LUKOIL Akademic basketball team started its participation in the ULEB Cup in Madrid with a thrilling 87-85 win over Estudiantes.

The victory saw scoring runs and comebacks, a series of three-pointers from both sides, and a dramatic ending at the Adecco Estudiantes Hall on November 8 in a Group A duel.

Hernan Jasen tied the game for the home side at 85-85 with less than 10 seconds to go, but Lamont Jones stepped up for Lukoil and hit a layup that gave the visitors their first win in this season's European competitions.

Jones was Lukoil's top scorer with 20 points, tied with Todor Stoykov who hit five of 11 three-pointers. Simeon Naydenov contributed 18 points, helping the team in crucial moments of the third and fourth quarter.

Lukoil's major weapon was their shooting from beyond the arc - they scored 13 of 30 triples overall, while Estudiantes hit 7 of 24.

Five players scored 10 points or more for the host team. Will McDonald had 14 points, Carlos Suarez and Nacho Azofra netted 13 each, Jasen added 12 and Iker Iturbe finished with 10.

Estudiantes had full control of the rebounds, 47-30, but this was just not good enough for the victory.

Jones opened the game with a three-pointer, but Estudiantes quickly took the lead with McDonald and Jasen connecting well for four quick points. After a slow-scoring opening, the game started rolling when Kenyan Weaks netted a triple for a 9-6 Lukoil lead and that sparked a 9-0 run for the visitors with three three-pointers by Gjorgji Cekovski and Stoykov, forcing Estudiantes' first timeout.

Just a minute later Stoykov erupted again with his new triple to give the visitors a comfortable 10-point lead at 18-8. However, Estudiantes never gave up and quickly cut the deficit to 16-20.

Weaks started the second quarter with five unanswered points, but Miso replied with four for the home team. Then another impressive Lukoil run extended the visitor's advantage to 34-20. But Estudiantes responded in a similar fashion to come back to 28-34. A new three-pointer by Simeon Naydenov bought Lukoil back into the driving seat, and Stoykov closed the first half with two successful free throws for 42-32.

The second half started with both teams struggling on offence, until Suarez scored two free throws for 34-42. Weaks finally put an end to the four scoreless minutes for Lukoil, but Estudiantes run was extended to 11-2 when Suarez nailed a three for 43-45, much to the excitement of the local fans and forced a new Lukoil timeout.

McDonald tied the game for the first time at 45-45 in the next play, and then two straight three-pointers by Azofra and Iturbe made it 51-45 for the home team. Jones kept Lukoil alive in the game, but Iturbe put an end to the third quarter with a new triple that left things at 60-54 with just 10 minutes to play.

Boyko Mladenov and Naydenov teamed up well to cut Lukoil's deficit to just one point in the last minutes, as the scoreboard displayed 69-68. The hosts struggled to score in this decisive situation, and Jones completed the comeback when he put Lukoil ahead again, 70-69 with just four minutes left on the clock.

The game entered its decisive phase and the Bulgarian team silenced the home crowd with a couple of triples from Naydenov and Stoykov to go up 79-73. With less than two minutes to go Azofra came to the rescue for Estudiantes with four straight points. Later Suarez did the same for 82-85 and forced the last Lukoil timeout with just seconds to go.

Naydenov turned the ball over and Jasen managed to tie the game at 85-85 with a layup.

But it was Jones who had the final word, driving to the hoop for a layup and ensuring the first win of Lukoil in this year's ULEB Cup.

"We never stopped believing in our abilities and never gave up, even in the critical moments of the game. Estudiantes did not display their best basketball, while my players gave all they had on the court,"said Konstantin Papazov, head coach of Lukoil.