Levski was one shot away of winning the Cup of Bulgaria in Samokov for the season 2011/12. In an extraordinary match, 'Blues' had a several chances to get a win against a big rival Lukoil Academic, but at the end lost by two points difference 81-83. Same as the game in in 2011 the two teams have made a unique finish, and finally with a great deal of happiness and the obvious referee support in the second half Lukoil Academic once again is the winner of the Cup.
Already in the first minutes of the meeting the two teams played a very high level, exchanging the lead few times and tie the score in the final minute of the first ten, 19-19. However both Lukoil and Levski missed few good chances before two free throws by Damjan Stojanovski gave advance of 21-19 for Lukoil, while Jarrett Howell has failed to do the best in the final shot in favor of 'blues' .
Levski made a series of 9-0 in the middle of the second quarter and led by 38-30. By the end of first half, however with few three point shots of Bruno Sundov Lukoil Academic brought the score down to 1 point. Basket at the end of second quarter by Aaron Harper showed 42-39 for Levski at the break.
Brandon Heath (193-G-84, college: San Diego St.) and Lamont Mack had 10 apiece in the first half, while Harper was the best scorer for Levski with 11 points.
Thanks to the big fighter Vasil Evtimov Levski managed to keep ahead in the early stages of second half, but once again two shots each behind the line by Mack and Sundov got them back in the game. Eventually Lukoil Academic put more points in the board of that third quarter but that was not only thanks to their players but by the officials in the game Lukoil Academic amazingly didnt get any fouls by the referees in the third quarter despite playing very tough defense as usual. That is how at the end of third quarter the result of 61-57 was already in favor of Lukoil Academic.
Lukoil led up to the middle of last quarter, but Levski players showed character and leveled to 68-68 with just 5.13 minutes before the end of game. Just a minute before the end of Heath scored 80-76, and then Aaron Harper was fouled, but managed to score only one free throw. In the counter-attack Lamont Mack made a turnover, Marcus Hall stole and finished to get his team back to only a point of difference in favor of Lukoil, 32.8 seconds remaining. The ball was for Lukoil, but Andre Owens throwed the ball away and Levski had their opportunity. In the first attack for Levski, Hrisimir Dimitrov failed to score as was fouled by Sundov and Levski didnt get the call, then Jarrett Howell missed his chance to be a hero with wide open shot behind the 3 point line. Bojidar Avramov took the rebound and was fouled, and succeeded in his second attempt from the line - 81-79 for Lukoil with 10.8 seconds remaining. In the last attack for Levski Harper was fouled, but he missed both free throws. Brandon Heath was succesfull from the charity stripe before Pavel Ivanov fix the final score - 83-81.
Aaron Harper scored 16 for Levski, Vasco Evtimov finished with a fantastic 14 points and 17 rebounds, but that didnt help the team to get the Cup.
Brandon Heath scored 31 points and handled six assists, Mack added 18 and Sundov finished with 14.
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Basketball United launches a crowdfunding for crowdmanagement campaign - May 22, 2013
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www.Basketball-United.com will establish the first in the world basketball team, which will be crowdmanaged online by basketball people from around the world.
The start-up has launched a crowdfunding campaign with the intention to raise $85,000 in the next 40 days. If their campaign is successful, they will receive additional funding from a private investor, which will ensure the budget of the basketball team for its first season. You can check it out here:
http://www [read more]
www.Basketball-United.com will establish the first in the world basketball team, which will be crowdmanaged online by basketball people from around the world. The start-up has launched a crowdfunding campaign with the intention to raise $85,000 in the next 40 days. If their campaign is successful, they will receive additional funding from a private investor, which will ensure the budget of the basketball team for its first season. You can check it out here: http://www.thrillpledge.com/projects/crowdsource-and-manage-a-pro-basketball-team We are receiving positive feedback from all over the world. Basketball fans are very intelligent and knowledgeable of the game, and they have expressed their interest and support in our innovative team, states Valentin Mitov who is one of the co-founders and also the CEO. Now, we are launching this crowdfunding campaign, and we hope that the basketball community will support us. In return, we have managed to provide very cool and valuable rewards for them. Basketball United has already managed to attract corporate partners, such as http://s2h.com and http://itsmyplay.com and is in the process of negotiating with other interested parties.
