Olympiacos beat Virtus Bologna 87-77 in Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

By Can Erozden

Olympiacos beat Italy's Virtus Segafredo Bologna 87-77 in a Turkish Airlines EuroLeague game Wednesday after the Greek basketball powerhouse built a robust defense in the second half.

Olympiacos' Sasha Vezenkov was the key player as he scored a game-high 27 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to post an impressive double-double at Piraeus' Peace and Friendship Stadium.

Vezenkov's Olympiacos teammate Evan Fournier from France racked up 20 points and produced seven assists.

Italian guard Marco Belinelli led Virtus, scoring 20 points. US guard Matthew Morgan added 15 points for the visitors.

Virtus Segafredo Bologna were on a 46-43 lead at halftime, but home team Olympiacos scored 21 points in the third quarter to take a 64-56 lead before the fourth quarter. The Greek club had 23 points in the fourth quarter to win the game by 10 points.

Olympiacos improved to 10-6 to be third in standings led by Monaco.

French clubs Monaco and Paris Basketball have 11-5 win/loss records each to be above Olympiacos.

Virtus Segafredo Bologna are in 17th spot as they are going 3-13 in the EuroLeague regular season.

- Wednesday's results:

Olympiacos - Virtus Segafredo Bologna: 87-77

Anadolu Efes - Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade: 89-67