Khimki advances to semifinals, 73-76!

BC Khimki Moscow region made it to the Eurocup semifinals for the first time in club history by downing Pamesa Valencia 73-76 in their quarterfinals showdown on Friday night. Pamesa stayed alive in the competition and will face iurbentia Bilbao Basket or Zadar in the semifinals at 21:00 CET tomorrow. Mike Wilkinson paced the winners with 15 points, including key free throws with 9.7 seconds to go. Carlos Delfino and Jorge Garbajosa each added 12, Vitaliy Fridzon had 11 while Maciej Lampe got 10 for Khimki. Albert Oliver led Pamesa with a Eurocup career-best 18 points. Rafa Martinez added 11 for Pamesa. It was a balanced game in the early going, but Martinez and Matt Nielsen helped Pamesa to get a 16-12 edge. Anton Ponkrashov and Lampe allowed Khimki to tie the game, 20-20, at the end of the first quarter. Ratko Varda and Garbajosa fueled a 0-13 Khimki run that allowed their team to get a 25-33 lead. Pamesa found a go-to guy in Ermal Kuqo, who singlehandedly brought Pamesa within 33-37 at halftime. Martinez stepped up for Pamesa after the break while a fast break layup by Victor Claver and free throws by Kosta Perovic completed their team's comeback, 50-49. Three-pointers by Kuqo, Shammond Williams and Vule Avdalovic allowed Pamesa to get a 65-58 lead with under 7 minutes to go. Delfino and Wilkinson allowed Khimki to regain the lead, 70-72, already in the final 2 minutes. Lampe and Wilkinson gave Khimki a 73-76 edge with 7.9 seconds to go, while a running three-point shot by Avdalovic went in and out