Levski with fifth straight win in Top 6 of EUROHOLD Balkan League

Levski continues to be the only team without a defeat in Top 6 of EUROHOLD Balkan League. The Blues from Sofia won away the Bulgarian derby of the competition against Rilski Sportist 74-69 and are the leaders with 7 wins and 2 losses. Rilski is 4-5 record as both teams are already qualified for the Final 4. This match didn′t have any reflection on the standings but only for the self-confidence of both rosters as they will meet on the semifinal of the competition being from the same country.
Levski started better and Marko Marinovic scored the first 5 points but the home team quickly tied the score. Both sides exchanged basket but at one point the visitors made a 9-0 run which gave them a 10-point lead which was kept until the end of the first quarter as it finished with a triple by Pavel Ivanov for 15-25 in favour of Levski.
The visitors had the advantage in the second quarter as well but Rilski wasn′t so far away. The home team was close and near the end of the quarter the cut the deficit to 4 points and missed the chance to close the gap even further in few of their plays. In their last offense of the half the visitors missed and then there was time for Terry Smith to score a triple at the buzzer and cut the deficit to just a single points, 33-34 after 20 minutes.
The second half started like the first one - with a triple by Marko Marinovic and then the hosts scored immediately. Levski though managed to make a 7-0 run and the difference went up to 9 points. Rilski managed to come close to 4 points but the visitors responded with another run. Until the end of the quarter they had a 13-2 score which secured them 15-point lead heading in to the last ten minutes. In the final quarter the visitors had a good lead for a long time but with 01.30 minutes to go Rilski cut it only to 5 points with 13-0 run. Then Marinovic scored a basket and was fouled. He missed the free throw but grabbe the rebounds and then assisted to Mladen Pantic for 9-point lead. The hosts though responded with a quick 6-0 run to cut the deficit to just 3 points with 14 seconds to play but Levski didn′t allow anything to happen in the final seconds.   Top scorer for the winners Marko Marinovic with 21 points. Mladen Pantic added 16 while Nemanja Protic finished with 9.
For the home team Terry Smith finished with 19 points while 11 points apiece had Branko Mirkovic and Tony Gugino.

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FULL STATS FROM THE GAME BC RILSKI SPORTIST - BC LEVSKI   SCHEDULE AND RESULTS FROM TOP 6 IN EUROHOLD BALKAN LEAGUE
 
CURRENT STANDINGS IN TOP 6 OF EUROHOLD BALKAN LEAGUE