NBL Round 18 (Regular Season): Rilski keep a leadership position

The games are now more important than at the beginning of the Regular Season. We may still expect few shocking results in upcoming 3 rounds. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The game had a very big importance for second-ranked Rilski as it allowed them to take a leadership position. Rilski defeated 5th ranked Botev in Samokov 92-87. Rilski made 34-of-42 free shots (81.0 percent) during the game, while Botev only scored nine points from the stripe. 26 personal fouls committed by Botev helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. The former international swingman Miroslav Vasov (199-1998) scored 16 points to lead the charge for the winners and the former international point guard Deyan Karamfilov (180-1994, agency: BIG) chipped in 9 points and 8 assists during the contest. Rilski's coach Lubomir Kirov used a ten-player rotation in such tough game. The best for the losing side was the former international guard Georgi Gerganov (192-2003) with 29 points and 4 assists. Rilski (15-3) have an impressive five-game winning streak. As mentioned above they are alone now at the top position. Newly promoted Botev keeps the fifth place with nine games lost. They share the position with Spartak Pleven. Botev will play next round against Minyor 2015 trying to get back on the winning streak. Rilski will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game.
Bottom-ranked Shumen managed to get a second victory, breaking the four-game losing streak. This time they outleveled fifth-ranked Spartak Pleven 84-64. It's especially surprising that the victory came too easily and 20-point difference proves that Shumen was well-prepared to that game. American-Jamaican guard Will Ellis (188-1999, college: Queens, NY) notched 26 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists to lead the effort and Michael Marsh supported him with 16 points and 15 rebounds. Even 18 points and 6 rebounds by the former international Pavlin Ivanov (196-1993, agency: 011 Sports) did not help to save the game for Spartak Pleven. Shumen maintains eleventh position with 2-14 record. Spartak Pleven at the other side keeps the fifth place with nine games lost. They share the position with Botev. Shumen will play against league's second-placed Balkan in Botevgrad in the next round and they do not belong to the favorites in that game. Spartak Pleven will play on the road against Akademik in Plovdiv and hopes to get back on the winning track.
The game in Pernik was also quite interesting. Third ranked Cherno More (13-5) played at the court of 8th ranked Minyor 2015 (7-10). Cherno More did not have too big problems and got a relatively easy victory 91-72 on Sunday. The best player for the winners was Georgi Boyanov who had a double-double by scoring 16 points and 12 rebounds. At the other side the best for losing team was Lachezar Toshkov who recorded 16 points and 4 assists. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Cherno More maintains third position with 13-5 record having just two points less than leader Rilski. Minyor 2015 lost fourth consecutive game. They keep the eighth place with ten games lost. Cherno More will meet Beroe (#7) in the next round. Minyor 2015 will play against Botev in Vratsa and hope to secure a win.

In the last two games of round 18 Beroe lost to Levski on the opponent's court 79-84. Akademik managed to outperform Lokomotiv Pl. in a home game 90-86.
The most impressive stats of the last round was 16 points and 9 rebounds by David Haughton of Botev.



Levski - Beroe 84-79

There was a minor upset in Sofia where 7th ranked Beroe (8-10) was defeated by tenth ranked Levski (3-13) 84-79 on Saturday. Levski looked well-organized offensively handing out 27 assists. The best player for the winners was the former international swingman Zlatin Georgiev (197-1985) who had a double-double by scoring 22 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists. Power forward Dimitar Marincheshki (200-1990) chipped in 16 points (on 7-of-8 shooting from the field). At the other side the best for losing team was American forward Brett Reed (204-1996, college: St.Martin's) who recorded a double-double by scoring 13 points and 13 rebounds and Milen Zahariev (191-1992) added 18 points and 6 rebounds respectively. Four Beroe players scored in double figures. Levski maintains tenth position with 3-13 record. Loser Beroe keeps the seventh place with ten games lost. Levski will meet higher ranked Lokomotiv Pl. (#4) in the next round and they do not belong to the favorites in that game. Beroe will play against Cherno More and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Levski: G.Zlatin 22+10reb+4ast, D.Marincheshki 16+3reb+2ast, A.Aleksandar 13+1reb+1ast, S.Kaynarov 11+6reb+2ast, N.Vladimir 10+2reb+1ast, R.Cadarian 7+4reb+4ast
Beroe: D.Quisenberry 19+1reb+5ast, M.Zahariev 18+6reb+1ast, B.Reed 13+13reb+2ast, D.Williams 12+8reb, N.Ivanov 5+1reb+4ast, A.Matushev 5+1ast

Minyor 2015 - Cherno More 72-91

The game in Pernik was also quite interesting. Third ranked Cherno More (13-5) played at the court of 8th ranked Minyor 2015 (7-10). Cherno More did not have too big problems and got a relatively easy victory 91-72 on Sunday. Cherno More dominated down low during the game scoring 50 of its points in the paint compared to Minyor 2015's 26. They outrebounded Minyor 2015 51-19 including a 16-3 advantage in offensive rebounds. The best player for the winners was international forward Georgi Boyanov (200-1993, college: USA) who had a double-double by scoring 16 points and 12 rebounds. British-Jamaican point guard Jelani Watson-Gayle (184-1998, college: Fresno Pacific) chipped in 21 points and 5 assists (on 8-of-10 shooting from the field). At the other side the best for losing team was the former international swingman Lachezar Toshkov (187-2002, agency: BIG) who recorded 16 points and 4 assists and Montenegrin guard Filip Bakic (193-1997, agency: Octagon Europe) added 15 points respectively. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Cherno More maintains third position with 13-5 record having just two points less than leader Rilski. Minyor 2015 lost fourth consecutive game. They keep the eighth place with ten games lost. Cherno More will meet Beroe (#7) in the next round. Minyor 2015 will play against Botev in Vratsa and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Cherno More: W.Jelani 21+2reb+5ast, B.Georgi 16+12reb+3ast, S.Nikolay 16+9reb+2ast, W.Lamont 15+10reb+2ast, K.Ivan 9+5reb+2ast, C.Tsvetomir 8+7reb
Minyor 2015: L.Toshkov 16+1reb+4ast, F.Bakic 15+3reb+1ast, M.Murphy 12+6reb, J.Talley 10+7ast, K.Paisiev 8+4reb+2ast, S.Lazar 7+3reb+2ast

