NBL Round 2 (Regular Season): Balkan keeps a leadership position

There were only 2 rounds played so far and it's still very beginning of the Regular Season in NBL. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

Balkan defeated Levski in Botevgrad 101-83. Balkan looked well-organized offensively handing out 24 assists. International Aleksandar Stoimenov (198-2001, college: Collin CC, agency: Octagon Europe) scored 25 points, 5 assists and 4 steals to lead the charge for the winners and Cameroonian center Ulrich Chomche (209-2005) chipped in 14 points and 9 rebounds (on 7-of-9 shooting from the field) during the contest. Guard Martin Anguelov (188-2002, college: Stockton) responded with 39 points (!!!) and 6 assists. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Levski will play next round against Shumen trying to get back on the winning streak. Balkan will try to continue on its current victory against Yambol on the road.
The most crucial game of the last round was a loss of CSKA in Samokov. Visitors were rolled over by Rilski 114-76. The former international point guard Deyan Karamfilov (180-1994, agency: BIG) notched 11 points and 9 assists to lead the effort and Hristo Bachkov supported him with 15 points and 8 rebounds. Even 12 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals by guard Ivan Dimitrov (199-2006, agency: BIG) did not help to save the game for CSKA. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Rilski will play against Spartak Pleven on the road in the next round and are hoping to win another game. CSKA will play against Cherno More to get more than just one victory in their record.
Quite upsetting was Akademik's home defeat in a game versus Minyor 2015 who edged hosts 96-93. The best player for the winners was Igor Kesar who had a double-double by scoring 28 points and 10 rebounds (on 11-of-14 shooting from the field). Sean Moore produced 24 points for the hosts. Minyor 2015 will meet at home Beroe in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Akademik will play against Botev in Vratsa and hope to win that game.

There were no shocking results in the other games in round 2: winless Botev lost to Shumen on the opponent's court 84-87. Winless Polytechnica was outscored by Spartak Pleven in a home game 71-102. Winless Yambol lost to undefeated Cherno More on the road 61-87. Winless Beroe lost to undefeated Lokomotiv Pl. on its own court 95-98.



Shumen - Botev 87-84:
Shumen used a home court advantage and edged the opponent from Vratsa 87-84 on Friday night. The best player for the winners was American point guard Zawdie Jackson (183-2002, college: FIU) who scored 36 points (!!!), 5 assists and 4 steals (on 11-of-13 shooting from the field). Guard Kostadin Lazarov (193-2000, agency: BIG) chipped in 17 points and 9 rebounds. American point guard Mark Freeman (180-2000, college: JMU) produced a double-double by scoring 23 points, 5 rebounds and 11 assists and his fellow American import center David Haughton (201-1991, college: Purchase) added 20 points and 6 rebounds (on 8-of-10 shooting from the field) respectively for the guests. Shumen will meet Levski in the next round where they are favorite. Botev will play against Akademik and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Botev: M.Freeman 23+5reb+11ast, D.Haughton 20+6reb, M.Vodenicharski 10+1ast, S.Hinkov 9+1ast, K.Zanov 8+9reb+4ast, K.Vasilev 6+9reb+1ast
Shumen: J.Zawdie 36+2reb+5ast, L.Kostadin 17+9reb+2ast, S.Vladislav 13+9reb+1ast, A.Mike 8+4reb+4ast, H.Alan 7+8reb+2ast, B.Mustafa 4

