Rilski Sportist wins the title
Final Rilski S-list - F.Rabotnicki 84-77
Rilski Sportist is the champion of the Balkan League 08/09. The team from Samokov, where the Final 4 tournament was played, was better than Fersped Rabotnicki 84-77, mostly owing to well played last quarter of the game (26-18). Dragoslav Papic (205-C/F-87, agency: Global Sports Plaza) led Rilski with 19, Travis Peterson (208-C-85, agency: Edge Sports, college: Samford) had 18 points and 12 boards, while Branko Mirkovic and Ivan Lilov scored 14 points each. Dime Tasovski delivered 19 points for the loosing side.

3rd place

Mega HL - Feni Indistrija 78-60
Mega Hypo Leasing blasted Macedonian champion in the battle for the bronze 78-60, what is one of the biggest achievements in the club's history. Two prospects, Dusan Katnic (193-G-89) and Stefan Stojacic (195-G-89), again were the key players in this victory. Katnic, who also was hero of the quarterfinal series, drained 22 points and dished out 7 assists, while Stojacic also nailed 22 pts. Uros Nikolic followed them with 14 pts and 7 boards. Feni got the most from Donal Cole - 20 points and 6 boards.

Fersped Rabotnicki and Rilski Sportist advance to big final - Mar. 25, 2009
Feni Indistrija - F.Rabotnicki 62-90
Fersped Rabotnicki blasted Feni Industri in the Balkan league semifinals meaning that the Macedonian champion will have to fight for third place today against Mega Hypo Leasing. Second Macedonian representative, Rabotnicki, will meet Rilski Sportist in the big final. Bojan Trajkovski (206-C/F-88) top-scored in victory with 18 points. Dime Tasovski also had important role collecting 15 points and 9 boards, while Toni Simic helped with 12 pts and 6 rebs. Taliek Brown (186-G-82, agency: Octagon, college: Connecticut) answered with 19 points in defeat. Scoring machine Donald Cole this time stopped on just 10 pts.

Rilski S-list - Mega HL 83-81
It was third game between these two teams this season and at the same time it was third thriller. Rilski grabbed it when it was the most important advancing to the big final, where it will take on Fersped Rabotnicki. Travis Peterson (208-C-85, agency: Edge Sports, college: Samford) stepped up for the Bulgarians collecting 24 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists. Bogdan Boev had 18 and Ivan Lilov added 17 points. On the other side, Strahinja Dragicevic (194-F-86) was on fire leading all the scorers with 28 points. Had also pulled down 14 rebounds beside that. Hero from the quarterfinals series, Dusan Katnic, registered 18 points and 5 assists.

Dusan Katnic lifts Mega HL to semifinals in Balkan league - Mar. 11, 2009
Balkan League, Quarterfinals: Swisslions Takovo - Mega Hypo Leasing 88-78

Mega Hypo Leasing survived in Vrsac last night. The Belgrade's team had plus 11 from the first game and No.1 from the regular season with impressive 7-1 record, Swisslions Takovo, was not able to reach it. Actually the host had a chance at the very end, but Sasa Ocokoljic (183-G-76, agency: Beo Basket) missed a tough 3-pointer. Radovan Markovic (194-G-82) grabbed the ball, but he also was unsuccessful. Ocokoljic top-scored for Swisslions with 25 points (also had 5 boards and 6 assists). Above mentioned Markovic added 15 and Vladimir Vlaskovic (197-G-77) netted 13 points. Dusan Katnic (193-G-89) once again was a key player for Mega Hypo Leasing. He drained 20 points, grabbed 7 rebounds and dished out 6 assists. Katnic was the first option in offense for Mega HL drawing many fouls by the hosts and making 14 of 20 from the line. Uros Nikolic (207-F/C-87) also had important role for the guests registering double-double, 19 points and 11 rebounds. Strahinja Dragicevic (194-F-86) had 19 also, while hero from the first game Stefan Stojacic (195-G-89) this time helped with 12 points. The first semifinal game is scheduled for March 24, when Bulgarian Rilski Sportist will host Mega HL. No.1 from the regular season, Swisslion Takovo, is eliminated. It is important to mention that the hosts had furious third quarter stopping their rivals on just 10 points (19-10). At that point of game it was plus 11 for Swisslions and it seemed that Mega HL slowly looses control on it, but Dusan Katnic was there earning the MVP title in his team.

Swisslions Takovo: Sasa Ocokoljic 25+5 boards+6 as, Radovan Markovic 15, Vladimir Vlaskovic 13
Mega HL: Dusan Katnic 20+7 boards+6 as, Uros Nikolic 19+11 boards, Strahinja Dragicevic 19, Stefan Stojacic 12

Dusan Katnic and Stefan Stojacic shock No.1 Swisslions Takovo in BIBL quarterfinals - Mar. 9, 2009
Balkan League, Quarterfinals: Mega Hypo Leasing - Swisslions Takovo 81-70

