Published: 8 May, 2009, 11:11
Edited: 8 May, 2009, 11:11
Spartak Saint Petersburg have tied their semi-final series against Khimki in the Russian basketball Superliga after a hard fought victory in Game Two, with Milovan Rakovic leading the winners with 17 points.
himki came into the game with a chance to take a commanding position in the series, knowing a win here would give them a 2-game lead – and they made their intentions clear right from the start. It took them just five minutes of play to put their advantage into double figures.
It was time for Spartak's coach Evgeny Pashutin to make changes, and he introduced Rakovic.
The Serbian took center stage, allowing his side to tie the game in the beginning of the second quarter.
The encounter was evenly-matched later on, before Spartak managed to get in front early in the final quarter.
The sides then had to fight for every ball, with the game full of steals and interceptions. However, it was Spartak who had a better shooting percentage.
Khimki's leader Jorge Garbahosa kept missing open shots, and the 2006 world champion was held to only 6 points in the game.
The visitors kept their composure to score free throws in the deciding stages, and eventually win it.
”Of course, this win is a great boost of confidence for us. We will now go home in a great mood. But I'm sure neither of the sides will remember this game during game 3, because every match is a completely new story,” Milovan Rakovic said.
66 to 58 was the way it finished as Spartak tied the series 1-all. It will now move to St. Petersburg, with the third game on Sunday.
This year’s Euroleague runner-up CSKA Moscow play UNICS Kazan in the other semifinal.