held on for a 79-77 home victory, while Round 34 saw Olympiacos grab an 84-81 overtime win.
The Reds will be missing big man Moustapha Fall and Nikola Milutinov, but don’t doubt that coach Georgios Bartzokas will have a couple of things up his sleeve.
So, make sure to tune in to EuroLeague TV this Friday night to watch this can’t-miss EuroLeague bout between two giants. Grab your popcorn, too.