Mega Hypo Leasing did a great job in the first quarterfinal game against Swisslions Takovo, who had the best score in BIBL regular season 7-1. Two hot prospects Dusan Katnic (193-G-89) and Stefan Stojacic (195-G-89) were the key players for Mega Hypo Leasing in this game draining 20 points apiece. Two Serbian gold medalists from the FIBA U19 World Championship 2007, U18 European Championship 2007 and another U20 European Championship last summer in Riga brought nice lead to their team before the second game, which is scheduled for Tuesday. Uros Nikolic (207-F/C-87) also shined for the hosts collecting 14 points and 13 rebounds, while Strahinja Dragicevic (194-F-86) had 14 pts and 5 boards. On the other side, Sasa Ocokoljic (183-G-76, agency: Beo Basket) scored 20 points in loss. Radovan Markovic (194-G-82) contributed with 12 pts. Mega Hypo Leasing entered to this game strongly creating 17-13 lead. However, the guests managed to tie the score until the end of the first period to 19-19. Dusan Katnic and Stefan Stojacic stepped up for the hosts in the second frame helping them to grab nice 44-37 lead at the half time. However, No.1 from the regular season once again replied coming to minus 2 before the last 10 minutes. When it was expected that experienced guests take control on Mega HL's youngsters, totally different scenario was seen. Katnic and Stojacic were on fire and together with Uros Nikolic and Strahinja Dragicevic pulled the hosts up to impressive 13 points. Swisslions Takovo managed to score at the buzzer and to cut the margin on 11 pts. As it is mentioned above, the second game is scheduled for Tuesday, March 10th in Vrsac.

Mega HL: Dusan Katnic 20, Stefan Stojacic 20, Uros Nikolic 14+13 boards, Strahinja Dragicevic 14+5 boards
Swisslions Takovo: Sasa Ocokoljic 21, Radovan Markovic 12

Balkan-League Round: 2 (Quarter-Finals) - Mar. 4, 2009
Feni Indistrija - Levski 81-62
Feni Industri demonstrated magnificent performance in Kavadarci today. Levski had 91-75 from the first game in Sophia, but it was not enough against dangerous Mac-champion. Feni grabbed this one with impressive plus 19, what was enough for the Final 4. Zlatko Gocevski (206-C-82, agency: Global Sports Plaza) was on fire for the hosts scoring 27 points. Donald Cole also was hot delivering 3 points less. Taliek Brown this time stopped on 11 pts. Levski's best player was Marcus Hall with 17 points and 5 rebounds. Charles Jones almost registered double-double, 12 points and 9 boards.

Rilski S-list - Radnicki 034 93-67
Rilski Sportist devastated Radnicki 034 Group in Samokov 93-67 advancing to Final 4. It is the second victory for the Bulgarians against Radnicki in seven days. As a reminder, in the first game, which was played in Kragujevac, Rilski celebrated 91-81. Travis Peterson (208-C-85, agency: Edge Sports, college: Samford) shined for the winners today collecting 24 points and 10 rebounds. Bogdan Boev scored 18, while Dragoslav Papic netted 13 points. Ivan Lilov was the last one with double-digits in scoring - 10 pts. On the other side, Danilo Draskovic was better than the others registering 19 points and 10 rebounds. Rajko Kljajevic had 14 and Petar Beader stopped on one point less.

F.Rabotnicki - ChernoMore 81-61
Cherno More didn't survive in Skopje today. The Bulgarians had nice 78-62 from the first leg, but the hosts had strong willingness to grab this one demonstrating pretty good performance, especially at the defensive end. Interesting is that Cherno More scored just 5 points in the second quarter and Rabotnicki created plus 13 already at the half time. Vladimir Filipovic (195-G-85) and Ognen Stojanovski top-scored for the winning squad delivering 14 points each. Danilo Mitrovic had 13 and Dime Taskovski netted 12 pts. Corey McIntosh and Bryce Sheldon answered with 16 points apiece in loss. Dusan Jelic nailed 15.

Swisslions Takovo - Mega Hypo Leasing
The game is scheduled for March 10th.

Balkan-League Round: 1 (Quarter-Finals) - Feb. 27, 2009
Levski - Feni Indistrija 91-75
Levski did a great job in the first quarterfinal game against the Macedonians champion. The team from Sophia nailed 91 points, what was enough plus 16 before the second 40 minutes in Kavadarci. Stefan Georgiev (206-C/F-78, agency: Interperformances) shined for the hosts delivering 28 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. Arnas Kazlauskas also was on high level netting 17, while Marcus Hall 11 points and 7 assists. Dwayne Morton was the last one with double-digits in scoring for the winners - 10 pts. On the other side, Macedonians got 28 points from American Donald Cole. Zlatko Gocevski had 19 and Taliek Brown contributed with 15 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists.

ChernoMore - F.Rabotnicki 78-62
Cherno More is the second Bulgarian representative who celebrated huge win yesterday. With plus 16 Cherno More has a nice chance to get through the quarterfinals, despite the second game will be played in Skopje. As usual, Corey McIntosh (183-G-85, agency: Interperformances, college: Iowa St.) was a key player for the winners nailing 18 points, grabbing 6 rebounds and handing out 6 assists. The big guy Dusan Jelic was behind him with 15 points and 5 boards. Zeljko Bojovic had double-double, 12 points and 15 rebounds, while Bryce Sheldon also scored 12. The loosing squad got 15 points from Ognen Stojanovski and 12 from Dime Tasovski.

Radnicki 034 - Rilski S-list 81-91
Radnicki 034 Group suffered home defeat against Rilski Sportist in the first quarterfinal game. The next one will be played in Samokov, where in the front of its fans Rilski Sportist will have a chance to reach the Final 4. Dragoslav Papic (205-C/F-87, agency: Global Sports Plaza) stepped up for the winners collecting 27 points and 14 rebounds. Branko Mirkovic had 20 and Travis Peterson registered double-double, 15 points and 11 rebounds. Radnicki got the most from Igor Mijajlovic, 20 points and 7 assists. Ivan Milosevic scored 16 coming off the bench, while Danilo Draskovic added 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Mega Hypo Leasing - Swisslions Takovo
The game is scheduled for March 4th.

