The National Youth Basketball Team of Bulgaria in the under-16 category is undertaking intensive preparation for the upcoming European championships. Head coach Milen Dudev shared details with the media about the current training camp, which is taking place in the city of Pernik.
The team will play two friendly matches with the British national team on August 2 and 3. These control matches are part of the overall preparation strategy before the official championship, which starts on August 7 in Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia.
In their last control match, Dudev's players convincingly defeated Ireland with a score of 69:54, which gave additional confidence to the coaching staff. "With each passing match, our team demonstrates progress," the specialist commented, emphasizing that he still does not have the full team roster.
Among the called-up players are Martin Tanev, Ivo Valentinov, and Ruslan Boghomirov from "Pernishki Minyor 2015". Bozhidar Kirilov is included in the extended roster to gain competitive experience.
The coaching team sets ambitious goals, but the priority remains maintaining the physical fitness of the players. The two-day training sessions are extremely intensive and challenging for the young athletes.
"Our group at the European Championship is extremely strong," Dudev shared. In a group with Belgium, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Norway, the Bulgarian basketball players will have to make maximum efforts. The main goal is to qualify among the top eight teams.
The coaching staff includes Jordan Ivanov as an assistant from the "Akademik Plovdiv" team, Lyudmil Hadjisotirov as group leader and former coach of "Rilski Sportist", Antonio Kostov as physical training coach, and Dragomir Ivanov as physiotherapist.