NBL Round 26 (Regular Season): Spartak Pleven beat Cherno More by two after a very close game

The games at this stage are more interesting as they can be crucial for the final standings in Regular Season. Despite we already know who is stronger and who is weaker, there may be still last minute surprises and upsets. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most exciting game of round 26 in the NBL took place in Varna. This derby game ended with only two-point home defeat of second-ranked Cherno More (19-7) to sixth ranked Spartak Pleven (14-11) 82-80 on Saturday evening. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Cherno More. Spartak Pleven made 23-of-28 free shots (82.1 percent) during the game. 24 personal fouls committed by Cherno More helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. The former international guard Martin Rusev (193-2004) orchestrated the victory by scoring 19 points and 5 rebounds. American center Noel Brown (211-2000, college: St.Bonaventure) contributed with 17 points and 6 rebounds for the winners. Spartak Pleven's coach Todor Todorov used a ten-player rotation in such tough game. International forward Georgi Boyanov (200-1993, college: USA) replied with 24 points and 9 rebounds for Cherno More. Spartak Pleven have an impressive six-game winning streak. They moved-up to fifth place, which they share with Botev. Cherno More at the other side dropped to the third position with seven games lost. Spartak Pleven is looking forward to face Botev (#5) in Vratsa in the next round. Cherno More will play on the road against the league's second-placed Balkan in Botevgrad and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
NBL top team - Rilski (21-5) had no problems winning another game. This time they beat eighth ranked Beroe (10-16) in Stara Zagora 98-81. Power forward Alexander Yanev (203-1990) scored 27 points and 6 rebounds (on 11-of-14 shooting from the field) to lead the charge for the winners and Hristo Bachkov chipped in 20 points and 12 rebounds during the contest. American forward Brett Reed (204-1996, college: St.Martin's) responded with 17 points and 7 rebounds. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Defending champion maintains first position with 21-5 record. Beroe lost third consecutive game. They keep the eighth place with 16 games lost. Rilski will play against Lokomotiv Pl. (#4) in Plovdiv in the next round. Beroe will play on the road against Minyor 2015 (#7) in Pernik and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
The game between 10th ranked Levski (3-22) and second ranked Balkan (20-6) in Sofia on Monday ended with biggest points difference. Guests from Botevgrad outscored Levski 99-67. Travis McConico notched 25 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists (on 9-of-11 shooting from the field) to lead the effort. Even 16 points and 5 rebounds by Andon Vachev did not help to save the game for Levski. Levski's coach Konstantin Papazov gave up on the game allowing to play twelve players seeing no chance for a win. Balkan maintains second position with 20-6 record behind leader Rilski. Levski lost ninth consecutive game. They keep the tenth place with 22 games lost. They share the position with Shumen. Balkan will meet at home Cherno More (#3) in the next round, which may be the game of the day. Levski will play against Shumen (#11) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.

In the last two games of round 26 Botev beat Lokomotiv Pl. on the road 98-90. Akademik won against Shumen on its own court 105-100.
The most impressive performance of 26th round was 24 points, 7 rebounds and 10 assists by DeMarcus Sharp of Akademik P..



Levski - Balkan 67-99

The game between 10th ranked Levski (3-22) and second ranked Balkan (20-6) in Sofia on Monday ended with biggest points difference. Guests from Botevgrad outscored Levski 99-67. They outrebounded Levski 34-22 including 27 on the defensive glass. Balkan looked well-organized offensively handing out 26 assists. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Balkan made 9 blocks. American swingman Travis McConico (198-1997, college: Charleston So.) notched 25 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists (on 9-of-11 shooting from the field) to lead the effort and the other American import point guard Jamari Blackmon (183-2000, college: ULM) supported him with 14 points and 5 assists. Even 16 points and 5 rebounds by center Andon Vachev (205-2003, agency: BIG) did not help to save the game for Levski. The former international swingman Zlatin Georgiev (197-1985) added 10 points and 7 assists for the hosts. Five Balkan and four Levski players scored in double figures. Levski's coach Konstantin Papazov gave up on the game allowing to play twelve players seeing no chance for a win. Balkan maintains second position with 20-6 record behind leader Rilski. Levski lost ninth consecutive game. They keep the tenth place with 22 games lost. They share the position with Shumen. Balkan will meet at home Cherno More (#3) in the next round, which may be the game of the day. Levski will play against Shumen (#11) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Balkan: M.Travis 25+5reb+6ast, B.Jamari 14+3reb+5ast, T.Konstantin 14+2reb+3ast, D.Dimitar 13+4reb+2ast, R.Demond 10+7reb+5ast, G.Tajh 9+6reb+3ast
Levski: M.Boyanov 17+1reb+1ast, A.Vachev 16+5reb+1ast, C.Raines 11+6reb+2ast, Z.Georgiev 10+4reb+7ast, L.Dimitrov 7+1reb+4ast, P.Lazar 2+1reb+1ast