Travis Peterson - MVP of the Regular Season - Feb. 26, 2009
Bulgarian team Rilski Sportist Samokov topped Group B of the Eurohold Balkan League not only thanks to their team spirit and overal great performance of their squad. There was also an outstanding individual performer for them throughout the 1st phase of the inaugural season of the competition - a young man named Travis Peterson (208-C-85, agency: Edge Sports, college: Samford).

The 23-year old American is deservedly the MVP of the Regular Season of the BIBL 2008/09, based on his average Efficiency rating of 28.1 - almost 5 points more than the second place! Peterson is an exciting prospect, who in his rookie year in Europe after graduating from Samford University is already playing like a seasoned professional. A priority for every opposition team's tactical plan in both the BIBL and the Bulgarian league has been 'How to stop Travis Peterson'. And almost no one has succeeded.

The 208-cm tall center, native of Glendale, AZ, has notched up at least 16 points (an average of 21.4 ppg) in each of his 8 Balkan League Regular Season games, peaking at 31 in the home victory over Dinamo in January. He also grabbed between 8 and 12 rebounds in 7 of his 8 starts - an average of 9.7 rpg over those 7. He only got 2 boards in a game versus the same opponent in Bucharest in mid-october, which was Rilski Sportist Samokov's only poor performace in the BIBL so far and one of their only two defeats. That just goes to show how much of a barometer Travis Peterson has been for his team's level of play.

The young American big man has also shown great range and verstility. He is a regular threat from three-point land, whenever he pops up outside - has an average of 1 triple out of 2.9 attemts per game, impressive stats for a center. He hit an amazing 4/4 from behind the arc in his aforementioned top performance on the 20th of January. Peterson also averages 2.2 assists per game and had 7 in another great individual performance of his - a win over the other Bulgarian team Levski in November. On that night, besides going just 3 assists short of a unique triple-double, he also had 3 steals and 4 blocked shots...

The MVP of the Regular Season runner up, with an average Efficiency rating of 23.4, is another 23-year old center - Romanian giant Ionut Dragusin (221-C-85) of CSU Cuadripol Brasov. Although the team eventually didn't qualify for the Quarterfinals, Dragusin (220 cm) has been a dominant force in the paint throughout the Regular Season with a competition-leading 12.0 rebounds per game, adding also 18.2 points per game and 1.1 blocks per game.

Euroins Cherno More guard Corey McIntosh (183-G-85, agency: Interperformances, college: Iowa St.) is third in the MVP standings with an average Efficiency rating of 21.2. He has posted averages of 25.6 points per game (competition top scorer), 4.6 assists per game and 2.2 steals per game.

Here are all the top performers in each of the 6 individual categories in the BIBL Regular Season:
- Efficiency: Travis Peterson (Rilski Sportist Samokov) - 28.1
- Points: Corey McIntosh (Euroins Cherno More) - 25.6
- Assists: Branko Mirkovic (185-G-82, agency: Global Sports Plaza) (Rilski Sportist Samokov) - 5.2
- Rebounds: Ionut Dragusin (CSU Cuadripol) - 12.0
- Steals: Branko Mirkovic (Rilski Sportist Samokov) - 3.0
- Blocks: Toni Simic (210-C-76, agency: Interperformances) (Fersped Rabotnicki) - 1.6 Source BalkanLeague.net

Balkan-League Round: 10 (Regular Season) - Feb. 19, 2009
Group A ChernoMore - Feni Indistrija 83-74
It was the last game of Round 10. With this victory Cherno More jumped on 4-4 record in Group A ending the regular season on position number 3. Despite this defeat, the second place belongs to Macedonian champion thanks to 87-74 victory in the first game. Corey McIntosh (183-G-85, agency: Interperformances, college: Iowa St.) shined for the Bulgarians delivering 25 points. Atila Santos was behind him with 22 pts in 25 minutes. Julian Radionov, who came off the bench, added 13 points. Visitors got the most from Taliek Brown, 16 points. Milan Prekovic had 15, Goran Samardziev 14 and Donald Cole stopped on 12 pts. Both teams booked a spot for the 1/4 finals.

Radnicki 034 - Swiss.Lions 72-88
Even before this one Swisslions Takovo secured the top of Group B. The guests ended the first stage with almost perfect 7-1 record and they will meet the fourth ranked team from Group B in the quarterfinals. It will be Fersped Rabotnicki or Mega Hypo Leasing. On the other side, Radnicki 034 also booked a spot for the quarterfinals and its rival will be Levski and again Fersped Rabotniki or Mega Hypo Leasing, depends of today's game (Fersped R. - Mega HL). Vladimir Popovic (190-G-82) led the scorers in victory with 19 points. Sasa Ocokoljic followed with 13, while Radovan Markovic added 11 points and 6 boards. Davin White this time stopped on 10 pts. Rajko Kljajevic had double-double in loss, 24 points and 6 boards. Danilo Draskovic had 13 pts and 10 rebs, while Stefan Arnaut contributed with 10 pts.
Group B Dinamo B. - Levski 69-86
Levski cruised past Dinamo in the last game of the BIBL regular season. It means that the Romanian representative ended it as a last-ranked team in Group B with poor 1-7. On the other side, Levski will have to wait tomorrow's game between Fersped Rabotnicki and Mega Hypo Leasing in order to see what place it will take with 4-4. Marcus Hall (185-G-85, college: Colorado) once again top-scored for Levski with 23 points. Stefan Georgiev had 18 and new player Arnas Kazlauskas added two points less. Dinamo got the most from Demetrius Williams, 19 pts and 11 boards. Chris Reaves scored 14 and Kiril Pavlovski contributed with 11 points.

