The new-look Turkish side relied on its offseason reinforcements to turn the tide in a pulsating clash
Gritty Fenerbahce sinks Olympiacos, 82-71, thanks to second-half onslaught

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul earned a hard-fought 82-71 win over Olympiacos Piraeus in the blockbuster clash of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague’s opening round, having fought back from a 32-36 first-half deficit with a stellar performance after the break.
The game was marred by what has turned out to be a serious knee injury to Fenerbahce guard Scottie Wilbekin, who was carried off the court by his teammates after landing awkwardly in the latter stages of the first quarter.
Wade Baldwin, who joined Fenerbahce from Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv during the offseason, stood out with a magnificent all-round effort of 19 points, 7 assists and 5 boards to propel the home team, while Nigel Hayes-Davis added 15 points.
Bonzie Colson, who arrived alongside Baldwin from Maccabi, chipped in with 10 points and 9 boards and towering center Boban Marjanovic amassed 8 points to go with 4 boards, having arrived in Istanbul after a decade-long stint in the NBA.
At the other end, Moses Wright excelled with 15 points and 7 boards for Olympiacos, Shaquielle McKissic scored 13 points and Sasha Vezenkov, the EuroLeague’s 2023 MVP, finished on 11 points with an underwhelming display upon his return to the club after a season with the Sacramento Kings.
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With the Greek side’s big men Nikola Milutinov and Moustapha Fall sidelined by injuries, Fenerbahce took full advantage of the void in the visiting team’s paint to win the rebounding battle overwhelmingly, having collected 44 boards against 24 racked up by Olympiacos.
Fenerbahce raced into an early 10-4 lead which swelled to 24-15 midway through the second quarter, before an audacious McKissic three-pointer helped Olympiacos turn the tide and edge ahead in the closing stages of the first half.
Olympiacos was still in the driving seat early in the third quarter, 36-42, but Fenerbahce then engineered an 11-0 run which turned the tables and eventually enabled the hosts to edge ahead 57-56 ahead of the final period.
The titanic tussle between two of the league’s most heralded teams looked set to go down to the wire with the rivals deadlocked 65-65 midway through the fourth quarter, before Fenerbahce pulled away for good on the back of an 8-0 run.
Any hopes of a final twist Olympiacos might have nurtured were vanquished when Hayes-Davis sank a long three which became a four-point play as he drew a foul from Vezenkov in the process, giving Fenerbahce a decisive 78-69 lead. The hosts then saw out the rest of the game and came away with an 82-71 triumph.