Carr Buzzer Beats Olympiacos in Bologna

Marcus Carr hit a three-pointer at the buzzer as Virtus Bologna beat defending EuroLeague champion Olympiacos 96⁠–⁠94 on Thursday, 1 October, at Virtus’s home arena in Bologna, Italy, in Round 3 of Europe’s top club basketball league (Eurohoops; Sky Sport). Carr finished with 22 points and 10 assists; Aliou Diarra added 18 points and 14 rebounds (Eurohoops). Olympiacos, based in Piraeus, Greece, entered 2⁠–⁠0 and led late after Mbaye Ndiaye’s putback-and-one; Virtus answered with a Diarra alley-oop and free throw, then Carr’s three sealed Virtus’s first win of the season after a timeout with seconds left (Eurohoops; Basketball Sphere). Ndiaye led Olympiacos with 23 points; Tyler Dorsey scored 22 and Sasha Vezenkov 20 (Eurohoops). Tip was 20:30 CEST (2:30 p.m. ET).

The EuroLeague is Europe’s top club basketball competition, a season-long league of continental powers rather than a one-off cup. A three-pointer is a shot from beyond the arc worth three points; an alley-oop is a pass caught near the rim and dunked or laid in in one motion; a putback-and-one is a rebound tip-in that draws a foul, adding a free throw. Performance index rating, or PIR, is the EuroLeague’s all-in-one efficiency number combining scoring, rebounding, assists and other plus-minus box stats (Eurohoops; Basketball Sphere).

Basketball Sphere’s Round 3 recap framed the finish as the most dramatic of the young season. Despite Vezenkov and Dorsey catching fire early, Virtus held the lead through much of the night and entered the fourth quarter ahead. That is when Ndiaye exploded for Olympiacos, scoring repeatedly to haul the champions back into the game and set up a last-minute scramble (Basketball Sphere). After Evan Fournier missed, Ndiaye put the ball back with an and-one for another Olympiacos lifeline. Virtus answered immediately: Diarra finished an alley-oop over Fournier and added the free throw to put the hosts back in front (Basketball Sphere; Eurohoops).

Jean Montero then had the ball with nine seconds left and appeared to have a chance at the winner, but Virtus called timeout and gave the ball to Carr. Carr attacked the basket with Codi Miller-McIntyre defending and knocked down the game-winning three at the buzzer, sending the home crowd into celebration and the European champions to a stunning defeat (Basketball Sphere; Sky Sport). Eurohoops called Carr the undisputed hero of the night and Diarra instrumental in the decisive final minutes; Basketball Sphere credited Carr with a PIR of 30 (Eurohoops; Basketball Sphere).

Olympiacos arrived in Bologna as the defending champion and the only remaining undefeated side among Thursday’s early Round 3 slate, having opened 2⁠–⁠0. Ndiaye’s 23 points were a career-best night for the forward, with 7 rebounds as well, but it was not enough once Carr’s shot fell (Eurohoops). Dorsey’s 22 and Vezenkov’s 20 kept the Greek side within a possession deep into the fourth; the final second still belonged to Virtus (Eurohoops; Basketball Sphere).

Thursday’s result was Virtus’s first win of the 2026⁠–⁠27 EuroLeague season after an 0⁠–⁠2 start, and it snapped Olympiacos’s perfect open (Eurohoops). Sky Sport’s Italian coverage labelled Carr’s finish a “tripla sulla sirena” — a three on the siren — matching the English-language reports of a game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer (Sky Sport; Eurohoops). EuroLeague’s own highlight package from the night featured the Virtus–Olympiacos finish among Round 3 clips (euroleaguebasketball.net).

Round 3 is part of the first double-week of the campaign, with Thursday’s other finals including Hapoel Tel Aviv’s win over Real Madrid in Sofia and further games scheduled Friday across Europe (Eurohoops; Basketball Sphere). For Virtus, the Carr buzzer gives the Bologna club a signature early-season result against the team that lifted the trophy last spring. For Olympiacos, the first loss of the year arrives on the road in Italy, with Ndiaye’s breakout night the consolation line in an otherwise bitter box score.