BC Balkan Botevgrad
Balkan Botevgrad (English Botevgrad Balkan, Bulgarian Балкан Ботевград, often only referred to briefly Balkans) is a Bulgarian basketball club from Botevgrad.
History
Beginnings and establishment
The club was founded in 1947. In the late 1960s, the rise of the club started in the Bulgarian professional basketball. In the top division of the country, the National Basketball League, the Balkans belonged in the 1970s and 1980s to the top teams. The first title was won in 1970 with the Bulgarian Basketball Cup. Thanks to this success, the team for the European Cup Winners' Cup, in which it failed to Siegen and others against JA Vichy of France in the quarter -finals of the Spaniards Joventut de Badalona from qualified.
In 1972, the Bulgarian club was runner-up, a year later a third party. Due to the good results we started a second time in the European Cup, this time in Korac Cup, where they failed in the second round by Jugoplastika Split.
Bulgarian champion and national champion debut in Cup
The good performances of the previous seasons were again far exceeded in the season of 1973/74 when the team won the first championship for the club. Then Balkan Botevgrad launched in major European competition in basketball, the European Champion Clubs' Cup, where with a little luck, as the second-round opponents KS Partizani withdrew the group stage has been reached. This, inter alia, with Pallacanestro Varese, KK Zadar and Racing Mechelen Pils very strong field group get the team at least three wins, although not sufficient to progress.
In the league championship success at first could not be repeated. 1975, 1976 and 1982, three third places were again achieved, thereby Balkans still belonged to the circle of the top teams in Bulgaria.
The Golden Years
The profit of the Bulgarian Basketball Cup in 1986 ushered in the most successful era of the club history, in 1987 and 1988, the Double, was composed of the national championship and national cup wins. In 1989, another - and thus the third in a row and fourth overall - won championship.
In Landesmeistercup in which it was represented three times in a row because of the title wins between 1988 and 1990, to Balkan sat every time in the first round through, but also always failed in the second round. 1988 Olimpia Milano ( 79:93 & 88:97 ), 1989, CSKA Moscow ( 80:103 & 68:87 ) and 1990 Aris Thessaloniki ( 91:107 & 88:119 ).
Insolvency
The great successes could not repeat Balkan Botevgrad. The best league position after the last championship was a third place in the season 1989 / 90th
The association appeared after almost two decades before a long -term establishment in the county championship contender when he was in the 2007/ 08 season behind series champion Akademik Sofia runner-up. But shortly before the start of the 2008/09 season the club went bankrupt and was excluded from the game operation of the National Basketball League and in the second division ( Division A ) graduated.
Presence
The Division A was won sovereign and thus sealed the promotion back to the Premier League. In the first season after promotion Balkans occupied equal a strong third place and was allowed to take part in the first Balkan League, but in the group phase, the team was eliminated with just one win in eight games. The 2012/13 season closed Botevgrad one more time at number three and reached the play- offs semi-final.
Hall
The club plays its home games from the comprehensive 1,000 places Balkans Hall in Pravets Sports Complex.
Achievements
- 4x Bulgarian champion (1974, 1987, 1988, 1989)
- 4x Bulgarian Cup winner (1970, 1986, 1987, 1988)
- 2x Bulgarian Vice Champion (1972, 2008)