The referee nominations for the semifinals in EUROHOLD Balkan League were announced today. The first semifinal is BC Levski - BC Balkan while the second one is between KB Sigal Prishtina and BC Galil Gilboa.
 
Friday, April 25th
Semifinal 1
17.30 (local time) 
BC Levski - BC Balkan
Referee: Georgios Tanatzis (Greece)
Umpire 1: Igor Dragojevic (Montenegro)
Umpire 2: Ognjen Jokic (Montenegro)
Commissioner: Nikolaos Zavlanos (Greece)
 
 
Semifinal 2
20.15 (local time) 
KB Sigal Prishtina - BC Galil Gilboa
Referee: Radomir Vojinovic (Montenegro)
Umpire 1: Ioannis Foufis (Greece)
Umpire 2: Ventsislav Velikov (Bulgaria)
Commissioner: Ion Olaru (Romania)
 
 
Instructor: Gjiorgi Piperkov (Macedonia) 

Here is the official statement of the Executive Director of EUROHOLD Balkan League - Mr.Assen Christov, before the Final 4 2014 to be held in the city of Prishtina between 25th and 27th of April:  "Dear participants, guests and fans!Dear friends of EUROHOLD Balkan League!  I would like to welcome you to the end of the sixth season of EUROHOLD Balkan League - Final 4 2014! Here we are once again standing before the Grand Finale of another exciting, intensed and extremely interesting season. I believe that since we started making this tournament almost six years ago, we have grown up every season and we have increased the level of the competition and the teams each time. I am truly convinced the city of Prishtina and KB Sigal Prishtina will do everything in the best possible way to provide us with great days of a basketball celebration with the best four teams this season. I believe all the four teams will fight very hard and we are about to watch great basketball battles. After each of the five seasons we were saying it had been the best one in the history of EUROHOLD Balkan League. I am sure a lot of people will not argue if I say the same thing now again. We have witnessed some great matches, a lot of entertaining ends and close results, and big percentage of the games was decided in the very last seconds. We could not have wished for something more and that made us very happy and gave us motivation to continue better and better. Not only have we developed basketball-wise and on organizational level, but we also have achieved tremendous success in the TV and internet broadcasting sector. 100% of the games were broadcast LIVE on our online-TV main partner SportMedia TV and 80% LIVE on our partner TV channels in the different countries. About 500 000 people watched the games online and over 1 200 000 in the TV from around 300 countries all over the world. Here it is the place to thank not only SportMedia TV but also our partners from Bulgarian National TV, Kosovo National TV, RTK-21, Macedonian National TV for the full coverage of the Bulgarian, Macedonian and Kosovo games this season and of the Final Four as well. For the first time in the history, thankful to Sportsko Radio Macedonia, EUROHOLD Balkan League was reachable throughout the whole season ...

Here is the official statement of the Sports Director of EUROHOLD Balkan League - Mr.Shay Shtriks, before the Final 4 2014 to be held in the city of Prishtina between 25th and 27th of April:  "Dear Basketball friends, Welcome to the city of Prishtina for Final Four 2014! First of all I would like to congratulate the four clubs that qualified for Final Four 2014. I do believe these are really the four best performing teams of the season where at the same time I do not want to underestimate or offend the rest of the participants because in fact each one of them could have played at that Final Four. Final Four 2014 is a pure basketball event, the peak of a tremendous season, full of lots of great emotions and basketball moments. It is the award for the hard work of teams, referees, managements! Season 2013-2014 happened to be a very intensive one, full of strong games and until the very last moment nothing had been decided. Everybody fought with everything they could to be better and win more but unfortunately there are only four places in the Final Four and this year the spots are taken by those who showed the best - KB Sigal Prishtina, BC Levski Sofia, BC Balkan and BC Gilboa Galil. Here it is the place to say one big thank you to all the players, coaches, managements, referees, statisticians, media, sponsors and partners and everyone else who somehow has been involved in season 2013-2014.  Once again we are very thankful to our Main Sponsor EUROHOLD for standing firmly behind us in these difficult times and for supporting the favourite game basketball. Big thanks also to our Main Partners – “Euroins”, “Euroins Insurance Romania”, “Euroins Osiguruvanje Macedonia”, “Globul”; our Partners “Pepsi”, “Mazda”, “Fiat”, “Motobul-Orlen” and our Media Partners – Bulgarian National TV, Sportmedia TV, Bgbasket.com, Sportsko Radio Macedonia, Macedonian National TV, Kosovo National TV, Romanian National TV and RTV-21. We are proudly standing in front of the “crème de la crème” of the year – Final Four 2014. I am deeply convinced that the same all the year each game happened to be heartbreaking and tied until the same end, the last 4 games of the season will also be exciting, emotional and with high level basketball. I am sure Final Four 2014 will show the fans and basketball-game-lovers the highlights and will make them live a true basketball spectacle. Good luck ...