Polytechnica - Spartak Pleven 71-102:
But Polytechnica was not able to use a home court advantage and was smashed by the opponent from Pleven 102-71 on Saturday night. Spartak Pleven dominated down low during the game scoring 58 of its points in the paint compared to Polytechnica's 26. Spartak Pleven forced 20 Polytechnica turnovers and outrebounded them 41-29 including 29 on the defensive glass. Spartak Pleven looked well-organized offensively handing out 29 assists. The best player for the winners was swingman Aleksandar Matushev (197-2000) who scored 31 points and 8 rebounds. American guard Rollie Worster (193-2000, college: Nebraska) chipped in 12 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists. Guard Vasil Popov (198-2002) produced 15 points and 5 assists and guard Nikola-Aleksandar Zhekov (190-2003) added 11 points and 8 assists respectively for the hosts. Four Polytechnica players scored in double figures. Since the result was very predictable, it gave the chance for the coaches to test many bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Spartak Pleven will meet at home Rilski in the next round and it may be quite challenging game. Polytechnica will play against Lokomotiv Pl. in Plovdiv and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Polytechnica: V.Popov 15+3reb+5ast, L.Glasper 13+2reb+1ast, F.Boskovic 12+2reb, Z.Nikola-Aleksandar 11+3reb+8ast, M.Gum 8+11reb+1ast, I.Korestilov 7+4reb+2ast
Spartak Pleven: M.Aleksandar 31+8reb+2ast, W.Tre 17+8reb, W.Rollie 12+9reb+9ast, S.Aleks 11+1reb+1ast, M.Jalan 9+6reb+8ast, L.Simeon 9+4reb+4ast

Rilski - CSKA 114-76:
The most crucial game of the last round was a loss of CSKA in Samokov. Visitors were rolled over by Rilski 114-76. Rilski dominated down low during the game scoring 64 of its points in the paint compared to CSKA's 42. They outrebounded CSKA 42-31 including 28 on the defensive glass. Rilski players were unselfish on offense dishing 23 assists. They brought some defensive toughness making 8 blocks. CSKA was plagued by 27 personal fouls down the stretch. The former international point guard Deyan Karamfilov (180-1994, agency: BIG) notched 11 points and 9 assists to lead the effort and international forward Hristo Bachkov (200-2004, agency: BIG) supported him with 15 points and 8 rebounds. Even 12 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals by guard Ivan Dimitrov (199-2006, agency: BIG) did not help to save the game for CSKA. Ghanian-American Nana Antwi-Boasiako (206-2002, college: SF Austin) added 11 points and 9 rebounds for the guests. Both teams had five players each who scored in double figures. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Rilski will play against Spartak Pleven on the road in the next round and are hoping to win another game. CSKA will play against Cherno More to get more than just one victory in their record.
Top scorers:
CSKA: A.Aleksandrov 17+1reb, G.Dimov 12+1reb, I.Dimitrov 12+8reb+4ast, M.Rusev 11+4reb+3ast, N.Antwi-Boasiako 11+9reb+1ast, A.Petkov 8+2reb+1ast
Rilski: B.Hristo 15+8reb, Y.Martin 14+3reb+2ast, P.Krasimir 14+1reb+4ast, R.Isaiah 13+8reb+1ast, S.Jackson 13+7reb+2ast, K.Deyan 11+4reb+9ast

Cherno More - Yambol 87-61:
Not a big story in a game in Varna where Yambol was rolled over by Cherno More 87-61 on Sunday. Cherno More forced 21 Yambol turnovers. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 23 assists. Americans were the main players on the court. The best player for the winners was guard Remy Abell (193-1992, college: Xavier, agency: 6th Man Basketball Agency) who scored 22 points. point guard Curtis Jones (194-1997, college: Penn State, agency: BIG) chipped in 18 points. Cherno More's coach Fotis Takianos felt very confident that he used 11 players and allowed the starting five to rest. point guard Jayhlon Young (188-2001, college: Maryland) produced 14 points and 7 rebounds and guard CJ Hardy (190-2003, college: CSUB) added 10 points and 5 assists respectively for the guests. Cherno More will meet CSKA in the next round where they are favorite. Yambol will play against Balkan and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Yambol: J.Young 14+7reb+3ast, B.Mehmed 12+4reb+2ast, C.Hardy 10+4reb+5ast, A.Vachev 9+3reb+1ast, J.Taylor 6+4reb+2ast, K.Penev 4
Cherno More: A.Remy 22+4reb+3ast, J.Curtis 18+4reb+3ast, B.Dachon 11+1reb+4ast, S.Nikolay 11+2reb+3ast, K.Zane 9+4reb, I.Andrey 7+7reb+2ast

