Cajasol took a very important first step to reach the Eurocup Finals by downing Budivelnik 67-49 in Game 1 of the two-game, total-point Quarterfinals in front of a sellout crowd at San Pablo Arena in Seville, Spain on Tuesday night. Cajasol, pushed by an incredible crowd, took n 18-point lead in the series, that now travel to Dnipropetrovsk for Game 2 next Wednesday. Lamayne Wilson shined early in the game and got some help from Billy Keys and Andy Betts to give Budivelnik a 10-16 lead late in the first quarter. Paul Davis led a 9-0 run that helped Cajasol regain the lead. Outstanding defense that forced Budivelnik into 13 first-half turnovers and a fast break layup by Tariq Kirksay gave Cajasol a 30-24 lead at the break. Cajasol still led 43-37 after 30 minutes, but Earl Calloway and Txemi Urtasun fueled an 11-0 run that broke the game open and gave the hosts to get a critical win. Urtasun paced the winners with 15 points, Mindaugas Katelynas added 14 and Kirksay had 11 plus 8 rebounds for the hosts. Wilson and Keys scored 11 each for the Builders and Zach Morley added 10 in defeat.

Katelynas got Cajasol going with an alley-oop dunk that Morley matched with a driving basket for the game’s first baskets. Dmytro Zabirchenko struck from downtown and Wilson beat the shot clock buzzer with a baseline jumper, good for a 2-7 Budivelnik lead. Katelynas nailed a three-pointer, but Wilson silenced the crowd with a huge dunk in traffic and sank a long two-pointer to keep the guests ahead, 5-11. But he picked up his second foul and Budivelnik entered the bonus, allowing Cajasol to attack the basket. Kirksay hit his trademark jump hook and a driving layup by Urtasun got the hosts within 2. Betts scored down low and a three-point play by Keys boosted Budivelnik's lead to 10-16. Louis Bullock made free throws and Tomas Satoransky banked in a fadeaway shot to give Cajasol some fresh air, 14-16, at the end of the first quarter.

Davis scored off a steal early in the second quarter and soon split free throws for a 17-16 score as Cajasol kept powering the offensive board. Budivelnik was scoreless for more than three minutes when a red-hot Davis set the crowd on fire with a two-handed slam that caused the guests to call timeout at 19-16, after a 9-0 run. Budivelnik improved its defense against Davis with Michail Anisimov on the floor. Meanwhile, free throws by Dee Spencer got his team within 19-18. Satoransky split foul shots, as the guests tried a smaller lineup with Morley at power forward. Denys Ikovlev took over with a driving basket that Joan Sastre bettered with a bomb from downtown. Anisimov found Morley for an uncontested dunk, but Katelynas erased it with a put-back basket and an alley-oop layup by Juanjo Triguero made it a 5-point game. Morley shined with a reverse layup, but Kirksay followed foul shots with a fast break layup to fix the halftime score at 30-24.

Both teams struggled to score after the break until Kirksay stepped up with a put-back layup. Satoransky soon added a driving basket to make it a double-digit game. The hosts were all over the place on defense, forcing Budivelnik into turnovers. Keys tried to change things with a three-pointer as coach Josep Maria Berrocal brought Spencer off the bench to improve the guests' offense. Keys kept pacing Budivelnik with an acrobatic basket and a floating layup by Morley brought the guests back to life at 34-31. Urtasun shined with a driving layup. Katelynas took over with a backdoor layup that Spencer matched with foul shots. Calloway buried a jumper off the dribble, but Lukashov kept Budivelnik within 41-35. Wilson found space for an uncontested layup before free throws by Calloway gave Cajasol a 43-37 lead after 30 minutes.

Anisimov hit a jump hook early in the fourth quarter that Urtasun matched with a driving basket. Budivelnik kept trying to use long possessions, but Cajasol kept full control of the game with outstanding, well-adjusted man-to-man defense. Calloway nailed a three-pointer and Urtasun scored in penetration to send the crowd to its feet at 50-39. An unstoppable Calloway soon scored off a steal to cause Budivelnik to call a much-needed timeout at 52-39. Both teams fought now for point-differential, but Budivelnik kept struggling to score. Another driving layup by Urtasun capped an 11-0 Cajasol run. Wilson shocked the crowd with a high-flying put-back dunk. Katelynas buried a three-pointer that Keys matched with a layup-plus-foul. Urtasun scored again in penetration and a layup by Katelynas made it a 16-point game with two minutes to go, enough for Cajasol to celebrate one of the biggest wins in club history.