Bulgaria upset France, hand Les Bleus first defeat of Qualifiers

BOTEVGRAD (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers) - Bulgaria handed France their first loss in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers with a huge 74-68 upset at home to give them a major boost in their dreams of advancing to China. 

Dee Bost led the way for Bulgaria with 17 points and 6 rebounds while Dimitar Dimitrov added 15 points, Pavel Marinov had 13 points and Aleksandar Vezenkov chipped in 9 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks. 

The win improves Bulgaria's record to 3-4 in Group K, while France dropped to 6-1 and off the list of undefeated teams in these Qualifiers, despite 17 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists from Nicolas Batum. Nando De Colo had just 8 points and 5 turnovers in Les Bleus' first game since the retirement of long-time captain Boris Diaw.

Turning point: Bulgaria withstood a big 17-2 first half run by France to erase the hosts' 11-point lead and never let the visitors pull away - with the French never leading by more than four points. The game went back and forth with 19 lead changes and in the end, Bulgaria held France scoreless for nearly 4 minutes in the fourth quarter and closed the game with a 10-2 run over the final 6 minutes. 

Game hero: Dimitrov was a model of efficiency with 16 points on 7-9 shooting to go with 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal. 

Stats don't lie: France allowed 14 Bulgarian offensive rebounds while they picked up just 7 rebounds off their own offensive glass. Vincent Collet's troops also committed 19 turnovers while shooting 4-22 (18%) from three-point range. 

Bottom line: Bulgaria knew they would have a major challenge in Group K and even with this home victory they face an up-hill battle with Czech Republic, Finland, Russia and Bosnia and Herzegovina also in the group. France dropped to 6-1 and will look to bounce back on September 16 at home versus Finland while Bulgaria travel to Khimki Moscow Region to face Russia. 

They said: "I'm really happy that we beat one of the best teams in Europe and also in the world but as a coach I have to stay on the ground. We have another game and we have to fight and believe in ourselves in the same way." - Bulgaria head coach Lyubomir Minchev

"Personally for me it was a dream to play against such a team and I'm extremely happy that we won. It was a very tough game for us. We came ready for a good fight, we started the game well and I think we finished the best way we can." - Bulgaria's Dimitar Dimitrov

"We were not ready enough for their level. They played a fantastic game. Every time we pushed them to near the end of the shotclock, they hit big shots. We were not smart enough. I don't think that it comes from having underestimated them." - France head coach Vincent Collet

"They played great defense. We expected them to play tough. They had a great game. We were not ready for them but it doesn't mean we underestimated them." - France captain Nicolas Batum

FIBA