Bulgaria advances in Eurobasket 2029 pre-qualifiers

Bulgaria defeated Norway 88-57 in Arena Botevgrad on Sunday to finish first in Group B of the first stage of the EuroBasket 2029 pre-qualifiers. The win sent Bulgaria into the next phase with a 3-1 record.

Head coach Lyubomir Minchev started Aleksandar Vezenkov, Yordan Minchev, Konstantin Toshkov, Borislav Mladenov and Ivan Alipiev, while Aleksandar Gavalyugov, Krastomir Mihov and Ivan Spirov made their senior national team debuts, CE Report quotes BTA.

Bulgaria took control early, leading 27-10 after the first quarter and stretching the advantage to 52-27 by halftime. Vezenkov then drove another strong run after the break as the hosts opened up a 74-39 lead before the final period and saw out the game with ease.

Vezenkov led all scorers with 22 points, adding six rebounds and one assist. Mladenov had 15 points, four rebounds and one assist, Aleksandar Stoimenov added 13 points and three rebounds, and Toshkov finished with 10 points, four rebounds and eight assists. Ludvig Bergseng scored 10 points for Norway.

EuroBasket 2029 qualifying began in November 2025 and will run through February 2029, deciding the 20 teams that will join co-hosts Estonia, Greece, Slovenia and Spain. The pre-qualifiers are being played in three stages, with Bulgaria now advancing to the second stage.

Bulgaria began the EuroBasket 2029 pre-qualifiers under Minchev, who returned as head coach for the qualification cycle after previously leading the team from 2016 to 2019. Nickolay Rashkov was appointed director of the men’s and women’s national teams in May, and Bulgaria went into the decisive home game against Norway top of Group B with two wins and one loss.

Photo: Chat GPT