Balkan - Levski 101-83:
Balkan defeated Levski in Botevgrad 101-83. Balkan looked well-organized offensively handing out 24 assists. International Aleksandar Stoimenov (198-2001, college: Collin CC, agency: Octagon Europe) scored 25 points, 5 assists and 4 steals to lead the charge for the winners and Cameroonian center Ulrich Chomche (209-2005) chipped in 14 points and 9 rebounds (on 7-of-9 shooting from the field) during the contest. Five Balkan players scored in double figures. Guard Martin Anguelov (188-2002, college: Stockton) responded with 39 points (!!!) and 6 assists and American forward Cadarian Raines (205-1990, college: Virginia Tech, agency: BIG) scored 17 points and 8 rebounds. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Levski will play next round against Shumen trying to get back on the winning streak. Balkan will try to continue on its current victory against Yambol on the road.
Top scorers:
Levski: A.Martin 39+4reb+6ast, C.Raines 17+8reb+2ast, D.Hinkov 14+9reb+3ast, G.Lefebvre 6+1reb, M.Bochev 4+2reb+1ast, M.Boyanov 3+4ast
Balkan: S.Aleksandar 25+3reb+5ast, O.David 17+3reb+4ast, C.Ulrich 14+9reb+2ast, T.Konstantin 14+2reb+6ast, D.Alex 13+1reb+2ast, D.Dimitar 7+2reb

Beroe - Lokomotiv Pl. 95-98:
Everything went according to plan in Stara Zagora where Lokomotiv Pl. edged Beroe 98-95 on Saturday. The best player for the winners was American guard Jomaru Brown (188-1999, college: Coastal) who scored 36 points (!!!) and 4 steals. The other American import guard Devearl Ramsey (180-1997, college: UCSB) chipped in 29 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. Lokomotiv Pl.'s coach Asen Nikolov used an eleven-player rotation in such tough game. Milen Zahariev (191-1992) produced a double-double by scoring 20 points and 10 rebounds and Canadian-Haitian forward Patrick Emilien (201-1999, college: Maryland) added 15 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists respectively for the hosts. Five Beroe players scored in double figures. Lokomotiv Pl. will meet at home Polytechnica in the next round which should be an easy win for them. Beroe will play against Minyor 2015 in Pernik and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Beroe: J.Rawls 20+2reb+6ast, M.Zahariev 20+10reb, P.Emilien 15+8reb+6ast, D.Saylor 12+10reb+3ast, K.Mihov 10+3ast, C.Rollins 8+1reb+1ast
Lokomotiv Pl.: B.Jomaru 36+4reb+2ast, R.Devearl 29+5reb+6ast, J.Saiquan 8+3reb+1ast, D.Jordan 6+2reb+3ast, K.Ioannis 6+1reb+1ast, T.Isaiah 5+11reb+1ast

Akademik P. - Minyor 2015 93-96:
Quite upsetting was Akademik's home defeat in a game versus Minyor 2015 who edged hosts 96-93. Minyor 2015 looked well-organized offensively handing out 21 assists. The best player for the winners was Serbian center Igor Kesar (210-1992) who had a double-double by scoring 28 points and 10 rebounds (on 11-of-14 shooting from the field). International forward Georgi Boyanov (200-1993, college: USA) chipped in 22 points and 6 rebounds. American forward Sean Moore (201-2002, college: UNCW) produced 24 points and ex-international Nikolay Mihaylov (204-2000, agency: BIG) added 17 points and 8 rebounds respectively for the hosts. Both teams had five players each who scored in double figures. Minyor 2015 will meet at home Beroe in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Akademik will play against Botev in Vratsa and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Akademik P.: S.Moore 24+3reb+3ast, N.Mihaylov 17+8reb+2ast, V.Bachev 13+4reb+3ast, S.Adebisi 10+5reb+1ast, D.Stamov 10+4reb, D.Nicholas 10+1reb+4ast
Minyor 2015: K.Igor 28+10reb, B.Georgi 22+6reb+3ast, H.Jermaine 18+3reb+9ast, T.Lachezar 11+6reb+4ast, D.Erik 10+2reb+3ast, O.Alex 4+3reb+1ast