F.Rabotnicki - Rilski S-list 87-92
Rilski Sportist outsmarted Fersped Rabotnicki in Skopje just sealing the first place in Group B with nice 6-2 record. Fersped Rabotnicki will play its do-or-die game tomorrow against Mega Hypo Leasing. The winner of that one will book a spot for the quarterfinals. On the other hand, the losing side will end the competition immediately. Rilski had couple of players in a game mood yesterday. The best one was Dragoslav Papic (205-C/F-87, agency: Global Sports Plaza), who nailed 24 points and pulled down 11 rebounds. Branko Mirkovic also shined delivering 21 pts, while Travis Peterson netted one point less than him. Dime Tasovski for the hosts netting 20 pts. Toni Simic had 17 points and Bojan Trajkovski added 14 pts, plus 9 rebs.

Fersped Rabotnicki lands Aleksandar Ugrinoski - Feb. 13, 2009
KK Fersped-Rabotnicki Skopje announced signing of guard Aleksandar Ugrinoski (192-G-88, agency: Interperformances). 20-year old player joined Rabotnicki from NBDL's Anaheim Arsenal. Actually, Ugrinoski supposed to play this season for the Arsenal, which picked him last summer on NBDL Draft, but he parted ways with the team in November. Season 07/08 he spent in Utah Flash averaging 2.2 ppg and 1.6 apg in 18 NBDL games. Ugrinoski grew up as a player in Croatian Cibona. In October 2006 he moved to Austrian Arkadia Lions. For 15 games in the first stage of A Bundesleague he had 4.6 ppg and 1.8 rpg. In the second phase with the Lions Ugrinoski's number decreased, 1.4 ppg. In 2007 he participated at the Nike Summit Hoop in USA. With Croatian U16 National Team he played at the European Championship 2004 in Greece. Two years later he appeared with U18 NT on EC in Belgrade.
Aleksandar Ugrinoski already made his debut in BIBL scoring 7 points against Levski. He came off the bench having 2/2 FG and just 1 of 5 from behind the arc. He got 18 minutes from the coach Marin Dokuzovski.

Balkan-League Round: 9 (Regular Season) - Feb. 12, 2009
Group A CSU Brasov - ChernoMore 80-82
Cherno More grabbed tiny road victory against the Romanian CSU Brasov improving on 3-4 record in Group A. Corey McIntosh (183-G-85, agency: Interperformances, college: Iowa St.) led the scorers in victory with 16 points. He also dished put 9 assists beside that. Bryce Sheldon had 14 and Nikolay Kolev helped with one point less. On the other side LeRoy Dawson (188-G-81, college: S.Nazarene), who came off the bench, collected 20 points and 9 rebounds. Ionut Dragusin also shined registering double-double, 17 points and 18 boards. As Dragusin, Rashaun Brodaus stopped on 17 pts. His CSU Brasov ended the season as a last ranked team in Group A with 2-6.

Swiss.Lions - Feni Indistrija 106-72
Swisslions Takovo blasted the reigning Mac-champion Feni Industri 106-72. It is the 6th win by the Serbian representative in Group A. Radovan Markovic (194-G-82) came up with 21 points for the hosts. Branko Jorovic (205-F-81, agency: Beo Basket) had 19, while Dusan Knezevic helped with double-double, 16 points and 11 rebounds. Donald Cole (204-C-81, agency: Edge Sports, college: Sam Houston St.) was totally the best player in defeat delivering 34 pts (5 triples). Goran Samardziev stopped on 14. Their Feni Industri fell on 4-3.
Group B F.Rabotnicki - Levski 98-88
Fersped Rabotnicki was too strong for Bulgarian Levski draining 98 points in total. With this victory the team from Skopje jumped on 4-2 in Group B having a chance to reach the second place at the end of the regular season. Ognen Stojanovski (189-G-85) paced the hosts to victory collecting 26 points and 9 assists. Dime Tasovski was behind him with 20 pts and 6 as. Levski got the most from Stefan Georgiev, 19 points and 6 boards. Macus Hall netted 2 points less. Their Levski dropped on 3-4.

Rilski S-list - Mega HL 97-96
This game was the very first one in BIBL played on October 7th, 2008. Rilski grabbed lucky victory scoring a triple at the buzzer. Branko Mirkovic (185-G-82, agency: Global Sports Plaza) netted 19 points for the hosts. Mega Hypo Leasing got 25 pts and 7 boards from Stefan Stojacic (195-G-89).

Young Stefan Stojacic leads Mega HL to quarterfinals of Balkan league  - Feb. 4, 2009
Mega Hypo Leasing celebrated in extremely important game against the Romanian Dinamo Bucharest 82-74. It was postponed match of Balkan League - Round 8. After this victory Mega HL moved up on the second place in Group B booking a spot for the quarterfinals. The team from Belgrade now has 4-3.