Here is the official statement of the President of KB Sigal Prishtina - Mr. Blerand Stavileci, before the Final 4 2014 to be held in the city of Prishtina between 25th and 27th of April:
 
 
"Dear participants, distinguished guests and basketball fans! 
 
I am delighted for this opportunity to bid you a warm welcome to Prishtina and to the Palace of Youth and Sports, home of Basketball Club Sigal Prishtina. 
 
Above all, on behalf of Basketball Club Sigal Prishtina, allow me to express our deepest appreciation to Mr. Assen Christov and Mr. Shay Shtriks, for their decision to make our Club part of the great EUROHOLD Balkan International Basketball League family and for the trust vested in us with the organization of the 2014 Final Four. Without their trust in us, the organization of this basketball feast in Prishtina would not have been possible! 
 
This season has been full of successes for our Club, both in its competition in the national league and cup, and, most importantly, in the EUROHOLD Balkan League. We worked hard since receiving the good news from the senior management of EUROHOLD Balkan League in the spring of 2013, allowing the competition of Kosovo clubs in this esteemed competition, in providing an appropriate administrative, infrastructural and sportive structure able to compete on equal basis with other teams from the region and beyond. In addition to positive sportive results reached at all levels, and the accomplishment of the initial objectives we had set forth in the beginning of the season, experiences gained during this competitive season in the EUROHOLD Balkan League will represent an invaluable asset for our Club’s growth in the future.  
 
It was a season accompanied with great emotions, from our first ever game as guests in international competition, through all games won and lost at home and away, and all the way to this important sportive – the 2014 Final Four. Reaching this point was not easy. It required vast engagement from our management, staff, volunteers and friends, who helped us throughout this journey.
 
I wish to use this opportunity to express our Club’s deepest appreciation to our main sponsor, Sigal, for the prompt reaction to our evolving requirements, as well as to the army of other sponsors that supported us through these years.  
 
We wow to welcome all participating teams, officials, guests and basketball fans with the hospitality that has characterized our Club throughout the season we’re leaving ...

Georgi Glushkov is the president of Bulgarian basketball federation. In the Final 4 of EUROHOLD Balkan League there are two Bulgarian teams - Levski and Balkan, that will have to decide one of the finalists. This means that for sixth straight year there will a team from Bulgaria battling for the trophy. Here are some thoughts from Glushkov just a few days before the semifinal clash:   "I was expecting that there will be two Bulgarian teams at the Final 4 in EUROHOLD Balkan League because they played really well. Generally it′s a tradition for our teams to perform well in the competition. We are sure to have one team in the final and whichever that is, I think we′ll have a good chance to win the trophy.   Both teams are very evenly matched and will try to outperform the other with that happening on neutral court with neutral referees. Both teams want to go to the final and will be extremely focused to achieve that goal. I cannot say that one of them has the advantage. The chances are even and I can give a very very small advantage to Levski. However this is one game and in one game the things look a little bit different and every mistake can be costly. For sure it will be very interesting.   From one side the participation of Bulgarian teams in EUROHOLD Balkan League is very positive because it gives them more matches. From the other though their schedule is getting tougher while the other teams in the local league don′t play so much which doesn′t give them that much of a chance at the end. I would also like for every team to have around 45 games per season which is a very good number.   I think to go to Prishtina and watch the Final game on Sunday. Unfortunately I won′t be able to come for the semifinal on Friday."