About Basketball United Basketball United is a project of Bulgarian start-up company Reality Sport Ltd. The companys main goal is to disrupt the professional sports- entertainment industry by allowing sports fans to become sports directors (FanManagers). http://Basketball-United.com will provide the FanManagers with voting platform, full statistics, videos of practices and games, and interviews with players and coaches. Everyone who loves the sport of basketball and has an internet connection may register, vote, manage and support this unique professional basketball team, regardless of his or her nationality. In addition, all FanManagers of the team will be able to compete against each other in the first in the world Reality basketball manager game. The FanManagers with the highest ranking will be recognized each month of the basketball season and will be awarded cash prizes. Fantasy sports games are already very popular, but we believe that a REALITY sports game will take the sports-entertainment and gaming industries to another level, says Mr. Mitov. We believe that our innovative team management model will be not only more fan-friendly, but also more successful, and will soon be adopted by other sports teams around the world.
For more information, please contact: Mr. Alex Sandov PR Manager Reality Sport Ltd. 45 Veslets str. Sofia 1202 Bulgaria Tel: 00359887726388 e-mail: pr@basketball-united.com
Earl Rowland selected the top Bulgarian playing abroad in last week's games - May 21, 2013
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We bring you last week's top performances from Bulgarians who are playing abroad and who all have had prior experience of national team duties at youth or senior level. This week's number one is former international guard Earl Rowland (188-83), who plays in Latvia. He could not help VEF Riga (11-7) in their last game. Despite Rowland's very good performance the fourth-placed VEF Riga was crushed 104-82 on the road by the leading Khimky in the group B of VTB United League.
[read more]
We bring you last week's top performances from Bulgarians who are playing abroad and who all have had prior experience of national team duties at youth or senior level.
#1. This week's number one is former international guard Earl Rowland (188-83, college: St.Mary's, CA, currently plays in VTB United League), who plays in Latvia. He could not help VEF Riga (11-7) in their last game. Despite Rowland's very good performance the fourth-placed VEF Riga was crushed 104-82 on the road by the leading Khimky in the group B of VTB United League.
He was the top scorer with 20 points. Rowland also added 5 rebounds and dished 3 assists in 25 minutes on the court.
It's Rowland's first season with the team.
Rowland belongs to league's top scorers (ranked #2) and also on the list of best passers (fifth place).
He has individually a very good year with high stats. Rowland averages: 16.3ppg, 5.5rpg, 5.4apg, 1.9spg, 2FGP: 57.3%(125-218), 3FGP: 27.7% and FT: 81.8% in the 23 games he played so far.
He is a naturalized American.
Rowland played for the Bulgarian senior national team two years ago.
Strangely he has never played in Bulgaria.
#2. Second place goes to former international power forward Dejan Ivanov (205-86, agency: Beo Basket, currently plays in Italy). Ivanov contributed to a Cimberio Varese's victory against the eighth-ranked Umana Venezia (16-14) 84-75 in the Italian SerieA last Saturday.
He scored 10 points and grabbed 9 rebounds in 18 minutes.
Cimberio Varese (23-7) is placed first in the SerieA.
It was his team's third consecutive victory in a row.
This year Ivanov's overall stats are: 4.8ppg, 7.0rpg, 1.8spg, 2FGP: 31.6% and FT: 53.8% in the four games.
He played for the Bulgarian national team in 2011.
#3. The Bulgarian player who performed third best last week abroad was former international guard Earl Calloway (191-83, college: Indiana, currently plays in Spain). Calloway was not able to help Unicaja Malaga (18-16) in their game against Regal FC Barcelona (23-11) in the Spanish ACB.
He recorded 5 points and grabbed 6 rebounds.
Unicaja Malaga was defeated 57-50 in Barcelona by the higher-ranked Regal FC (#3).
They ended the series of four consecutive victories.
The Regular Season already ended.
Calloway's total stats this season are: 6.8ppg, 3.3rpg, 2.1apg, 1.1spg, 2FGP: 44.0%, 3FGP: 29.1% and FT: 84.8%.
He is a naturalized American.
Calloway played for the Bulgarian national team three years ago.
Apparently he has never played in Bulgaria.
#4. An experienced small forward Filip Videnov (196-80, agency: Alti Sport, college: W.Kentucky, currently plays in Turkey), who plays in the Turkish TBL was not able to secure a victory for Olin Edirne (8-22) in their last game. Despite Videnov's very good performance Olin Edirne was crushed 81-60 at home by the much higher-ranked (#5) Karsiyaka.
He was the top scorer with 17 points. Videnov also added 6 rebounds and dished 6 assists in 31 minutes.
