Best scorers: McCarty (20), Wolkowiski (13), Gorenc (14), Veremeenko (11 + 10 rebounds).

In the ULEB Cup, as opposed to the Russian games, there is no limit to the amount of foreigners allowed on the game roster, letting Khimki pull out the stops on its foreign players, unleashing even Maciej Lampe, who will play, incidentally, only in the Euro Cup games. During this season, unlike last, in which eight initial games saw the same starting line-up, the start did not repeat itself in any of the five official games played. For the Union Trophy debut match, the coahes decided to break with tradition, and launch: Booker, Gorenc, McCarty, Veremeenko, Wolkowiski.

Moreover, this was the first time this season, that Fridzon was not part of the line-up. Melvin Booker opened his personal points up in the second quarter, some19 minutes into the game with a successful 3-pointer. The debut quarter landed in the hands of the visitors: 6-2. As customary in these situations, the captain had to take things into his own hands.

Rubén Wolkowiski not only blocked Austin, he got a rapid-fire score and levelling the game. The front line for the Moscow Region Club hit the court with a totally new formation, including Veremeenko and Lampe. An explanation for the low effectiveness of the first 10 minutes of the game is not so much to be found in the defensive end, given the wrath of both teams, but better explained by the poor luck on the part of the offense.

In the second quarter, Okulaja and Torres hit the court and Lampe levelled out the scores with two sure nets. Wrestling for the ball, Austin caught a long distance shot, and when the gap reached 5 points down, Khimki’s Coach Elevich was forced to call a time-out.

Immediately after they regrouped, Khimki scored their first 3-pointer by Gianmarco Pozzecco. Jerusalem’s team stayed its course, after an attempt by former Perm player, Golemac, the reds held Khimki at arm’s length by 7 points over. But Booker broke free and found his place in the game. Soon after Khimki caught up, leading Hapoel’s Coach Shamir to stop the game for corrective measures.

In the recess, Khimki’s coaches, with little pretense for their defense, made several changes. The Israeli team had racked up too many point. The results of the reconstruction were felt, as the attempts b the rivals were fruitless. At the top of the third minute, Wolkowiski shot from the perimeter but the deficit would not shrink. After an excellent pass by Ruben, Gorenc scored 4 points in an offensive 3-pointer and a bonus shot from the freethrow line.

Vladimir Veremeenko opened with a sure 3-pointer, and when eh scoreboard was showing midway through the third quarter, the home team finally came out in the lead, which had much to do with plays by Vladimir. Right after this, Pozzecco scored from the arc and the visiting team’s coach called a time-out. The Moscow Region clug was leading: 56-52. That minute off was evidently not enough to stop the yellow-blues, and McCarty lauched a 3-pointer hitting target. Hapoel, of course was not going to give up and tuned up their game. The line-up was playing notably good ball, with Gianmarco Pozzecco firing up the court, and steady footing by Lampe and Okulaja.

After a precision offense from outside the arc by McCarty the difference finally met the crowds expectation: 68-59 and seemed as if the crowd swelled. This did not hamper Hapoel from answering with a blow at the end of the third quarter, clinching it for themselves: 6-0 and closing the total gap to under 3 pointes. Then, after the first attack in the last quarter, the score was even and both teams started working a focused defense with center players scoring from outside the arc. Fridzon boosted the team with some hard driving plays.

With 4.10 minutes to go to game’s end, Coach Shamier called time-out with the score hig: 78-75 favoring their rivals. After some successful offensives on the part of both teams, Booker scored from the 3-pont line. With 2.5 to go for the ULEB Cup champs, they had to muster 4 points. The home team was priming their defsnse and in the decisive 1.42 mark, a couple of playmakers were lauched on court, working the offensive reboudns and able to set up some excellent long-distance shots. At 0.48 seconds, McCarty shot from the arc forcing a last prayer from Coach Shamir as he called for a time-out, which brought no results for the visiting team.