Quotes after the game BC Levski - BC Galil Gilboa

BC Levski defeated BC Galil Gilboa 87-79 at home in the first rematch of the final of EUROHOLD Balkan League from last season. The Blues led for the whole game and handed second straigh defeat to their opponent. Here is what both head coaches said after the match:

Konstantin Papazov, head coach of BC Levski: "We played against a team with big traditions and one of the few teams that became champion of Israel excluding Maccabi Tel Aviv in the last 20 years. I wished that the difference could have been higher as we had some strong moments. There is no way we can take revenge for the loss in the final with this win. I′m sure we will win in Israel so I′m not worried about the final margin."

Lior Lubin, head coach of BC Galil Gilboa: "I think Levski came very aggressive to the game and it took us time to adjust. By the time we did it we were down 20 points as we were very bad both in offense and defense. We finished the first half with 13 turnovers and that was very bad. Levski was 20 times at the free throw line and we were minus 15 points after the end of it. I′m happy only on the third quarter when we bounced back. In the fourth quarter we came back to the game and showed some character.

We changed most of the team from last season and we still need to learn each other as it takes time because we are a young team. I think Levski are much better because they have such a high level point guard. Sometimes even one player can make very big difference. They lost some players like Aaron Harper and Marcus Hall which were very good but when they brought Marinovic it changed the team and made it much better as a team.

Of course like most of the teams we are playing to win EUROHOLD Balkan League. We are defending the championship and our goal is not just to win but to defend our title.

We just lost two games. One was in Kumanovo where the gym is very tough and the conditions are difficult. Still Kumanovo is very good team as well as Levski is. I think the other teams on our group are not as strong as last season but there are also new ones. So when you combine both groups the level will be higher."