Olympiacos overcomes 28-point deficit to beat Valencia 102-97 in overtime

A 28-point hole before halftime

Olympiacos struggled badly in the first half at the Roig Arena, going into the break 59-34 down as Valencia dictated the pace. By the 22nd minute the score stood at 62-34, a 28-point gap. The European champions' defence was poor for most of the opening period, and Valencia kept finding open looks. Evan Fournier was absent for the first half, while Yan Montero, a 23-year-old Dominican guard, was the only Olympiacos player who stood up to the occasion before the break. The team went to the dressing room to regroup, and the second half was a different game.

The second-half comeback

The turnaround began in the third quarter, when Fournier found his rhythm and scored basket after basket against Valencia's defence. Valencia managed only 12 points in that quarter, and the gap was trimmed to 12 at 71-59. Olympiacos drew level at the end of regulation, 90-90, which sent the game into overtime. Montero took over in the fourth quarter and kept causing problems for the club he had left, and his long-range shot made it 95-98 in extra time. The final score of 102-97 matched Prokom's comeback against Siena in December 2012, when Prokom won 95-88 in overtime after trailing by 28.

1. HalftimeValencia leads 59-34 at the break
2. 22nd minuteValencia leads 62-34, a 28-point gap
3. 32nd minuteBartzokas ejected after two technical fouls
4. End of regulationScore tied 90-90
5. FinalOlympiacos wins 102-97 in overtime

Fournier described the change in the team's approach after the game:

We started playing for each other. We fought. We did not play to score, we just played possession by possession.

Bartzokas ejected, Pappas takes over

Giorgos Bartzokas was ejected in the 32nd minute after two technical fouls, and Christos Pappas took over as head coach for the rest of the match. Pappas said afterwards that the first half had been disastrous, with Olympiacos playing slowly and failing to protect the basket, and that a change in defence had shifted the momentum. In the dressing room Bartzokas addressed the players, and Olympiacos later released the video on social media. He told them the win was the biggest the club had ever had and that he cared more about how they had played after the break than about the result.

It is the biggest win we have ever had. I do not care about the result, but about how we played in the second half.

Montero, Fournier and the trip to Barcelona

Montero finished with 26 points on 7 of 9 from two-point range and 9 of 10 from the free-throw line, adding five rebounds and two assists against two turnovers. Fournier scored 23 points in the second half, added four assists and two steals, and later posted on X: "Humble in the highs, steady in the lows. Moving on." Champion or not, the team said it had to play better in the first half, and Fournier's wording on that point was blunt. Olympiacos now sits at 4-1 in the Euroleague, its fourth win in five games. The club next plays Barcelona on 16 October at 21:30, in the Euroleague's devil week.