Sports

Caja Laboral hosted BC Khimki in a Group H game, the first time that the two sides have met in an official competition.

With one win apiece, both sides were aiming for a second victory that would improve their chances of a quarter final berth.

Although Caja led initially as Lior Eliyahu struck to give them a 10-7 lead, their Russian visitors soon took control of the game and established a double digit lead inside the first quarter putting the hosts under huge pressure.

Raul Lopez and Kelly McCarty were two of the players who shone for Khimki as they took full advantage of some hesitancy on the part of Laboral.

The hosts did pull themselves back into the game in the second half and at one stage closed to within four points of Khimki, but another surge from Lopez and McCarty ensured that they were unable to claw their way into the lead as the visitors clinched a valuable 71-82 win.

The result represents the only away win of this round of matches -once more underlining the importance of home advantage in these fixtures - and ensures that Khimki will have plenty of reason to be confident ahead of their next match having just pulled off one of the biggest victories in the clubs history.