Quarterfinal 1 preview: Kumanovo 2009 is waiting for Levski at home

Quarterfinal 1 of EUROHOLD Balkan League sees KK Kumanovo 2009 hosting BC Levski in its own gym. Both teams are set to meet and start the battle for one of the final two last spots in the Final 4. The second match of the two-game series is next Tuesday in Sofia.   Kumanovo lost both games against Levski this season, including the last one at home 20 days ago. However this is a different situation and the hosts will have also much more support from its fans that the last match which is an important thing. All season Kumanovo had problems with injuries but now the team can rely on all of its players and will have the chance to be at full roster against Levski. Vukasin Mandic is the top scorer for the team and in the competition with 18.4 points. The point guard Royce Parran has an important role with his 14.2 points and 4.7 assists and his performance will be very important. This goes also for the center Uros Lukovic who averaged 13.4 points and 9.7 rebounds and also the power forward Ivan Miskovic who has 13.3 points and 8.7 rebounds. Nemanja Vranjes is with 11.1 points in just eight games but he is starting to regain his from from early in the season and will be a valuable asset in the match. However Kumanovo is entering this match with 8 straight defeats in the regular season and this might be a problem for the team′s confidence going in to this match.   Levski on the other side offers a lot of experienced players who however lost an 18-point advantage to Sigal Prishtina last week to lose and finish 3rd in the regular season. The Blues from Sofia will once again face a lot of fans and will need to be calm throughout the game to have a chance for success. Levski won both matches against Kumanovo this season but both times was difficult and now the stakes are higher. The newest addition to the team Brandon Heath will lead his teammates in this match as he and almost all of the rest of the team are very experienced players which is important in such clashes. Lionel Chalmers is averaging 15.5 points for the team while Hristo Zahariev is with 12.3. Mike Wilkinson has 11.8 points and 6.0 rebounds in six matches as Jumaine Jones is with 11.5 and 9.7 for the season. Important will be the battle of Nikolay Varbanov with Uros Lukovic under the basket and this match up can prove to be very key.   The game will be broadcast LIVE on Macedonian National TV, Bulgarian National TV and on Sportmedia.tv on internet.