Dubai Lose in Athens Against Defending EuroLeague Champions Olympiacos Piraeus

2 hours ago

2 hours ago

Dubai Lose in Athens Against Defending EuroLeague Champions Olympiacos Piraeus

2026-11-13T01:48+04:00

Dubai were unable to continue their strong away form in Europe, suffering a 101–72 defeat in Athens against defending EuroLeague champions Olympiacos Piraeus in EuroLeague Round 11.

Dubai began the game in Athens with the following starting five: Wright, Musa, Bacon, Shengelia and Kabengele.

Dubai started strongly from beyond the arc, with Kabengele, Musa and Bacon all finding success from three-point range. Jaron Blossomgame also brought plenty of energy off the bench, highlighted by an impressive putback dunk. The game remained closely contested in the opening minutes before a key scoring run from the Fournier–Vezenkov duo helped Olympiacos take a 25–18 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Former Olympiacos player Filip Petrušev energised Dubai with his rebounding and scoring, helping the team stay within reach. However, the reigning EuroLeague champions continued to build momentum and looked to extend their advantage. It was a challenging period for Coach Pascual's side, who fought to stay in the game. Kabengele, Bacon and Petrušev were among Dubai's standout performers in a difficult first half, which ended with the Greek side leading 57–43.

The third quarter proved particularly difficult for Dubai. Evan Fournier delivered an exceptional performance, knocking down five three-pointers and scoring 28 points. Dubai struggled to find the basket, while Olympiacos took full advantage, outscoring the visitors 31–12 in the period to establish a commanding 88–56 lead.

In the final quarter, Dubai tried to remain focused and finish the game strongly, but Olympiacos' lead proved too significant to overcome. The game eventually ended 101–72 in favour of the Greek side, as Dubai endured a difficult night in Athens.

Speaking at the post-game press conference, Head Coach Xavi Pascual said, "It was a game we absolutely didn't play at our level. We were terrible defensively and we need to forget about this performance as soon as possible. Congratulations to Olympiacos. I'm trying to figure out what went wrong; maybe we lacked energy, but in this EuroLeague, all teams have one or two terrible games. We need to get back on our feet immediately.”

Dubai will return to action on Sunday, facing Spartak in the ABA League as they look to get back to winning ways.