Bulgaria loses to Italy for the second time this summer

Bulgaria started off their participation in the Acropolis Tournament in Athens, Greece with a 71:74 loss against Italy. This was the second meeting for those two teams this summer, as Italy maintained a perfect balance - 2 wins in 2 games.   The Bulgarian side was impressive in the first half, as after a very strong second period (19:26) managed to lead the game at halftime - 40:42. In the third period Italy scored 18 points, against just 9 for Bulgaria. Bulgaria scored the last 9 points in the game, but that only settled the final score at 71:74.   Deyan Ivanov had a double-double - 17 points and 10 rebounds, while his twin brother Kaloyan came off the bench with 14 and 9 boards. Bozhidar Avramov added 12, while E.J. Rowland scored 11 points.   Andrea Bargnani led Italy with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Marco Belinelli added 18, while Danilo Gallinari finished with 16.   In the other game of the tournament Greece defeated Brigham Young University by almost 30 points - 83:54.   Today Bulgaria is facing Greece at 21.15 local time.