The national team of Bulgaria prevailed over the Netherlands with 79:72 (23: 16, 18:21, 21:12, 17:23) in the fourth, last match of group "A" at the European Championship for juniors under 18 in Division B, which is held in Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia, reported sportal.bg.
With an asset of three successes from four matches, the Bulgarians topped the temporary arrangement of the group, qualified for the quarter-finals and continue the battle for the prize places, with which they can ensure entry into Division A.
The contestants, led by coach Stoyo Cholakov, will surely finish in one of the first two places and will face in the quarter-finals against the first or the second in group B, where the matches are also not over yet.
The teams of Bulgaria and the Netherlands played an interesting match, and the national team almost did not lose the lead. They had a 41-37 lead at the break, and after an emphatic third quarter in which they went on a 17-0 run, they pulled within 62-49 before the final quarter.
The biggest difference in the match in favor of the Bulgarians reached 16 points at the end of the third part.
The top scorer for the Bulgarian national team was again Alexander Gavalyugov with 18 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists, and Deyan Kolev contributed with 15 points and 4 rebounds.