The Regular Season already ended.
Videnov has very impressive stats this year: 15.7ppg, 3.7rpg and 3.3apg in the 15 games.
He is also Bulgarian national team player.
#5. International shooting guard Ivan Lilov (196-88, currently plays in Romania) helped Gaz Metan win their game against the 14th-ranked Oradea (0-27) 79-72 in the Romanian Liga Nationala on Monday night.
He scored 10 points in 21 minutes.
CS Gaz Metan Medias (20-10) is placed fifth in the Liga Nationala.
This year Lilov's total stats are: 9.8ppg, 2.9rpg, 2.2apg and 1.2spg in the 21 games.
He plays currently for the Bulgarian national team.
#6. Guard Roderick Blakney (184-76, college: S.Carolina St., currently plays in Spain) couldn't help one of league's weakest teams Cajasol (12-22) in their game against Baloncesto Fuenlabrada (12-22) in the Spanish ACB. Blakney cannot count Sunday's game as one of the best ones.
He recorded only 3 points.
Cajasol was defeated 76-68 on their home court in Sevilla by the higher-ranked Baloncesto Fuenlabrada (#14).
The Regular Season already ended.
Blakney has averaged so far 7.1ppg, 1.4rpg and 2.3apg.
He is a naturalized American.
Blakney is a former international player as he played for the Bulgarian senior team six years ago.
Interesting that he has never played in Bulgaria.
#7. Former U20 international guard Georgi Sirakov (186-92, agency: Interperformances, currently plays in Italy), who plays in the Italian Nazionale A (third division) couldn't help Mazzeo San Severo (11-23) in their last game. Despite Sirakov's good performance Mazzeo San Severo lost 61-75 in Ferrara to the higher-ranked (#12) Naturhouse.
He was the second best scorer with 10 points in 20 minutes.
It was Mazzeo San Severo's fourth consecutive loss in a row.
This year Sirakov averages only 8.1ppg in the 35 games.
He used to play for the Bulgarian U20 national team
two years ago.
#8. Forward Aleksandar Georgiev (203-90, also represented by Interperformances, currently plays in Spain) couldn't help Assignia Manresa (6-28) in their game against Valencia Basket (22-12) in the Spanish ACB. Georgiev cannot count Sunday's game as one of the best ones.
He recorded only 2 points.
The bottom-ranked Assignia Manresa was crushed 90-59 in Valencia by the much higher-ranked Basket (#4).
It was Assignia Manresa's fifth consecutive loss in a row.
The Regular Season already ended.
Georgiev has averaged so far 4.1ppg and 2.1rpg.
He plays currently for the Bulgarian national team.
The list of other players, who all have Bulgarian passport but never been selected to any of Bulgarian national teams:
#1.Pero Antic (210-F-82, agency: Beo Basket, currently plays in Greece) contributed to Olympiacos' victory against the 12th-ranked Ilysiakos (7-19) 81-70 in a derby game in the Greek A1 last Thursday.
Antic scored 8 points.
Olympiacos S.F.P. Pireus (25-1) is placed first in the A1.
It was his team's 12th consecutive victory in a row.
They will play only one more game in the Regular Season. And that game will be critical.
Antic's overall stats this season are: 6.3ppg and 3.1rpg.
He has a dual citizenship: FYR Macedonian and Bulgarian.
#2.Kee Kee Clark (180-PG-84, college: St.Peter's, currently plays in Italy) led Umana Venezia to a surprising victory over the league leader Cimberio Varese (23-7) 84-72 in the Italian SerieA on Thursday night.
Clark was MVP of the game. He recorded 18 points, 4 rebounds and 8 assists in 35 minutes.
Umana Reyer Venezia (16-14) is placed eighth in the SerieA.
Clark has relatively good stats this year: 14.2ppg, 2.4rpg, 2.6apg and 1.1spg in the 30 games he played so far.
He is a naturalized American.
Apparently Clark has never played in Bulgaria.
#3.Ilian Evtimov (201-F-83, agency: Fusion Sports, college: N.Carolina St., currently plays in France) was the major contributor in Chalon/Saor's victory against the closely-ranked Chorale de Roanne (17-13) 78-68 in the French ProA in Tuesday night's game.
He recorded 14 points and added 6 assists.
ES Chalon-Sur-Saone (18-12) is placed fourth in the ProA.
Evtimov's overall stats this season are: 9.3ppg, 3.2rpg, 2.0apg and 1.3spg.
