Leader of Bulgarian national basketball team Philip Videnov is injured and is doubtful for tomorrow’s 2011 European Championship qualifying clash against the Georgian side.
The fact was unveiled for the press by the Bulgaria head coach Rosen Barchovsky. Apparently, Videnov got injured during the last match against the Belgian side. He was unable to continue the game without medical help. “It can be said, that Philip suffered a real pain. He was feeling pain from the start in Antwerp, however, because of how important the game was, he had never thought about being substituted. Doctors have injected pain-killer into him, so Videnov managed to gather a huge profit for us. As of now, Philip is going through the intensive rehabilitation process. If everything will be alright, he will play against Georgia” – stated Barchovsky. As you know, Bulgaria has won their first two matches, after which they suffered first defeat against the Belgian side (69:74). Videnov played 25 minutes and scored 18 points (6 out of 7 two-pointers along with 2 out 4 three-pointers) and gathered 4 rebounds in that game.
Last season Philip played for the “Zheleznik” Belgrade side. During the current qualifying stage his average game time is 27 minutes, 20.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.3 assist. Bulgarians are still shocked by the loss in Belgium. Rosen Barchovsky expressed his anger while talking to the journalists: “I very mad because of this defeat. Apparently, we have lost the game after the first half. We did make a number of mistakes and it resulted in an 11 point deficit at the break; it’s tough to dispose such a gap for the away team. When you have recorded 21 turnovers, don’t even think about success.”
It is clear, that Barchovky will consider “Belgian lesson” in the game against Georgia. “Loss of concentration in another game would be a killer. It is impossible to predict who will qualify to the final stage if we look on our present group situation. We do know that we have no right to lose at home ground. We are planning to win against the Georgians, moreover, we should do it by as big margin as possible. The last game of qualifying campaign we have in Georgia, and it is possible that point difference will be the decisive factor. ”
The qualifying game between Bulgarian and Georgian national teams will be held at the Sofia’s “Universiada” Arena on August 14. The match will start at 19:00 Tbilisi time. Live stream of this game is scheduled by the Georgian Public Broadcast (GPB).