First quarter was totally leveled, 20-20. Young Serbian prospect Stefan Stojacic (195-G-89) was of fire making his third triple at the beginning of the second quarter for 26-24. Stojacic had 11 points until that moment. Dinamo was good enough to stay within minus 3 until the half time (40-37). Third quarter was the crucial one for Mega HL. The Serbians scored 25 points in 10 minutes, while Dinamo had 19. Until the end Dinamo threatened few times coming on minus 5. However, the young players of Mega HL had strong willingness to take this one and to secure a spot for the next stage.

Stefan Stojacic led the scorers in with 19 points. Aleksandar Mitrovic (201-G-90) followed him with 13 pts. Veteran Stojadin Markovic (200-F-69) posted 19 points in Dinamo, while Macedonian Kiril Pavlovski (210-C-85, agency: Global Sports Plaza) had 14 points. Mega HL will play one more game until the end of the regular season, against Rabotnicki on February 19th.

Balkan-League Round: 8 (Regular Season) - Jan. 29, 2009
Group A ChernoMore - Swiss.Lions 71-98
Swisslions cruised past Cherno More in Bulgaria registering the fifth win in BIBL. It means that the Serbian representative remains on top of Group A with nice 5-1 record. On the other hand, Cherno More dropped on 2-4 staying the last ranked team in the group. Sasa Ocokoljic (183-G-76, agency: Beo Basket) was drained 24 points for 33 minutes. Ocokoljic also dished out 6 assists to his teammates. Radovan Markovic nailed 15, while Ntousan Koutsopoulos helped with 13 points and 9 boards. Dusan Knezevic scored 12 points, also missing one board for double-double. Cherno More got the most from Corey McIntosh led the scorers in this game with 29 points (also had 7 rebs). Simeon Tsenov had 19 pts and 9 boards and Bryce Sheldon contributed with 14 pts in loss.

Radnicki 034 - CSU Brasov 79-77
It was an early game of Round 8 played on December 18th. Radnicki 034 was better thanks to Danilo Draskovic, who nailed 24 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Petar Beader also was on high level adding 16 pts and 8 boards. CSU Brasov got 20 points and impressive 20 rebounds from the big guy Ionut Dragusin. Radnicki 4-4, CSU Brasov 2-6.

Group B Levski - Rilski S-list 75-73
Levski grabbed important home victory against the second Bulgarian representative in Group B - Rilski Sportist. The hosts celebrated in thriller after nice played second half of the game, 40-32. With this victory Levski improved on 3-3 in the group, while Rilski fell on 5-2. However, despite this defeat Rilski Sportist remains the top-ranked team with 5-1. Stefan Georgiev was a key player for Levski collecting 23 points and 14 rebounds. Dwayne Morton also shined adding 16 points and 10 boards, while Stanislav Slaveykov had 16 pts. Zlatin Georgiev helped the winners with 12 pts and 8 rebs. On the other side, Dragoslav Papic answered for Rilski with 19 pts and 6 boards. Travis Peterson scored 16, plus 12 rebs, while Ivan Lilov stopped on 13 pts.

Mega HL - Dinamo B.
Scheduled for February 3rd.

Balkan-League Round: 7 (Regular Season) - Jan. 22, 2009
Group A CSU Brasov - Feni Indistrija 87-86
CSU Brasov managed to crush the Macedonian champion handing it the second defeat in Group A this season. At the same time it is the second victory for the Romanians. Ionut Dragusin (221-C-85) was totally the best player CSU Brasov delivering 29 points and grabbing 9 rebounds. Zoran Milovic helped with 20 pts, coming off the bench. LeRoy Dawson scored 11 and Enes Hadjubulic stopped on 10 pts. The Mac-champion got 25 points from the American Donald Cole. He also pulled down 6 rebounds beside that. Milan Prekovic netted 16, while Goran Samardizev added 12 pts.

Radnicki 034 - ChernoMore 78-63
Radnicki 034 grabbed third victory in Balkan league this season. It was the game of Round 7 meaning that Radnicki currently has 3-4 record. On the other side, the Bulgarians slipped on 2-3 and they are currently on the fourth place in Group A. Rajko Kljajevic led Radnicki 034 collecting 27 points and 9 rebounds. Uros Duvnjak was behind him with 17 points, 6 rebs and 8 assists. Danilo Draskovic added 15 pts and 8 boards. Cherno More got the most points from Corey McIntosh - 16. Nikolay Kolev had 15 and missed just one board for double-double. Atila Santos and Aleksandar Yanev contributed with 12 and 11 points respectively in defeat.

Group B Rilski S-list - Dinamo B. 91-75
Rilski Sportist continued with victories in Balkan league. After 4-1 during the first half of the season, Rilski outplayed Dinamo Bucharest in the first game in 2009. With this victory Rilski most probably secured the first place in Group B. On the other side, the Romanian representative is on the bottom with 1-5. Travis Peterson was a key player for the hosts. He nailed 31 points and pulled down 11 rebounds, registering the only double-double in this game. Dragoslav Papic helped the winners with 18 points and 7 boards, while Ivan Lilov added 12 pts. Branko Mirkovic also was on high level collecting 11 points and 8 assists. On the other side, Chris Reaves was unstoppable with 28 points and 5 assists.

Fersped Rabotnicki - Mega HL
The game is rescheduled for February 19th due to lack of heating in Raotnicki's gym.

