Rilski Sportist ? Radnicki 034 Group (Game 2 preview)

Tomorrow at 17.30 local time (16.30 CET) a second Eurohold Balkan League Final Four ticket will be up for grabs. After winning Group B of the regular season Rilski Sportist won comfortably in Kragujevac last week and now face Radnicki 034 Group at home in Samokov with a 10 points first leg advantage. A week ago the players of coach Aleksandar Todorov went to Serbia for a good result and got a victory from that trip, their second in Serbia so far in the competition. In fact, in the three games played versus Serbian teams so far in the BIBL Rilski Sportist have a perfect 3-0 record. During the regular season they swept two games versus the young Mega Hypo Leasing team. Meanwhile, Radnicki had a home win and an away defeat versus the Bulgarian representative in its own group - Euroins Cherno More.
 
Both teams have had varying performances both at home and on the road in the BIBL Regular Season. Radnicki 034 Group lost three of their away games, but managed the most unlikely one - at Swisslion Takovo Vrsac, which was the only defeat in Group A of the BIBL for the winner of that group and runaway leader of the Serbian league. That proves the team from Kragujevac can be dangerous on the road too. Rilski Sportist have been quite steady in their own Arena Samokov in the BIBL, winning all 4 of their Group B games their. They have done well at home in the Bulgarian NBL too, but one of their only two defeats there was against a fellow middle-of-the table team (Spartak Pleven last November), which proves that the Bulgarians are not guaranteed a victory. Of course, in this case they don`t need a victory - they just need to not lose by more than 9 points. But getting into that frame of mind from the start of the game would be quite dangerous and surely they will not play for any kind of defeat in front of their fans.
 
At the wekend Rilski Sportist lost in dramatic fashion (84-88) their away game versus another Eurohold Balkan League representative from Bulgaria - Levski. The derby match was decided in the last couple of minutes and Levski survived, playing at home in Sofia. Curiously, after having having played quite a few times this season already, there is a possibility that Rilski Sportist and Levski could face each other one more time - that would be in the semifinal of the BIBL, if they eliminate their opponents tomorrow. The defeat in Sofia meant Rilski Sportist continued to underachieve in the Bulgarian league, despite their great victory over champions Lukoil Academic last week, and overall good play. That means the team from Samokov will be even more motivated to make up for it with another successful night in the BIBL...
 
Radnicki 034 Group have 5 wins in their last 6 Serbian league games, but unfortunately the only defeat of that spell came when they needed victory the most - last Wednesday at home to Napredak Rubin Krusevac. The game was practically a battle for the 3rd position in the league`s 1st phase, which meant a place in the Superleague among the 8 best teams in Serbia. The defeat ended Radnicki`s late run at that one, although they still have a theoretical chance. Despite the disappointment from the Napredak defeat and the other home loss - in the first leg versus Rilski Sportist - just a day later, the Radnicki players managed to rally and get back to winning ways at the weekend. They got an expected, although not overwhelming 78-89 victory away at Leskovac versus bottom-of-the-table team Zdravlje. But they will have to do much better than that, if they want to shock Rilski Sportist and beat them by an 11-point margin tomorrow.