Red Star Belgrade lost 82-80 to Lietuvos Rytas in their second leg encounter in Vilnius but qualified to the Eurocup quarter-finals by winning 168-164 on aggregate.
The Lithuanians though came so close to erasing the six-point deficit from the first leg, pulling the aggregate score to 166-164 with 12 seconds left, but free throws under pressure from DeMarcus Nelson sealed the game for the Serbians as they prepare for a last-eight showdown with Budivielnik Kiev.
“This is a great success for us,” said a delighted Read Star coach Dejan Radonjic. “We met Lietuvos Rytas in Euroleague twice this season and I can say that during these two Eurocup games they were much better. We won first leg by six points, but were worried that Lietuvos Rytas on their home court could qualify to the next round.”
Rasko Katic led the winners with 19 points, off the bench; Nelson supported Katic with 16 points, five assists and five rebounds.
Juan Palacios and Renaldas Seibutis both led Lietuvos Rytas with 16 points.
Valencia lost 97-82 away at Khimki but a jumper from Pau Ribas with 9.2 seconds left saw the Russians off on aggregate 157-156.
The Liga Endesa side will now play Alba Berlin in the last eight in what is a repeat of the 2010 Eurocup final. Khimki, who were tipped to be contenders for the Eurocup crown, bow out.
“It was a tough game for both teams,” Valencia coach Velimir Perasovic explained. “From the beginning we saw that Khimki were totally different from the first game. They played really tough. Offensively they scored very easy. In the first two quarters we were better on offensive rebounds, but in the final when we thought that the game could be easier and came to five points, they scored 8 points in a row. After that the game was crazy; in one moment we were out, but in the last moment we were down to 15 points.”
Bojan Dubljevic led all scorers on the night for Valencia with 23 points as they lost the battle in the Moscow Region, but won the war.James Augustine and Marko Popovic hit 20 points to lead Khimki.
Hapoel Jerusalem overcame a two-point deficit from the first leg to see-off Ratiopharm Ulm 81-65 in the Israeli capital.
The hosts quickly overturned the first leg deficit and led 21-16 after the first ten minutes. The three-point aggregate lead turned into a 12-point aggregate lead at the half as Jerusalem led 46-32 and never looked back from there.
Bracey Wright led the winners with 21 points. Matt Howard paced Ulm with 15.
Aykon Ankara overcame their 75-71 defeat in the first leg to best Khimik Yuzhne 72-60 on the night and 143-135 over two legs.
At one point in the second quarter, Ankara were trailing on aggregate by as many as 17 points. But the Turkish side fought their way back into contention and eventually turned it around in a dominant second half display that the Ukrainian side did not have an answer for.
A double-double of 23 points and 14 rebounds from Vladimir Golubovic helped Ankara to the win, helped by Clay Tucker, who added 18.
Nizhny Novgorod eased to a 95-71 win over Besiktas in Russia with Vadim Panin leading the way with 23 points on the night.
It secured a 166-159 win on aggregate as they came back from a 17-point deficit to pull clear in the fourth quarter and get the win on aggregate.
Andrew Goudelock lifted Unics Kazan to a comfortable 76-59 success over CEZ Nymburk in their second leg, which resulted in a one-sided 177-117 aggregate victory.
The result was never in doubt following Kazan’s supreme first leg advantage, and instead of the Czech side going on the all-out attack, Unics found themselves building on the commanding lead to secure the win.