Shumen - Spartak Pleven 84-64

Bottom-ranked Shumen managed to get a second victory, breaking the four-game losing streak. This time they outleveled fifth-ranked Spartak Pleven 84-64. It's especially surprising that the victory came too easily and 20-point difference proves that Shumen was well-prepared to that game. They dominated down low during the game scoring 66 of its points in the paint compared to Spartak Pleven's 26. They outrebounded Spartak Pleven 45-28 including a 34-21 advantage in defensive rebounds. Shumen players were unselfish on offense dishing 27 assists comparing to just 13 passes made by Spartak Pleven's players. They brought some defensive toughness making 7 blocks. American-Jamaican guard Will Ellis (188-1999, college: Queens, NY) notched 26 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists to lead the effort and American center Michael Marsh (208-1999, college: OK State) supported him with 16 points and 15 rebounds. Four Shumen players scored in double figures. Even 18 points and 6 rebounds by the former international Pavlin Ivanov (196-1993, agency: 011 Sports) did not help to save the game for Spartak Pleven. Guard Nikolay Titkov (186-1998) added 14 points. Shumen maintains eleventh position with 2-14 record. Spartak Pleven at the other side keeps the fifth place with nine games lost. They share the position with Botev. Shumen will play against league's second-placed Balkan in Botevgrad in the next round and they do not belong to the favorites in that game. Spartak Pleven will play on the road against Akademik in Plovdiv and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Top scorers:
Shumen: E.Will 26+5reb+5ast, M.Michael 16+15reb+3ast, L.Kostadin 15+6reb+8ast, J.Barr 13+6reb+2ast, V.Stanev 8+5reb+4ast, B.Andrija 3+5reb+4ast
Spartak Pleven: P.Ivanov 18+6reb+3ast, N.Titkov 14+4reb+3ast, M.Sotirov 6+4reb+3ast, M.Buom 6+6reb+1ast, N.Brown 6+2reb+1ast, K.Scott 5+3reb+1ast

Akademik P. - Lokomotiv Pl. 90-86

There was a surprise result in Plovdiv where ninth ranked Akademik (6-11) defeated higher ranked Lokomotiv Pl. (10-7) 90-86 on Monday. The best player for the winners was American forward Vatangoe Donzo (202-2000, college: BMCU) who scored 24 points and 5 rebounds (on 9-of-11 shooting from the field). Bosnian center Obrad Tomic (208-1993, agency: PEPI SPORT) chipped in 12 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists. Five Akademik P. players scored in double figures. At the other side the best for losing team was American guard Devearl Ramsey (180-1997, college: UCSB) who recorded a double-double by scoring 22 points, 7 rebounds and 14 assists and his fellow American import forward Shaw Anderson (201-2001, college: Seattle Pacific) added 21 points respectively. Akademik maintains ninth position with 6-11 record. Newly promoted Lokomotiv Pl. keeps the fourth place with seven games lost. Akademik will meet at home higher ranked Spartak Pleven (#6) in the next round and it may be quite challenging game. Lokomotiv Pl. will play against Levski and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Akademik P.: D.Vatangoe 24+5reb, S.DeMarcus 19+1reb+5ast, B.Vasil 14+4reb+5ast, T.Obrad 12+9reb+6ast, Y.Jacquez 11+3reb, M.Nikolay 10+6reb+1ast
Lokomotiv Pl.: D.Ramsey 22+7reb+14ast, S.Anderson 21+2reb+1ast, G.Singleton 12+1reb+2ast, M.Tomislav 9+3reb+2ast, K.Miller 8+12reb, K.Mihov 6+5reb

Rilski - Botev 92-87

The game had a very big importance for second-ranked Rilski as it allowed them to take a leadership position. Rilski defeated 5th ranked Botev in Samokov 92-87. Rilski made 34-of-42 free shots (81.0 percent) during the game, while Botev only scored nine points from the stripe. 26 personal fouls committed by Botev helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. The former international swingman Miroslav Vasov (199-1998) scored 16 points to lead the charge for the winners and the former international point guard Deyan Karamfilov (180-1994, agency: BIG) chipped in 9 points and 8 assists during the contest. Rilski's coach Lubomir Kirov used a ten-player rotation in such tough game. The best for the losing side was the former international guard Georgi Gerganov (192-2003) with 29 points and 4 assists and point guard Mihail Kalinov (184-2007) scored 22 points and 7 assists. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Rilski (15-3) have an impressive five-game winning streak. As mentioned above they are alone now at the top position. Newly promoted Botev keeps the fifth place with nine games lost. They share the position with Spartak Pleven. Botev will play next round against Minyor 2015 trying to get back on the winning streak. Rilski will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game.
Top scorers:
Rilski: M.Vasov 16+3reb+3ast, B.Hristo 15+2reb+1ast, A.Alan 13+5reb, E.Mike 13+7reb+1ast, D.Jon 13+2reb+1ast, K.Deyan 9+4reb+8ast
Botev: G.Gerganov 29+4reb+4ast, M.Kalinov 22+3reb+7ast, D.Haughton 16+9reb+3ast, M.Stefan 12+3reb+2ast, S.Mark 5+5reb+3ast, I.Korestilov 3