Balkan-League Round: 6 (Regular Season) - Dec. 19, 2008
Group A Feni Indistrija - Radnicki 034 92-60
Macedonian champion Feni Industri smashed Serbian team Radnicki 034 Group in Kavadarci securing a spot for the BIBL quarterfinals. After 5 appearances Macedonians have almost perfect 4-1 record in Group A. On the other side, Radnicki 034 is on poor 1-4. As a remainder, Radnicki celebrated the first win in BIBL last week against Swisslion Takovo. American Donald Cole once again demonstrated wonderful performance for Feni. He spent 26 minutes on the court nailing 18 points and pulling down 9 rebounds. Zlatko Gocevski also shined collecting 16 points and 5 boards. Gjorgi Cekovski and Marjan Gjurov helped with 13 points each. Radovan Pesic contributed with 13 points in loss. The last one with double-digits in scoring for Radnicki was Ivan Milosevic, 10 points.

Swiss.Lions - CSU Brasov 76-55
CSU Brasov couldn't handle Swisslion Takovo on the road suffering the fourth defeat in Balkan league, Group A. On the other hand, the Serbian representative already booked a spot for the quarterfinals. Brasov and Radnicki 034 are at the bottom of Group A with 1-4. Radovan Markovic shined for the winners delivering 18 points. Vladimir Popovic helped him with 14, while Nemanja Kovacevic had 12 pts. The hosts got 14 points and 8 boards from Sasa Mijajlovic. Andrei Mandache, who scored 13 pts, was the last one with more than 10. Alex Hartman stopped on 8 pts.

Group B Dinamo B. - F.Rabotnicki 66-72
Fersped Rabotnicki grabbed very important road victory against the Romanian Dinamo Bucharest. With this win Rabotnicki jumped on third place in Group B with 3-2 record. Dinamo remains the last ranked team in the group with only 1 win in 5 appearances. Toni Grncarov was the best scorer in Rabotnicki with 16 points. Toni Simic registered the only double-double in both teams, 12 points and 11 boards. Ognen Stojanovski netted 12, while Dime Tasovski helped the winners with 10 points. Dinamo got 13 pts from Razvan Popa. Viorel Mocanu and Kiril Pavlovski posted 12 apiece. It is important to mention it's the second win for Rabotnicki vs Dinamo this season.

Mega HL - Levski 71-79
Levski cruised past Mega HL on the road mostly owing to Marcus Hall's 25 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists. Stanislav Slaveykov followed him with 6 pts and 7 rebs. Mega HL got 16 points and 9 boards from Uros NIkolic.

Balkan-League Round: 5 (Regular Season) - Dec. 11, 2008
Group A Swiss.Lions - Radnicki 034 72-77
In Serbian derby of Balkan league - Round 5, Radnicki 034 Group managed to grab the first win. Its rival was dangerous Swisslion Takovo, who despite this defeat remains on top of Group A with 3-1 record. Actually, the same numbers also has Macedonian champ Feni Industri. Radnicki is at the bottom of the group with 1-3, together with Romanian representative CSU Cuadripol. The winners had only two players with double-digits in scoring, and it was enough. Rajko Kljajevic delivered 27 points and grabbed 5 boards, while Uros Duvnjak scored one point less than him. Ex member of Serbian National Team, Branko Jorovic, shined in Swisslion adding 14 points and 7 rebounds. Vladimir Popovic also had 14 points, while Radovan Markovic netted 10.

Feni Indistrija - ChernoMore 87-74
Macedonian champion is back in the winning track. After defeat in the last round against Swisslion Takovo, Feni industri managed to beat Cherno More in Kavadarci jumping on 3-1 record in Group A. On the other side, Bulgarians dropped on 2-2. Milan Prekovic top-scored for the winning squad draining 25 points for 32 minutes (5 triples). Donald Cole came up with 22 points and 6 boards, while Gjorgi Cekovski helped the hosts with 10 points and 6 rebounds. Corey McIntosh was totally the best player of this game. He spent almost the entire time on the court pouring in 34 points. Interesting is that the only one with double-double last night was Atila Santos, 13 points and 12 rebounds. Nikolay Kolev stopped on 9 points and 9 boards for the visitors.

Group B Rilski S-list - F.Rabotnicki 72-65
Rilski Sportist continued with nice performance in Balkan league. This time the team from Samokov was better than Fersped Rabotnicki 72-65. It means that Bulgarian squad is the only one with 4 wins in Group B. Mega Hypo Leasing is has one win less, but in 6 appearances (Rilski has 5). Travis Peterson was a key player for the host nailing 20 points and missing only one board for double-double. Ivan Lilov came up with 14 points and 5 rebounds, while Dragoslav Papic contributed with 12 points and 6 rebs. Macedonians got the most from Bojan Trajkovski, 20 points and 5 boards. Vladimir Filipovic scored 18 and Dime Tasovski had 2 points less in defeat. Fersped Rabotnicki is currently on 2-2.

Levski - Dinamo B. 102-73
Levski smashed Dinamo in Sophia with plus 29 jumping on 2-3 record in Group B. On the other side, Romanian representative dropped at the bottom of the standings with just 1 win in 4 appearances. Marcus Hall top-scored for the wining squad delivering 26 points. Asen Velikov was behind him adding 20 points and 6 boards. Nikolay Varbanov and Tsvetelin Ivanov helped netting 14 pts apiece. Viorel Mocanu was totally the best player for the loosing side registering double-double, 22 points and 10 rebounds. Kiril Pavlovski had 12, while Mihail-Octavian Paul stopped on 11 points.

