The draw ceremony for the upcoming basketball season 2025/2026 was held today in the capital city hall "Triaditsa", pitting the champion Rilski Sportist against Pernik's Minyor 2015 in its initial configuration.
The National Basketball League (NBL) will include a total of 11 team formations, with two debutants standing out - Lokomotiv Plovdiv and Botev Vratsа 2012. The remaining participants maintain their presence from last year's season: Rilski Sportist, Cherno More Tича, Balkan, Spartak Pleven, Akademik Bulteks 99, Beroe, Minyor 2015, Levski, and Shumen.
An interesting nuance in this year's format is the special status of the Shumen team, which will be exempted from participation in the first round and will start as a guest in the next two rounds. This decision is dictated by current renovation activities in the city's "Arena Shumen".
The full program of the first round includes the following pairs: Botev Vratsа against Beroe, Lokomotiv Plovdiv contra Cherno More Tича, Akademik Bulteks 99 facing Balkan, and Spartak Pleven in a match with Levski.