The winners of the 3X3 BULGARIA TOUR 2017 finale come to Bucharest with only one substitution, led by Ivan Lilov. With no more than three appearances in 3×3 competitions this year, the ballers from Sofia are hoping to speculate any wrong move from their rivals, as outsiders. Yet, Sofia Fit Spo will have a difficult task.
Key Player: Ivan Lilov
A 5×5 national team player for Bulgaria, Lilov was one step away from the Eurobasket 2017 qualification, in group E, where the Balkan team faced Slovenia, Ukraine and Kosovo. Eventually, Bulgaria finished third, with 8 points, outside the qualifying positions. The 1,96-meters shooting guard, who has celebrated his 29th birthday last week, is a player with enough international experience and skill. At 5×5, Lilov won a bronze medal in the Hungarian Cup, at the end of the 2016/2017 season.
Ivan Lilov made his debut on the 3×3 circuit earlier this year, in May, and will now play his third tournament, in Bucharest – already a Challenger event.
None of the four boys who come to represent Sofia at the contest hosted by the iconic University Square have played at Raiffeisen Bank Bucharest Challenger before. And history doesn’t give them much to build on either: Bulgaria has sent a team on four previous ocasions (2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015), but each time the squad failed to get past the group phase, into the eliminatory rounds. Two 9th place-finishes, back in 2012 and 2013, are Bulgaria’s best results so far at the Challenger.