Christopher Schlatter agrees with German EnBW Ludwigsburg - Dec. 10, 2008
Christopher Schlatter (203-F-81, college: Washington St.) moved from Serbian team Mega Hypo Leasing to German EnBW Ludwigsburg. 27-year old American supposes to replace De'Angelo Alexander, who suffered shoulder injury and will be sidelined for at least a month.
Christopher Schlatter arrived to Mega HL during the summer. He appeared 12 times in Serbian A league averaging 5.2 ppg and 2.5 rpg. He also played 4 games in Balkan league with much better digits, 10.8 ppg and 5.8 rpg. Schlatter already has experience from Germany as he spent 06/07 season in 2. Bundesleague team TSV Troester Breitenguessbach. In 10 games he added 12.5 ppg, 4.6 rpg and 1.9 apg. Previous one he missed due to knee injury. In the past Christopher Schlatter also played in Luxemburg and Portugal. He graduated at Washington State University in 2005.

Meanwhile, Serbian representatives in Balkan league are getting ready for today. Actually, we will have a derby between Swisslion Takovo and Radnicki 034 Group. The match is scheduled for 18:30h in Vrsac. Third Serbian team in BIBL, Mega Hypo Leasing, is free in this round.

Balkan-League Round: 4 (Regular Season) - Nov. 19, 2008
Feni Indistrija - Swiss.Lions 70-75
Swisslion Takovo cruised past Macedonian champion Feni industri in Kavadarci remaining undefeated in Group A with 3-0 record. At the same time it is the first failure for Feni, who is currently on the second place with 2-1. The same numbers also has Euroins Cherno More. Milos Marjanovic led the scorers in Swisslion with 18 points. Sasa Ocokoljic netted 15, while Radovan Markovic delivered 11 points. Taliek Brown posted 12, while Gjorgi Cekovski contributed with 10 points in defeat.

Levski - F.Rabotnicki 74-83
Fersped Rabotnicki surprised Levski on the road improving on 2-1 record in Group B. On the other hand, Bulgarian representative remains winless yet. As a reminder, Levski shocked reigning Bulgarian champion Lukoil Akademik in the last round of domestic championship becoming the first team who succeeded to do it since October 26th, 2006. However, Macedonians were on a pretty high level today, while Levski clearly wasn't ready to compete against them, at least in the first half. Toni Simic shined for the winners collecting 23 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Dime Tasovski and Ognen Stojanovski followed him adding 17 points apiece. Marcus Hall once again was better than the others in Levski draining 22 points. Asen Velikov had 15, while Stefan Georgiev contributed with 14 points and 7 rebounds.

Mega HL - Rilski S-list 84-85
Serbian team Mega Hypo Leasing really don't have luck against Bulgarian Rilski Sportist this season. In their first match in Samokov (the season opener), Bulgarians were better by one single point. That game was decided in overtime, actually in the last second, when Aleksandar Gruev drained a long range triple for a big joy of Rilski's fans. Today Rilski succeeded to grab another extremely tiny victory thanks to Leven Belberov, who made a basket with 1.7 seconds to go. With this win Bulgarian team improved on 3-1, while Serbians slipped on 3-2. Travis Peterson shined for the winners registering 25 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Branko Mirkovic netted 17 points and dished out 6 assists, while Bogdan Boev stopped on 15 points. Mega Hypo Leasing got 17 points from young prospect Aleksandar Mitrovic. American Christopher Schlatter posted 16 points and grabbed 4 rebounds, while Igor Mijajlovic added 10.

ChernoMore - CSU Brasov 104-96
Another victory by the Bulgarian teams in BIBL today. Euroins Cherno More succeeded to score 104 points against Romanian CSU Cuadripol at home, what was more than enough for the second win in Group A (2-1). Corey McIntosh was a key player of the game for Cherno More draining 30 points and dishing out 7 assists. Three points less than him had Zeljko Bojovic, while Atila Santos finished the game with double-double, 21 points and 11 boards. Romanian representative got 31 points and 5 rebounds from Enes Hadjibulic. Alex Hartman had 19, while Ionut Dragusin added 16 points and 14 rebs. CSU Cuadripol currently has 1-3.

Rabotnicki surprises Levski in Sophia - Nov. 18, 2008
Levski - Fersped Rabotnicki 74-83

Fersped Rabotnicki surprised Levski on the road improving on 2-1 record in Group B. On the other hand, Bulgarian representative remains winless yet. As a reminder, Levski shocked reigning Bulgarian champion Lukoil Akademik in the last round of domestic championship becoming the first team who succeeded to do it since October 26th, 2006. However, Macedonians were on a pretty high level today, while Levski clearly wasn't ready to compete against them, at least in the first half. Toni Simic (210-C-76, agency: Interperformances) shined for the winners collecting 23 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Dime Tasovski (201-F-80, agency: Interperformances) and Ognen Stojanovski (189-G-85) followed him adding 17 points apiece. Marcus Hall (185-G-85, college: Colorado) once again was better than the others in Levski draining 22 points. Asen Velikov (188-G-86) had 15, while Stefan Georgiev (206-C/F-78, agency: Interperformances) contributed with 14 points and 7 rebounds.
Fersped Rabotnicki controlled rhythm of the game form the early beginning. During the opening ten minutes they succeeded to stop Levski on just 10 points, 10-16. Second quarter was even better for Macedonians. Toni Simic was in a game mood leading his team to huge plus 17 until the half time, 26-43. The players of head coach Konstantin Papazov woke up after that having wonderful third frame, 24-11. However, when it was expected that Levski will go even stronger in the last 10 minutes, that didn't happen. Macedonians were good enough to end it with plus 5 celebrating the second victory this season.

