Hemofarm, L. Rytas is first semifinal!

Hemofarm Stada of Serbia and Lietuvos Rytas of Lithuania will conform the first 2009 Final Eight semifinal, to be played on Saturday at 18:00 CET. In the first quarterfinal game of Thursday, Hemofarm Stada upset mighty Dynamo Moscow by 85-93in a team effort that lasted since Dynamo had led for the last time at 16-14. Bojan Krstovic led a well-balanced Hemofarm attack with 16 points, while Stefan Markovic delivers 10 assists. All told Hemofarm had five scorers in double figures and three more with at least 7 points. On the other hand, Lietuvos Rytas outlasted Benetton Basket by 79-85in the second quarterfinal game. Chuck Eidson paced L. Rytas with 23 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals including a crucial three-pointer that gave L. Rytas a 5-point lead with one-and-a-half minutes to go. Donatas Zavackas notched 16 points, Milko Bjelica and Marijonas Petravicius contributed with 12 points each and Mindaugas Lukauskis and Arturas Jomantas added 11 points apiece in a thriller that was only decided at the end. Stay tuned for the other two quarterfinals on Friday!