Tariq Kirksay collected 31 points and 8 rebounds as Unics Kazan demolished Turk Telekom 91-65 at home in the first leg of their Last 32 showdown. Kazan dominated the first quarter and let Turk take over the second. But sparked by Kirksay, Unics thoroughly out-played Telekom in the second half to give itself a tremendous chance of advancing to the Last 16. Darjus Lavrinovic added 21 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 6 blocked shots – tying a ULEB Cup elimination rounds record with the last number – for Kazan while Dusko Savanovic came up with a few big baskets to finish with 13 points and 5 rebounds. Turk Telekom has a long way to come back as it could not deal with Unics' size advantage. Turk clearly missed Michael Wright, as newly-signed Kris Lang, hoping to help replace Wright's missing numbers, scored just 1 point in eight minutes. Khalid El-Amin led the way with 19 points while Erwin Dudley had 17 points and 5 rebounds and Chris Williams chipped in 14 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. But no other Turk player scored more than 6 points

Kirksay opened the game with a three-pointer and two more baskets made it 8-0. Dudley finally got the guests on the scoreboard. But after Tutku Acik and Victor Keyru swapped three-balls, Lavrinovic scored 8 points in a 12-2 run to help Unics build a 23-9 advantage. A Williams free throw trimmed the margin to 23-10 after one period. Savanovic's basket tipped off the second quarter for Kazan, but Telekom began to fight its way back into the game. Dudley converted a three-point play and Kazan began turning the ball over. El-Amin knocked down a long ball and the deficit was back down to 27-22. Savanovic continued his strong second period with two more baskets to keep Turk at bay. But El-Amin – saddled with three fouls – hit again to cut the margin to 33-30 with Williams following on a three-ball to make it 35-33. And El-Amin's three-pointer just before the buzzer gave Turk a lead 37-38 at the break.

Kirksay gave Kazan back the lead to start the second half. And his steal and resulting three pushed Unics ahead 44-40. El-Amin's foul shot pulled Telekom to within 45-43, but Kirsay hit from downtown again and scored another basket to spark a 12-2 surge to open a 57-45 gap. Haluk Yildirim stopped the bleeding with a three only to see a Lavrinovic basket push the margin to 61-48. An El-Amin score made it 61-50 going into the fourth. Lavrinovic opened the final period before Kris Lang's free throw cut the game to 63-53. Back-to-back baskets by Dudley kept Telekom within 68-57. But Kazan began to pull away as Kirksay and Savanovic nailed consecutive triples and Lavrinovic converted a three-point play in a 16-4 push for an 84-61 Unics lead. With Turk trying to limit the margin as much as possible, Dudley grabbed a basket. But Jerry McCullough knocked down a three-pointer and then made two more foul shots to seal the deal.