The Bulgarian national men's basketball team defeated Austria 87:78 (23:17, 15:20, 24:22, 25:19) as hosts at the "Arena Botevgrad" in its third match from Group F, recording its first success in the preliminary qualifications for the World Cup in Qatar in 2027. In the stands again, as in the previous home match against the Netherlands, was the best Bulgarian basketball player Alexander Vezenkov, who is recovering from an injury, BTA reported.
With the victory, the national team preserved its chances of falling behind the first two teams in the group, which will qualify for the actual playoff stage. To this end, the Bulgarians will be chasing a mandatory success in their last match on August 20 in the Netherlands.
The coach Rosen Barchovski, who was born on August 16, selected Borislav Mladenov, Ivan Alipiev, Miroslav Vasov, Dimitar Dimitrov and Emil Stoilov to start in the starting five.
The start was contested, with neither team taking a significant lead. Borislav Mladenov made a three-pointer for a 14:12 lead after eight minutes of play, but the visitors quickly returned the three-pointer. Two consecutive good defenses for Bulgaria allowed the national team to pull ahead 20:15 with a minute and 17 seconds remaining in the first quarter. Iliyan Pishchikov scored another three-pointer for an 8-point lead at 23:15, and after 10 minutes of play the national team was leading 23:17.
Pishchikov from the penalty line and Konstantin Kostadinov scored for a 9-point lead - 29:20 in favor of Bulgaria, which was the largest difference so far. Subsequently, the Austrians reduced it to 29:32. The Bulgarians maintained the lead, although the gap was melting, and with a minute and 14 seconds left before the break, the guests came close to a point - 36:35. There was no turnaround until the end of the half and the Bulgarian team had a 38:37 lead.
Borislav Mladenov had 13 points at this stage, and for Austria the star of the team Jakob Pöltl had 12 points and 8 rebounds.
After the break, the guests took the lead after a successful attack by Pöltl, but Kostadin Kostadinov returned a three-pointer for Bulgaria for 41:39. A little later, Dimitar Dimitrov scored 3 points after a basket and an accurate execution from the penalty line, and Miroslav Vasov scored on a quick attack for 50:45. The national team remained leading in the score and in the middle of the third half their lead was 52:47. With a precise shot from long range, Sylvain Landsberg brought Austria within 2 points, Pishchikov scored for Bulgaria, but Renato Polyak scored another three-pointer, making the difference only 1 point - 58:57. Iliyan Pishchikov's excellent performances continued, scoring twice from the penalty line and on the next attack for 62:57.
Before the final 10 minutes, the Bulgarian team had a lead of 62:59. With their first attack of the period, the Austrians reduced the distance even further, but a three-pointer by Mladenov and a basket by Hristo Bachkov followed for 67:61. Jakob Pöltl was again a leading figure for the guests in the following moments and helped them reduce their deficit to 2 points - 67:65 with seven minutes remaining in the match. Marvin Ogunsipe tied the game at 67:67, and Landsberg scored another basket for Austria to turn the game around, which took the lead at 69:67. Konstantin Kostadinov tied the game at 69:69 with a dunk, but the visitors immediately took the lead again by 3 points. Mladenov scored from a long distance for 72:72, and Dimitar Dimitrov was accurate for 74:72 in favor of Bulgaria a little more than four minutes before the end of the match in Botevgrad.
With three minutes remaining, the national team had a 5-point lead at 79:74, and Kostadinov and Mladenov made two consecutive three-pointers for 84:74 with a minute and a half remaining. The difference became 11 points at 85:74, and Dimitar Dimitrov scored another three-pointer for a 13-point lead at 87:74, and Bulgaria ultimately prevailed with
Borislav Mladenov was the most productive player for the success with 30 points, of which six three-pointers, 8 rebounds and 3 assists. Konstantin Kostadinov finished with 15 points and 4 rebounds, Iliyan Pishchikov scored 11 points, and Dimitar Dimitrov - 10 points and 5 rebounds.
For Austria, the leader of the team Jakob Pöltl reported a "double-double" of 23 points and 13 rebounds, and Sylvain Landsberg contributed with 15 points and 4 rebounds.