Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv will head out on the road to compete versus Olympiacos Piraeus as part of the 4th EuroLeague fixture of the 2020/21 season (Friday, 21:00, live on Sport5 - channel 55). Giannis Sfairopoulos, who's been a part of Olympiacos for seven seasons, returns to his homeland as his squad has a challenging task against a difficult opponent whose won their past two gamedays against Panathinaikos and Milano.

"Olympiacos is an excellent team, a different one from last season. Although they lost their first game, they won their last two, and they're in a really good momentum", Said head coach Giannis Sfairopoulos before departing to Greece. "We need to be very focused against them and improve our game a lot. I can't say we are in a good or bad momentum because we won the first contest but lost the other two in the closing minute".

"Sometimes, you need to take care of the small details, so we need to change the chip in our minds and go with a different approach to fight harder and jump for every ball, not letting the game progress towards the closing minute. However, if it does go there, we need to be more ready to win this game".

Olympiacos is led by head coach Georgios Bartzokas who built a roster surrounding his Greek core, including veterans Vassilis Spanoulis, George Printezis, Kostas Papanikolaou. The Reds offseason splash was Kostas Sloukas, who returned after 5 years under Zeljko Obradovic in Fenerbahce. Charles Jenkins, Aaron Harrison, Livio Jean-Charles, and Hassan Martin are five new faces to add to the mix who could push the Olympiacos over the hump.

Last season, the Yellow & Blue came on top in both matchups against the Reds. In Piraeus, Maccabi dominated the hosts 90:65 as Tyler Dorsey and Scottie Wilbekin each hit 4 shots from deep for 19 points. At Menora Mivtachim Arena behind 11 thousand roaring Yellow & Blue fans, Wilbekin drilled a game-winner, rallying back to win it 71:70.

Ante Zizic spoke regarding the value of playing at home these days, if at all: "We can see more road wins this season. You got teams like Maccabi, Olympiacos, Fenerbahce, etc. who have great fan bases and play much better at their home court with the fans' support. But right now, when you have empty gyms, you don't always feel the difference between playing at home or on the road". 

"There is a slow process adjusting to European basketball, but for me, it isn't a big deal because I grew up playing this style of game", Said Zizic. "I expect it to take some time to adjust but not too much, I guess game by game, I'll get in better shape and better rhythm".

Maccabi Playtika came up short, falling dramatically to Olympiacos 82:85, dropping to a 1:3 record in the EuroLeague. The Yellow & Blue stayed tight to the Greeks throughout the contest, took the lead in the fourth quarter, and Wilbekin hit a clutch three-pointer to tie it up with 8 seconds left on the game clock. However, Aaron Harrison had the final say, knocking in a game-winning triple on the buzzer, sending his team home with a dramatic victory.

Scottie Wilbekin, Elijah Bryant, Oz Blayzer, Angelo Caloiaro, and Ante Zizic started for Maccabi as Kostas Sloukas, Shaquille Mckissic, Kostas Papanikolaou, Sasha Vezenkov, and Octavius Ellis on the other end.

After two scoreless minutes, Vezenkov and Papanikolaou hit back to back triples, but Bryant scored four points keeping Maccabi close, 6:8. Blayzer nailed consecutive corner threes as Chris Jones dropped in two and dished an alley-oop pass to Othello Hunter, who slammed it home, giving the Yellow & Blue a 6 point advantage, 16:10. Sloukas cut the lead by half, but Jones kept feeding his teammates for his third assist, and Dorsey knocked in a deep two on the buzzer, 22:15.

Vassilis Spanoulis, EuroLeague's all-time top scorer, and Hassan Martin capped a 9:2 red run tying the game at 24. Charles Jenkins and Aaron Harrison kept the momentum going granting the hosts a 5 point lead. Wilbekin and Bryant nailed shots from deep, and Caloiaro hit both free throws lightening the deficit to 36:39. Harison shot in his 9th point of the first half as Hunter scored his 1600 point of his career with a fadeaway jumper, and Wilbekin drove to the basket and shot over two defenders, 40:44 at the half.

After Ellis and Vezenkov scored five quick points, Zizic and Jones responded immediately on the other end, 44:49. Vezenkov added another three-pointer, and Martin laid in two more, giving Olympiacos a double-digit advantage, 44:54. Blayzer, with two great efforts, helped Maccabi answer with an 8:2 run, 52:56. The game stayed tight as Martin counted his 14th point of the night while Hunter scored his 6th bucket, 63:66. Sloukas knocked in a three-pointer, yet Jones answered with a three of his own to beat the buzzer, cutting the lead by half heading into the final quarter, 66:69.

Maccabi's defense came to life in the fourth as the hosts executed five fouls in less than two minutes. Wilbekin scored four consecutive points, and Blayzer shot one of two from the charity strike, which gave the visitors a 72:71 advantage. For two minutes, both teams struggled to find the basket, Spanoulis broke the scoreless streak with a layup, but Wilbekin restored the lead with a shot from deep, 77:75. Vezenkov responded with his 4th triple and added two more from the free-throw line providing Olympiacos a 2 point advantage, 78:80. 

Blayzer tallied one of two from the line reducing the lead to one, but Spanoulis laid in two for an 82:79 edge. With 11 seconds left, Jones missed two from the line, but Hunter and Caloiaro fought for the rebound, and the forward found Wilbekin open from deep, who hit a clutch three tying the game at 82 with 8 seconds on the game clock. The Reds went to one final ball, Harrison took it on himself, delivering a buzzer-beating winner shot, which gave Olympiacos an 85:82 dramatic win over Maccabi.