Spartak Pleven recorded its first victory over Chernomorets in the current season in the National Basketball League. Lyubomir Minchev’s boys beat the leaders in the table with 81:76 (23:15, 14:24, 20:17, 24:20) in a match of the last 32nd round of the championship. The “Sharks” could not count on two of their leaders – Travis McConico and Tony Trocha, who missed the meeting.
Thus, Spartak ends the regular season in the third position in the table with a balance of 23 wins and 9 losses, while Chernomorets finishes in first place with an asset of 25 wins and 7 defeats. In the playoffs, Pleven will compete against Black Sea, while Black Sea will face Levski.
FIRST QUARTER:The match started with better performances in defense than in attack. Nearly three minutes after the start of the match, the score was 2:2, after which Julien Lewis and Evgeni Hadjirusev each exchanged one accurate shot for 5:4 in favor of the hosts from Pleven. Vasil Yevtimov’s boys missed on their own against the basket, and on the other side, the people of Pleven scored a series of seven points in a row and took their first big lead at 12:7. The guests took out their starting center Andrey Ivanov early and replaced him with Nikolay Georgiev, but anyway, the Pleven team’s lead continued to grow after a three-pointer by Nikolay Stoyanov and a quick attack basket by Konstantin Toshkov for 17:9. At one point, Chernomorets had five Bulgarians on the floor, with Evgeni Hadjirusev reducing the guests’ deficit to six points at 19:13. However, the expected happened and Spartaklia opened up a double-digit lead after a powerful dunk by Rodney Purvis, but immediately after that Hadjirusev reduced the deficit of Chernomorets to 23:15 after the end of the first ten minutes.
SECOND QUARTER:The Burgas team gave their request with a strong start to the second quarter, as in the first 60 seconds of the period Viktor Onudiue and Milen Zahariev helped Chernomorets reduce their deficit to three points at 23:20. The Sharks’ streak continued and they took the lead at 23:24, prompting a timeout from Lyubomir Minchev. Even after the break, the hosts were still without a point from the start of the second half before Talib Zanna broke his team’s drought at 25:27. Vasil Evtimov’s alumni had no intention of giving up their lead, which was still hovering around two to four points in favor of the “sharks”. However, a successful breakthrough by Stanimir Marinov restored the tie at 31:31, and this happened after several errors in the attack of the Chernomorets team. The people of Pleven regained the lead in the game after their streak was increased to seven unanswered points for 34:31 in their favor at the end of the second half. Laderion Griffin’s powerful dunk for 37:39 ended the first half.
THIRD QUARTER:The second half started with a high score, as Spartak regained the fragile lead at 45:44 after a three-pointer by Konstantin Toshkov. Lubomir Minchev’s boys gradually began to increase their lead, which reached four points after a nice assist by Rodney Purvis to Julien Lewis for 49:45 in the middle of the third period. However, Chernomorets could not give way and the result remained equal, although the home team played with greater aggression in the opening minutes of the second half – 51:49. The people of Pleven were again four points ahead of their rival, but a basket and a foul by Viktor Onudiue for 55:54 brought Vasil Evtimov’s boys closer again. Immediately after that, Onudiue excelled again with a fight in attack and an addition, so that Burgasli could take the lead at 55:56. Bryant Thomas responded on the other side, and so Pleven had a point lead after the end of the third part at 57:56.
LAST THURSDAY:Spartak picked up the pace at the start of the final quarter and regained a four-point lead at 62:58. However, Chernomorets reached a draw after baskets by Laderian Griffin and Andrey Ivanov, but then Nikolay Stoyanov once again did not forgive the guests from a long distance for 66:63. Talib Zanna increased the home team’s lead to five, and then Stoyanov nailed a triple for 71:63 in favor of Spartaklia. Lyubomir Minchev’s alumni continued to increase their lead in the final minutes of regular time, as he reached ten points at 73:63. However, Chernomorets did not give up and made up five points from his deficit to make the score 76:71 with about three minutes left until the final whistle. However, Vasil Evtimov’s boys wasted a good opportunity to reduce their deficit, as the result with 90 seconds remaining on the scoreboard was 77:72 in favor of the people of Pleven. Rodney Purvis was left alone at the zero corner and the American made a key shot for 79:72 in favor of Spartak. However, that was not all, because the “sharks” came back to within three points of their rival after a three-pointer by Evgeni Hadjirusev for 79:76 with about 35 seconds left in regulation time. Stanimir Marinov scored two penalty kicks, which proved to be decisive for the final outcome of the match – 81:76. TITLE FIVE:SPARTACUS PLEVEN: Alex Lomax, Julien Lewis, Nikolay Stoyanov, Tsvetomir Chernokozhev, Talib ZannaBLACK MORETS: Evgeni Hadjirusev, Hristo Zahariev, Laderian Griffin, Sean Smith, Andrey Ivanov
