Balgarianovinite.com 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.
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. Bulgaria Beat Norway to Advance in EuroBasket 2029 Pre-Qualifiers 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-07-05 19:58:00 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law