Levski: Marcus Hall 22, Asen Velikov 15, Stefan Georgiev 14+7 boards
Fersped Rabotnicki: Toni Simic 23+6 boards+4 as, Dime Tasovski 17+6 boards, Ognen Stojanovski 17

Regular season, round 2  - Oct. 16, 2008
Dinamo Bucharest - Rilski Sportist 88-79
Romanian Dinamo Bucharest made it for the first time in Balkan league. It means that both teams currently have one win and one defeat. Everything started good for Bulgarians. They took control on Dinamo from the early beginning taking 9 point lead after 10 minutes, 17-26. Nothing has changed after that. Actually Dinamo slightly improved but on the other side Travis Peterson (208-C-85, agency: Edge Sports, college: Samford) and Ivan Lilov (196-F/G-88, agency: FCM) continued in the same rhythm extending lead of their team to 10 until the half time. At that point of game it seemed that Rilski Sportist is much closer to victory. However, the hosts didn't have the same thoughts. Chris Reaves (191-G-84, agency: N.E.T., college: Chaminade) and Miro Vranjic (201-F-83, agency: Court Side) woke up and together with their teammates netted amazing 33 points in third quarter. Bulgarians had many problems at the defensive end during the entire second half. When it was expected that Rilski recover from this shock and come back into the game, that didn't happen. Romanians ended last quarter 24-17 celebrating comfortable victory at the end. Chris Reaves was totally the best player for the winning team adding 23 points and 5 boards. Miro Vranjic contributed 19 points and 7 rebounds while Macedonian Kiril Pavlovski (210-C-85, agency: Global Sports Plaza) had 13 points and 8 boards. Travis Peterson drained 18 points in Rilski. Ivan Lilov was behind him with 15 points, 5 boards and 6 assists.

Thriller win for Mega HL in Balkan league, round 1 - Oct. 10, 2008
Mega Hypo Leasing finally made it this season. After two defeats in Serbian A1 league and one totally unlucky in Balkan league on Tuesday, Belgrade's team celebrated in Sophia against Levski 81-80. Bulgarians were much better at the beginning. Marcus Hall (185-G-85, college: Colorado) and Stefan Georgiev (206-C/F-78, agency: Interperformances) made few baskets leading their team to plus 8 after ten minutes, 21-13. Very soon Mega HL demonstrated some of its qualities but still not enough to get any closer until the half time. Totally different picture was seen on the court after the breather. Mega HL was the team which controlled rhythm of the game. Poing guard Igor Mijajlovic (193-G-84, agency: Beo Basket) and experienced Miroslav Markovic (201-F-75, agency: Beo Basket) stepped up for their team and together with young Stefan Stojacic (195-G-89) and Christopher Schlatter (203-F-81, college: Washington St.) drained 29 points in third frame. On the other side Bulgarians couldn't handle Mega's pressure in defense making few mistakes. At the same time Levski missed few important shots ended third quarter with only 13. However, Levski didn't give up and mostly owing to Marcus Hall grabbed 80-78 with 20 seconds remaining. It seems that luck was on Mega's side last night as after time out Miroslav Markovic took the ball pulling up a jump shot from behind the arc and fortunately to visitors it was the successful one.
Igor Mijajlovic netted 19 points and dished out 5 assists for the winners. Miroslav Markovic also scored 19 including this winning triple at the very end. Stefan Stojacic had 11 points and 4 boards while Christopher Schlatter stopped on 10 points and 6 rebounds. Marcus Hall shined for the hosts with 26 points and boards. Stefan Georgiev also registered double-double, 18 points and 14 rebounds.

Levski - Mega Hypo Leasing 80-81
(21-13, 21-21, 13-29, 25-18)

Levski: Hall 26 (10 rebs), Georgiev 18 (14 rebs), Slaveykov 10 (10 rebs)
Mega HL: Mijajlovic 19 (5 as), Markovic 19, Stojacic 11 (4 rebs), Schlatter 10 (6 rebs)

Round 1, Wednesday's games  - Oct. 9, 2008
Radnicki 034 Group - Feni Industri 63-74
Radnicki 034 Group faced with home defeat against Macedonian champion Feni Industri. Players of head coach Emil Rajkovic had pretty good start. After just nine minutes, they created plus 13. Very soon first quarter ended 17-28. Serbians somehow recovered from this shock showing slightly better performance in the second frame. However, they couldn't find a solution how to stop American Donald Cole (204-C-81, agency: Edge Sports, college: Sam Houston St.) of Feni. Rajko Kljajevic (204-F-85, agency: Interperformances) was maybe the only one ready to compete against Feni leading his team to 21-20 in this period. Following 20 minutes didn't change anything. Feni Industri successfully kept its lead until the very end. Actually, at the middle of the last quarter Radnicki came on minus 6 but that was its maximum in this game. Donald Cole led Feni to win scoring 26 points. Goran Samardziev (188-G-81) was behind him with 13. Marjan Gjurov (201-F-80) and experienced Serbian player Milan Prekovic (195-G/F-75) netted 11 points each. Rajko Kljajevic scored 14 points for the loosing side. Veteran PG Radovan Pesic (186-G-72, agency: Beo Basket) stopped on 10.

Radnicki 034: Rajko Kljajevic 14, Radovan Pesic 10
Feni Indistri: Donald Cole 26, Goran Samardziev 13, Marjan Gjurov 11, Milan Prekovic 11