Cherno More - Spartak Pleven 80-82

The most exciting game of round 26 in the NBL took place in Varna. This derby game ended with only two-point home defeat of second-ranked Cherno More (19-7) to sixth ranked Spartak Pleven (14-11) 82-80 on Saturday evening. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Cherno More. Spartak Pleven made 23-of-28 free shots (82.1 percent) during the game. 24 personal fouls committed by Cherno More helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. The former international guard Martin Rusev (193-2004) orchestrated the victory by scoring 19 points and 5 rebounds. American center Noel Brown (211-2000, college: St.Bonaventure) contributed with 17 points and 6 rebounds for the winners. Five Spartak Pleven players scored in double figures. Spartak Pleven's coach Todor Todorov used a ten-player rotation in such tough game. International forward Georgi Boyanov (200-1993, college: USA) replied with 24 points and 9 rebounds and American forward Lamont West (203-2002, college: Missouri St.) added 20 points in the effort for Cherno More. Spartak Pleven have an impressive six-game winning streak. They moved-up to fifth place, which they share with Botev. Cherno More at the other side dropped to the third position with seven games lost. Spartak Pleven is looking forward to face Botev (#5) in Vratsa in the next round. Cherno More will play on the road against the league's second-placed Balkan in Botevgrad and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Spartak Pleven: R.Martin 19+5reb+3ast, B.Noel 17+6reb, M.Jalan 17+2reb+3ast, I.Pavlin 12+3reb+7ast, S.Kavaughn 11+5reb+1ast, F.John 6+2reb
Cherno More: G.Boyanov 24+9reb+2ast, L.West 20+4reb, J.Watson-Gayle 9+3reb+6ast, A.Gaffney 6+5reb+1ast, N.Stoyanov 6+2reb, V.Petkov 6+1reb+2ast

Lokomotiv Pl. - Botev 90-98

There was a small surprise when sixth ranked Botev (14-11) beat one of their biggest challengers Lokomotiv Pl. (15-10) in Plovdiv 98-90 on Sunday. Botev looked well-organized offensively handing out 23 assists. International guard Georgi Gerganov (192-2003) notched 24 points and 8 assists to lead the effort and American power forward Courtney Alexander (203-1997, college: Tenn Tech) supported him with 25 points and 10 rebounds. Even a double-double of 32 points and 12 assists by American point guard Grant Singleton (183-2000, college: FDU, agency: Octagon Europe) did not help to save the game for Lokomotiv Pl.. Tomislav Minkov (197-2001) added 17 points for the hosts. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Botev have a solid three-game winning streak. They moved-up to fifth place, which they share with Spartak Pleven. Lokomotiv Pl. at the other side, also newcomer in the league, keeps the fourth position with ten games lost. Botev will meet at home Spartak Pleven (#6) in the next round. Lokomotiv Pl. will play against the league's leader Rilski in Samokov and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Botev: A.Courtney 25+10reb+1ast, G.Georgi 24+4reb+8ast, S.Mihaylov 20+4reb+2ast, K.Zanov 14+5reb, M.Vodenicharski 9, K.Mihail 6+3reb+10ast
Lokomotiv Pl.: G.Singleton 32+4reb+12ast, M.Tomislav 17+4reb+2ast, K.Mihov 13+4reb+5ast, K.Miller 11+6reb+2ast, G.Kenderov 7+1reb, I.Kikrilis 5+2reb

Beroe - Rilski 81-98

NBL top team - Rilski (21-5) had no problems winning another game. This time they beat eighth ranked Beroe (10-16) in Stara Zagora 98-81. Rilski players were unselfish on offense dishing 25 assists. Power forward Alexander Yanev (203-1990) scored 27 points and 6 rebounds (on 11-of-14 shooting from the field) to lead the charge for the winners and international forward Hristo Bachkov (200-2004, agency: BIG) chipped in 20 points and 12 rebounds during the contest. Four Rilski players scored in double figures. American forward Brett Reed (204-1996, college: St.Martin's) responded with 17 points and 7 rebounds and Milen Zahariev (191-1992) scored 17 points and 5 rebounds. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Defending champion maintains first position with 21-5 record. Beroe lost third consecutive game. They keep the eighth place with 16 games lost. Rilski will play against Lokomotiv Pl. (#4) in Plovdiv in the next round. Beroe will play on the road against Minyor 2015 (#7) in Pernik and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Rilski: A.Yanev 27+6reb+2ast, D.Jon 21+2reb+1ast, B.Hristo 20+12reb+2ast, A.Alan 12+3reb+3ast, E.Mike 6+6reb, M.Vasov 6+1reb+1ast
Beroe: M.Zahariev 17+5reb+3ast, B.Reed 17+7reb+3ast, D.Quisenberry 15+3ast, A.Matushev 8+1reb, J.Benjamin 8+3reb+1ast, D.Williams 8+8reb+4ast

Akademik P. - Shumen 105-100

The game between closely ranked teams ended with 10th ranked Shumen's (3-22) road loss to ninth ranked Akademik (9-17) in Plovdiv 100-105 on Monday. Akademik forced 19 Shumen turnovers. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 27 assists. American forward Jacquez Yow (198-1999, college: Limestone) notched 33 points (!!!) and 8 rebounds to lead the effort and the other American import guard DeMarcus Sharp (190-1998, college: Austin Peay) supported him with 24 points, 7 rebounds and 10 assists. Even 32 points and 6 assists by American-Jamaican guard Will Ellis (188-1999, college: Queens, NY) did not help to save the game for Shumen. Guard Kostadin Lazarov (193-2000, agency: BIG) added 22 points and 6 assists for the guests. Four Akademik and five Shumen players scored in double figures. Shumen's coach Dragan Kostic tried various players' combinations and tested in total eleven players in this game, but that didn't help. Akademik maintains ninth position with 9-17 record. Shumen lost sixth consecutive game. They dropped to the bottom. They share the position with Levski. Akademik will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Shumen will play against Levski (#10) in Sofia and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Akademik P.: Y.Jacquez 33+8reb+2ast, S.DeMarcus 24+7reb+10ast, T.Obrad 17+15reb+2ast, B.Vasil 14+2reb+6ast, P.Konstantin 8+4reb+4ast, P.Ralchev 4+2reb
Shumen: W.Ellis 32+1reb+6ast, K.Lazarov 22+2reb+6ast, B.Jalen 15+11reb+3ast, V.Stanev 12+6reb, V.Klemen 10+8reb, M.Marsh 9+7reb+1ast