Bulgarian champions Balkan Botevgrad recorded their first victory in the EuroCup, the second-tier European club basketball tournament. Bogdan Karaicic’s players defeated Bosna Sarajevo 78:69 (18:24, 23:15, 20:16, 17:14) away from home to end their losing streak in the competition.
Despite the valuable two points, the Botevgrad side still occupy last, eighth place in Group „D“ with a record of one win and five defeats. However, they are just two victories behind fourth-placed Ulm, leaving the Bulgarian team with a chance of progressing.
The foundation for the victory in Sarajevo was laid by solid defence. Balkan managed to limit the hosts to just 69 points–their weakest offensive performance since the start of the season. At the same time, the Bulgarian side maintained a steady pace in attack and avoided any significant dips in any of the four quarters.
Javante McCoy was the leading scorer for the winners with 27 points. Aleksandar Stoimenov also delivered an impressive performance, with the national team player recording a tournament personal best of 22 points. Gael Bonilla contributed to the victory with a „double-double“ of 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Bosna Sarajevo’s top scorer was centre Reginald Perry, who finished the game with 21 points.
In the next round, Balkan will have the opportunity to build on the positive impression in front of their home fans. On 10 November, the Botevgrad side will host Greek club PAOK in search of another important EuroCup victory.