BC "Levski Lukoil" (Bulgaria) - BC "Prometey" - 56:96 (27:15, 3:33, 8:26, 18:22). September 14. Sofia (Bulgaria). "Arena Armiets Sofia". Champions League qualification. 1/4 finals. Without spectators.

Senior Judge: Wojciech Lichka (Poland); Judges: Zdravko Rutesic (Montenegro), Ilias Kounelles (Cyprus).

BC "Levski Lukoil": Dimitrov * (0), Kostov * (11 + 7 rebounds), Chornokozhev * (10 + 5 assists), Vaklinov * (2 + 6 rebounds), Petkov * (19), Zakhariev (0), Kuntorov (0), Petrov (3), Mikhailov (5), Velikov, captain (6), Papazov (0).

BC "Prometey": Sydorov * (6 + 6 assists), Evans * (18 + 14 rebounds), Lypovyy * (5 + 3 interceptions), Harrison * (16), Stephens * (11), Lukashov, captain (4) , Tikhonov (1), Campbell (9 + 9 rebounds), Petrov (13), Dowe (7), Klimov (2), Belikov (4).

 

Exactly three months after winning the historic championship, Prometey made its debut in the Champions League as the best team in Ukraine, albeit at the stage of qualification. The premiere match of the "red and whites" in the main club tournament of FIBA took place in the capital of Bulgaria, Sofia, in the sports and concert complex "Arena Armyets Sofia" against the champion of this Balkan country "Levski Lukoil". "Arena Armiets Sofia" seats more than 12,000 spectators, but this match was held without spectators due to quarantine restrictions - the next matches of Sofia bubble will take place in the same conditions.

However, the lack of support from their fans did not affect the actions of the Bulgarian champion in the debut of the match. At the same time, our team entered the game for too long and in the 4th minute Ronen Ginzburg had to take a timeout after the score was 12: 4 in favor of the opponent. In this period of the game, the players of "Levski" hit three times from the perimeter and two such successful throws were in the assets of Ventislav Petkov. The minute break did not change the course of the game. The Bulgarians continued to hit from behind the arc (6 successful attempts out of 8 in the quarter), while our team did not have long distance throws at all. At some points, we did not score easy balls at all, to which were added several losses in simple situations.

In the course of the starting ten minutes, Levski's supremasy reached 14 points, but in the second quarter everything changed dramatically! "Prometey" set its absolute local record in all competitions, conceding only three points in one quarter, and this happened before the final siren for a long break, when the sniper of "Levski" Petkov once again hit from afar . Before this throw, the jerk of the "red and whites" was really crazy - 33: 0! Aggressive play in defense created the basis for an effective transit attack, and in opponent’s three-second zone, the guests completely outplayed their rival: for example, exactly from there Sean Evans scored 12 points in 20 minutes. As a result, Sean's assets were 18 points and 14 rebounds - the first individual double-double of the season.

It was the second quarter that clearly showed that the class of Prometey was much higher than its opponent's class. For the next 20 minutes, the champion of Ukraine did not give the slightest reason to doubt it. The second half of the game showed the much better readiness of our for the season. The score was constantly rising in its favor, at the last minute of the third quarter the handicap reached almost four dozen points and it was "+40" that was the final precedence.

"Prometey" confidently overcame the quarterfinal stage of the Champions League qualification, and in the next round we will face a much more serious test by the Czech club "Opava". Opponents will compete on September 16.