Back in the 50's and 60's, Bulgaria was a member of the European elite. But times have changed. The national team is back in the EuroBasket final round for the first time since 1993. Regarding that as a first step, Rosen Barchovski and his boys aim to qualify for the quarter-finals.

		Todor Stoykov

It was in July. The national team met at the Universiada Hall in Sofia to begin training camp. Captain Todor Stoykov arrived at the meeting with a Bulgarian flag in his hands. "I want to show the boys what we are fighting for", he said. "We have one goal at EuroBasket, to stand up for the national flag".

After a twelve year of absence from top European level basketball, Bulgaria are proud to be back. Proud to remind everybody that Bulgaria is a land of basketball.

Let's open the history book. 1957. The European Championship is held in Sofia. The home team advances to the final and earns the right to face the Soviet Union. Despite the support of a 48,000 crowd in the Levski Spartak Stadium, the national team loses the game, but receives a first ever EuroBasket medal. Four years later, in Belgrade, the Bulgarians clinch bronze. Their second and last medal to date. Until 1993, the squad was a regular participant in the final round of the competition. And then, the 12-year black hole…

Last fall, Bulgaria finally managed to exit that black hole, registering a 4-2 record in the qualifying round with Latvia, Israel and Portugal. A great result. "The first goal of the Bulgarian national team was to qualify for EuroBasket and we are glad that we will compete with the best nations", Stoykov explained. "Considering the current state of Bulgarian basketball, we regard this as a success. We know that nobody expects our team to go past the preliminary round, but at every big tournament, there are surprises. We want the way we play in Podgorica to be a pleasant surprise for everyone who watches and loves basketball".

		“	No one from the national team has played at a European Basketball Championship	„
		Todor Stoykov

For the event, Barchovski decided to opt for youth. Last July, the Under 20 national team won the European Championship, Division B. Four members of this squad  were invited to train with the Senior group : the Ivanov twins, two big prospects for Bulgarian basketball at the power forward position ; Stanislav Slaveykov, an offensive-minded small forward ; and center Nikolay Varbanov. At only 31, forward Hrisimir Dimitrov is the oldest player on the squad. "Although most of us have experience competing for our club teams on the European basketball stage, no one from the national team has played at a European Basketball Championship. Our strongest weapon is the ambition and desire of a young team. On the other hand, this lack of experience might also be our biggest drawback", Stoykov said. The charismatic team captain will be one of the players to watch at this level. A prolific scorer and versatile player (19.3 ppg, 6.2 rpg and 4.0 apg during the qualifying round), he is definitely the leader of the squad, on and off the court. The team is well-equipped on the perimeter. At point guard, Yordan Bozov had a very satisfying qualification session (11.2 ppg and 2.0 apg) but suffered a severe knee injury last December. He started practice again only in June. Is he back at his best ? Everybody on the team hopes so… On the wings, Filip Videnov affirmed himself as the second offensive weapon of the group(14.2 ppg) for his first campaign with the national team. Nicknamed the "Bulgarian Kukoc", versatile forward Dimitar Angelov also played a crucial part during the qualifying round (11.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg and 2.7 apg). In the paint, coach Barchovski expects a lot from the 214 cm Boyko Mladenov, a former NBA prospect who plays with Stoykov in Academic. All these players want to show their skills before the European elite.

Regarded as the outsiders in Group B, the Bulgarians will face Lithuania (2003 European champions), Turkey (2001 runners-up), and traditional European powerhouses Croatia. A difficult task but Rosen Barchovski is neither afraid nor pessimistic. "I will say this : let them think we are the outsiders", stated the national coach. "We have to go there with self-confidence and faith, to play every game for victory. Let’s put the minimum line at going out of the group. The weaker they think we are, the better it is for us".  Pleased with the way his team played during the qualifying round, Barchovski has great confidence in his players. ”It is very important for the players to believe in themselves and never think about the fact the other teams are very strong", he explained. "Faith is the most important word for us. I believe in my players, they know it and they proved they deserved that trust with the way they played in the qualification games. I think we could do something special at the EuroBasket and surprise the favourites". Bulgaria are back in business…