He is another player who holds two passports: Bulgarian and French.
#4.Dimitar Karadzovski (190-G-84, agency: Global Sports Plaza, currently plays in FYR Macedonia), who plays in the FYR Macedonian Prva Liga could not help Kozuv (7-3) in their last game on Tuesday. Despite Karadzovski's very good performance Kozuv (#2) was defeated 95-87 on the road by the lower-ranked Fersped-Rabotnicki (#3) in the Places 1-6 group.
He was the top scorer with 16 points. Karadzovski also added 4 passes (was perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line).
Karadzovski is currently second on the league's list of best passers.
He has very reliable stats this season: 12.5ppg, 2.5rpg and 3.8apg.
Karadzovski has both Bulgarian and FYR Macedonian nationalities.
Lukoil Academik and Levski Sofia head to the Finals - May 18, 2013
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Lukoil Academik - Rilski Sportist 86-84 (3-2)
The hosts trailed by 7 points after three quarters before their 28-19 charge, which allowed them to win the game. Lukoil Academik forced 21 Rilski Sportist turnovers. American guard Brandon Heath (193-84, college: San Diego St.) orchestrated the victory by scoring 23 points and 6 assists. The former international point guard Bozhidar Avramov (196-90, agency: Interperformances) contributed with 24 points for the winners [read more]
The hosts trailed by 7 points after three quarters before their 28-19 charge, which allowed them to win the game. Lukoil Academik forced 21 Rilski Sportist turnovers. American guard Brandon Heath (193-84, college: San Diego St.) orchestrated the victory by scoring 23 points and 6 assists. The former international point guard Bozhidar Avramov (196-90, agency: Interperformances) contributed with 24 points for the winners. Lukoil Academik's coach Sasho Vezenkov used an eleven-player rotation in such tough game. American point guard Terry Smith (185-86, college: Mercyhurst) answered with 24 points and naturalized Serbian guard Branko Mirkovic (190-82, agency: Global Sports Plaza) added 17 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists in the effort for Rilski Sportist. Four Lukoil Academik and five Rilski Sportist players scored in double figures. Top scorers: Lukoil Academik: B.Avramov 24+2reb+2ast, B.Heath 23+2reb+6ast, D.Haritopoulos 12+5reb+2ast, V.Veselinov 11+3reb+1ast, T.Massamba 7+4reb+3ast, B.Popovic 7+4reb+1ast Rilski Sportist: T.Smith 24+4reb+1ast, B.Mirkovic 17+6reb+5ast, T.Gugino 12+8reb, A.Caloiaro 10+6reb+3ast, S.Vaklinov 10+7reb+1ast, H.Zahariev 7+1ast
The hosts took control from the first minutes by winning first half. But Balkan won third quarter 29-9. However it was not enough to take a lead and get a victory that evening. The game was decided in the last minutes when Levski Sofia won last quarter 23-20. Balkan was plagued by 26 personal fouls down the stretch. Serbian point guard Marko Marinovic (183-83) stepped up and scored 25 points and 6 assists for the winners and Serbian center Mladen Pantic (209-82, agency: Alti Sport) chipped in 12 points and 6 rebounds. Levski Sofia's coach Konstantin Papazov used entire bench in such tough game. Serbian forward Vladimir Panic (194-82) responded with 14 points and 7 rebounds and the former international guard Jordan Bozov (191-79, agency: Global Sports Plaza) scored 14 points and 6 assists. Four Balkan players scored in double figures. Top scorers: Levski Sofia: M.Marinovic 25+2reb+6ast, N.Protic 14+1reb+1ast, M.Pantic 12+6reb, D.Anguelov 8+4reb, P.Ivanov 7+4reb+1ast, C.Kostov 5+3reb+2ast Balkan: B.Jovovic 15+4reb, J.Bozov 14+3reb+6ast, V.Panic 14+7reb+3ast, U.Petrovic 13+5reb+2ast, M.Marinov 7+1reb+2ast, S.Marinov 6+1reb+2ast
Levski Sofia: took 2nd place (5-3) in Group A of the First Stage, took 1st
place (11-3) in Group C of the Second Stage, lost to Galil Gilboa (ISR) 79-87 in
the Final !!!
Rilski Sportist: took 1st place (5-3) in Group B of the First Stage, took
3rd place (8-6) in Group C of the Second Stage, lost to Levski 74-84 in the
Semifinals !!!
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