Bulgaria crushes Norway 88:57 to secure a spot in the next stage of EuroBasket qualifiers

The Bulgarian men's national basketball team achieved a convincing success at the home "Arena Botevgrad," defeating Norway 88:57. The match, held as part of the first stage of the EuroBasket 2029 qualifiers, secured first place in Group B for our team.

Following the loss in Hønefoss in February, Bulgaria needed a victory by at least 10 points to win the group. Lyubomir Minchev's players completed the task with ease, dominating from the very beginning with an early 11:2 lead.

The central figure in the match was Aleksandar Vezenkov. The Olympiacos star contributed 22 points in under 27 minutes of play, demonstrating flawless free-throw accuracy (8/8) and adding 6 rebounds. Despite the absence of Umoja Gibson and Cody Miller-McIntyre, the Bulgarian squad showed collective strength.

Key contributions to the team came from Borislav Mladenov (15 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 blocks), Konstantin Toshkov (15 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists), and Aleksandar Stoymenov (13 points). Ivan Alipiev also stood out with 9 points and 7 rebounds, while the match also marked the official debut for Aleksandar Gavalyugov.

With this success, Bulgaria advances to the second round of the preliminary qualifiers. The national team's next matches are scheduled for the end of August.