by Alex Gorrin
A couple of games were observed in the league on Sunday, July 21. After their completion, the four teams to make it to the playoffs in the fall were decided and the few question marks that remain until the end of the regular phase relate to the exact positions among the top 4. Except for the perennial title contenders: Sofia Blues, Buffaloes Blagoevgrad, and Athletic Sofia, this season will see a surprising new entry into the Final Four as the Akademiks from Sofia’s strategy of recycling clubs that go out of existence (Devils Dupitsa in 2016, Wolves AAS in 2017 and Athletic Kozloduy in 2018) seems to be finally paying dividends. A couple of pitching imports from Moldova are also fitting in nicely for Bulgaria’s oldest club that has struggled to make any difference in the league since the early 1990s.
The playoffs will see a couple of semifinal series in the best of 3 format between the 1st v 4th and 2nd v 3rd from the final standings in the regular phase. The BBL finals are a best of 5 contest between the semifinal series winners.
July 21
Junak Sofia v Akademiks Sofia 1:16
Sofia Blues v Athletic Sofia 3:6
Current Standings
1. Sofia Blues 10:1
2. Buffaloes Blagoevgrad 8:3
3. Athletic Sofia 7:4
4. Akademiks Sofia 6:4
5. Junak Sofia 5:7
6. Coyotes Dupnitsa 3:9
7. Lions NSA Sofia 0:11