The Dolphins were left thinking on Tuesday night that they had missed a chance to take a major step towards the quarter-final play-offs, but they fell to a very determined Khimik side that knew exactly what they wanted and how to get it.

During a first half that could hardly be any more balanced, the lead changed hands 12 times until the hosts arrived at the interval on top, but with a very fragile advantage, at 37-36.

The third quarter was decisive, as it was the only period in the clash that any of the two teams scored more than 21 points or won by more than two.

It went to the visitors, 26-18, and it was enough to give them some breathing space ahead of the nerve-wrecking final frame.

The Ukrainianside held on to the lead and never allowed the hosts to reduce the gap to less than two points again until the final buzzer, to escape with a good-as-gold 81-76 victory, their first in the Last 16.

It was definitely not down to their superiority on the glass, as they lost the battle of the boards emphatically, collecting only 28 rebounds to the hosts' 37.

The key was rather Khimik's collective effort on offence, as coach Zvezdan Mitrovic saw his players stay persistent in looking for the open man and dishing out 22 assists.

"This was our second game without Steven Burtt and it was much better than the first," Tofas head coach Ahmet Caki commented on Tuesday night, comparing his team's play against Krasnye Krylia to the 93-80 loss