ATHENS, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Greece's Olympiakos Piraeus lost to Lithuania' s Zalgiris Kaunas 87-78 on Wednesday in first match of the playoffs of the basketball Euroleague hosted in Athens at the Peace and Friendship stadium.

The Reds had been defeated by their guests also in their previous encounter during the regular season.

The two teams will face each other again on Friday at the same stadium. They need three victories in the playoffs to win the ticket for the final four.