KK Hemofarm overcame big absences and keeps fighting to finish as high as possible in Group A by downing visiting Brose Baskets 76-64 at home in Vrsac, Serbia on Tuesday night. Despite playing without Milenko Topic and Nebojsa Joksimovic, Hemofarm, which was already qualified for the elimination rounds, improved to 6-3 and ties with Nancy for the second spot in the standings. Both teams have to face each other in Nancy in Game 10 in a big showdown for the outcome of this group. Milos Borisov led the winners with 22 points. Predrag Suput added 13 points, Velimir Radinovic had 12 while Aleksej Nesovic scored 10 points and 8 rebounds in his first ULEB Cup game of the season. Darren Fenn had 18 points for Brose Baskets while Steffen Hamann added 17 for the guests, who travelled without center Chris Ensminger. The game saw 9 nine lead changes before Zelly Wesson hit a free throw for a 57-58 Brose Baskets edge. Borisov and Suput combined for all points in a 15-4 run which allowed Hemofarm to seal the outcome.

Radinovic opened the scoring with a jump hook, igniting a 7-2 opening run in which Nesovic buried a triple and Borisov nailed a fadeaway jumper to put Hemofarm ahead. Brose Baskets had committed 3 turnovers already, but Vincent Yarbrough got the guests going with 5 points in a 0-7 run, including a fast break dunk which put his team ahead, 7-9. Borisov fired in a huge corner triple coming off a screen but Begley answered from downtown. Suput scored in the low post, but a driving layup by Robert Garrett forced Hemofarm to call timeout at 12-14. Borisov drilled his second three-pointer, but a long jumper by Tim Begley and a triple by Fenn kept the guests ahead, 15-19. Free throws by Radinovic got Hemofarm within 17-19 after 10 minutes. Collins shined with a three-point play right at the start of the second quarter, but Radinovic and Milos Markovic got Hemofarm within 21-22. Fenn followed a tough jump hook with a baseline jumper in a 0-6 Brose Baskets run which Collins capped with a driving layup. Hemofarm struggled to get open shots until Markovic stroke twice from downtown. Brose Baskets called timeout at 27-28 and Steffen Hamann followed a six-meter shot with an easy layup to give the guests some air at 27-32. Vladan Vukosavljevic dunked it, while free throws by Nesovic, Miljan Rakic and Wesson fixed the halftime score at 32-33.

Fenn hit one from downtown right after the break, but a put-back layup by Vukosavljevic and a three-point play by Nesovic provided another lead change, 37-36. Fenn scored inside while Garrett hit a triple from the left wing to give Brose Baskets a 37-41 edge. Rakic scored in penetration while Suput buried a three-pointer, but a quick basket by Hamann allowed the guests to regain the lead, 42-43. Borisov and Radinovic hit free throws in a 6-0 Hemofarm run which Rakic capped with a triple. Hamann tried to wake Brose Baskets up with a basket-plus-foul but Borisov erased it with one from downtown. Hamann stayed hot with a driving layup while Radinovic and Fenn exchanged baskets for a 53-51 score after three quarters. Radinovic followed a second-chance basket with free throws to keep Hemofarm ahead, 57-51, with 8 minutes to go. Hamann rescued Brose Baskets with a three-pointer while Yarbrough copied him off a Hemofarm timeout to tie the game again, 57-57. Borisov stepped up with a corner triple and Suput added a layup-plus-foul to force Brose Baskets to call timeout, 63-58. Fenn scored in the paint but Suput answered from downtown for a 66-60 Hemofarm edge with 4 minutes remaining. Hamann scored in penetration but Suput matched it with a mid-range jumper. Brose Baskets kept missing shots and soon run out of chances to advance, while Borisov buried one from downtown to seal the win and keep Hemofarm in the fight to reach high in Group A.