Kids&Us Manresa pull away in the fourth quarter to win in Bulgaria

Kids&Us Manresa had to wait until the fourth quarter to secure a win in Bulgaria, beating Balkan Bovtegrado 76-65 on Tuesday in the fifth round of the EuroCup group stage. The result keeps the Catalan club among the top four in Group D. The game was played at Arena Bovtegrado, and the visitors made a strong start: by the fifth minute, the second unit led by Lucas Beaufort had put Manresa ahead 15-10.

The Catalans finished the opening quarter with a 25-17 advantage, taking advantage of a Bulgarian defence described as too soft. But that lead did not make for a comfortable contest. Balkan responded in the next period, with Gael Bonilla among those making an impact: the score was 28-24 in the 13th minute. Earlier in the quarter, Lukasz Kolenda had also scored as Balkan improved its accuracy from mid-range, in a sequence marked 22-15 in the eighth minute.

After the break, Balkan moved in front. A transition play finished by Ulrich Chomche made it 45-44 in the 25th minute. Manresa then began to look more settled and ended the third quarter with a four-point lead, 54-50, but the margin was not enough to put the game beyond reach.

The visitors turned that narrow advantage into a win in the final ten minutes. Manresa won the quarter 22-15. In the 34th minute, JD Notae, who was celebrating his birthday, helped stretch the lead to nine points at 64-55. Oriola then scored near the basket in the 38th minute at Bovtegrado Arena, as the score reached 76-59. Notae therefore played an important part in a victory that finished 76-65.

Balkan’s scoring breakdown listed 21 points for McCoy, 14 for Toshkov, 8 for Bonilla, 6 each for Chomche and Stoimenov, 5 for Ducas, 3 for Okwera and 2 for Ivanov. Grozev and Mathon did not score in that breakdown. For Manresa, the win was its third in the EuroCup this season. It keeps the club in the part of the standings that would qualify it for the round of 16. Having been put under pressure by Balkan’s comeback, Manresa preserved its place in the upper part of Group D with its fourth-quarter performance.