Balkan and Black Sea Ticha faced each other in a second consecutive thrilling and intense game in "Arena Botevgrad" as part of the semi-final playoff series in the Sesame National Basketball League. The second game closely mirrored the first, with Balkan emerging victorious once again. The Botevgrad team secured their win 80-78 in a truly dramatic fashion. Balkan took the lead with 2 seconds left after Travis MacConico made a crucial shot, but Lamont West was fouled on a three-point attempt. Despite this, Black Sea Ticha failed to maintain composure, missing all three free throws (the last one intentionally), essentially gifting the win to Balkan. The Botevgrad team now leads 2-0 in the series and needs just one more win to advance to the finals.

Both teams started strong, with the home team taking a convincing lead in the first quarter, extending their lead to 15 points at one point. However, the visitors gradually narrowed the gap and took a 9-point lead in the final period. Despite this, they could not hold on, and Balkan made a significant step towards the final, while the task for Black Sea Ticha now looks considerably tougher.

The third game, with Black Sea Ticha as the home team, will be played in "Arena Shumen" on May 14th at 8:30 PM.

The first game, also won by the Botevgrad team at home, was decided in a similarly dramatic manner—91-89, following a winning shot by Jamari Blackmon 15 seconds before the end. The first playoff game will be remembered for the fan-induced disruptions that nearly caused the game to be halted. Fortunately, no such incidents occurred today.

The British national Jelani-Watson-Gale did not start for Black Sea Ticha, likely due to physical issues. Instead, Darrell Davis filled the starting lineup and performed strongly, while Watson-Gale was later substituted in.

First Half:

A difficult execution by Jamari Blackmon led to a basket plus a foul for Balkan, giving the home team a 13-6 lead in the middle of the first quarter. Alonzo Gafny's points from mid-range slightly reduced the gap to 3 points at 10-13. A three-point shot by Alex Simeonov from the corner gave the home team a 5-point lead, and a three-point shot by Taj Green followed shortly after, making the score 21-13. After 10 minutes of play, Konstantin Toshev made two free throws, giving the team a 27-14 lead.

Second Half:

The second quarter began with both teams exchanging three-pointers, with Andrey Ivanov and Lamont West scoring for their respective teams. Ivanov then added a point from an offensive rebound, making the score 34-19. The visitors responded with a run of 8-2, but a three-pointer by Iliyan Pishikov once again pushed the lead to double digits—41-30. Darrell Davis followed with a three-pointer, and Lamont West's free throw narrowed the gap to 7 points—41-34. The first half ended with the home team holding a 5-point lead—46-41.

Third Quarter:

A three-pointer by Darrell Davis brought Black Sea Ticha within 3 points at 45-48 at the start of the third quarter, showing that the team was fighting until the end. Travis MacConico made a crucial basket with the score tied, and then stole the ball, making an impressive shot to take the lead—52-45. A three-pointer by Marin Marinov narrowed the lead to 4 points in the middle of the quarter, and another long-range shot by Darrell Davis reduced the lead to 3 points—55-52. Lamont West soon brought Black Sea Ticha within a point at 55-56. Darrell Davis continued to showcase his shooting skills with a three-pointer to tie the game at 58-58. For a short while, Black Sea Ticha took the lead, and after 30 minutes of play, the score was tied at 60-60.

Final Quarter:

Konstantin Toshev was hit hard at the start of the final quarter, and the sixth three-pointer by Darrell Davis gave Black Sea Ticha a lead of 63-61. A basket by Gafny made the score 67-64 for Black Sea Ticha, and shortly after, Lamont West added two more points for the visitors. A three-pointer by Georgi Boyanov then gave Black Sea Ticha an 8-point lead—74-66. Jelani Watson-Gale, who was substituted in for Black Sea Ticha, scored two points, and his team led by 9 points—76-67. However, the Botevgrad team did not give up and a foul on Taj Green brought the score to 76-78. Alex Simeonov tied the score at 78-78 with a free throw under a minute and a half before the end, and then captain of Black Sea Ticha, Nikolay Staynov, was fouled but missed both free throws. With two seconds left, Travis MacConico made a crucial shot for Balkan, but in the final moment, Jamari Blackmon was fouled by Lamont West on a three-point attempt. West missed the first two free throws and intentionally made a "ear ball" on the third, securing a hard-fought but sweet victory for Balkan.

Travis MacConico and Taj Green were the driving forces for Balkan with 19 points each, with MacConico also collecting 10 rebounds, and Green excelling with 8 steals. Jamari Blackmon contributed 15 points, and Alex Simeonov added 11 points from the bench. For Black Sea Ticha, Darrell Davis had an impressive game with six three-pointers for a total of 22 points, seven assists, six rebounds, and two steals. Georgi Boyanov added 18 points, and Lamont West and Alonzo Gafny contributed 13 and 10 points, respectively.

The visitors, however, were heavily criticized for their free throw performance—8 out of 22. In contrast, the home team made 26 out of 32 free throws, which could have been the deciding factor in the game.

Starting Lineups:

Balkan: 0. Jamari Blackmon, 1. Travis MacConico, 12. Taj Green, 33. Nikolay Grozhev, 34. Dimitar Dimitrov

Black Sea Ticha: 0. Alonzo Gafny, 5. Lamont West, 8. Nikolay Staynov, 17. Darrell Davis, 24. Georgi Boyanov

GAME STATISTICS