Azovmash put the finishing touches on a great week and piled on the agony for BC Kyiv by winning their Superliga clash 76-62.

Kyiv, who saw their hopes of returning to the EuroCup Final Four for the third year running dashed in mid-week when they crashed to an 86-62 defeat against Kalev, finished the first half of the Superliga campaign on top with an 11-1 record.

But Azovmash are in a much better mood.

They defeated Atomeromu to seal their progression to Round II of the EuroCup with four wins in six games, and now they have beaten their rivals.

The Mariupol side started their game against Kyiv more aggressively and took a first-quarter lead, only for the hosts to fight back and move into a 21-17 advantage on with Artem Shvet's three-pointer.

Azovmash were not to be denied and by the middle of the fourth period, they held a double digit advantage.

Panagiotis Liadelis led the winners with 16 points while Serhiy Lishchuk notched 14 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks.

"It was important for us to win just to keep alive our chance of finishing top of the league before the play-offs," said Azovmash coach Rimas Girskis.

"We had some difficulties before the game, which of course aren't comparable with Kyiv's problems, but we survived. I'm glad that my team played a good level of basketball.

"After signing (Germaine) Jackson, our bench became more balanced, so I have more abilities in a game".

"We played like a team today, there was no one person who scored a lot of points and that was good for us," said Jackson, who scored nine points and added five assists.

"As for me, sometimes I lost on the ground because I don't know all the plays, or my partners. Once I do that, I will give more to Azovmash."

Kyiv now go into the Christmas break on a low.

The biggest consequence of their European failure was the change at the helm, with coach Viktor Berezhnoy fired and Ukrainian national team boss Vitaliy Lebedintsev installed for one contest.

"We lacked the players who are able to win," said Lebedintsev. "Most of the team fought, but at the end, they couldn't do better than they played today."

In defeat, Artur Drozdov scored 14 points and pulled down nine rebounds while Lamarr Greer poured in 13 points.

Meanwhile, Azovmash will play in Group J of EuroCup with Dynamo Moscow Region, Maroussi and ASK Riga.