DKV Joventut danced into the Final Eight with a 69-54 home win over Khimki of Russia on Tuesday to complete a 2-0 sweep of their Last 16 series. On a night when it honored club veterans as part of the season-long 50 Years of European Club Basketball celebration around the continent, Joventut didn't let its 23-point first-game victory at Khimki become even remotely threatened. A 12-2 start to the game made that clear, and when Khimki cut the difference to 4 points early in the second quarter, Joventut promptly held the guests scoreless for 5 minutes and managed double-digit leads the rest of the way. Rudy Fernandez led the winners with 18 points, including 4 three-pointers, as well as 6 rebounds and 4 assists in 23 minutes. Jan-Hendrick Jagla added 16 points, while Lubos Barton had 9 and 5 rebounds. Khimki, whose ULEB Cup season ended, got 13 points each from Clay Tucker and Mike Wilkinson, who also pulled down 9 rebounds. In the Final Eight, Joventut will face the winner between Pamesa Valencia of Spain and Zadar of Croatia after their Last 16 series is decided on Wednesday.


Kestutis Kemzura, the BC Khimki head coach:

— We came here to win the game as the initial goal, as we already know that winning in Badalona by 23 points was almost impossible. We tried everything we had, tested several defensive systems but there is nothing much you can do with Rudy Fernandez starts hitting three-pointers. We missed some easy shots and that didn't make things easier either. I want to wish DKV Joventut good luck and I hope that they will win the title."


Mike Wilkinson, BC Khimki forward:

— Even when we scored 23 points in the first half, we played better than we did in Russia in general terms. We managed to stay in the game until the final minutes despite missing some easy shots. Joventut is a good team and it was difficult to overcome our first-leg deficit."