Bourges Basket's Laia Palau missed a potential game-tying three-pointer in the final seconds as the French giants slipped to a 62-59 home defeat to Gambrinus Sika Brno.

In the most glitzy of the EuroLeague Women quarter-final clashes, Bourges started as underdogs despite being at home but still waged an almighty battle which almost forced overtime.

Eva Vitekova's jump shot near the end had given Gambrinus, who lost in the EuroLeague final to BC Volgaburmash last season, a three-point lead.

Palau was the right person to take the three-pointer at the end for she had made a similar attempt for Spain at the 2004 Olympics against the Czech Republic to force overtime. The Spanish eventually won that contest.

She was unable to duplicate that feat on Tuesday though.

Jana Vesela and Eva Viteckova led the way at Bourges with 17 and 16 points, respectively.

Palau had a game-high 19 points for Bourges, the three-time winners of the EuroLeague Women, but they were not enough.

Now Bourges must win in Brno on Friday to force a return to France for a decisive Game 3.