Sigal Prishtina won the trophy of the Balkan League and achieved what it couldn’t achieve in its debut season. This success came after their triumph in two matches of Balkan League Finals, against the Bulgarian team, Rilski Sportist.
Prishtina marked history as the first team from Kosovo to win a trophy in a regional competition. This success came on Wednesday, in Samokov, after Sigal Prishtina defeated Rilski 80:71. This was the second game of the Balkan League Finals; the first one took place last Tuesday, in Prishtina, where Sigal Prishtina defeated Rilski 74:72.
The difference remained the same after 30 minutes, then the teams exchanged baskets as after some misses from both sides, however in the final 10 minutes of the game Prishtina took control of the game and won the trophy.
Most efficient players of Sigal Prishtina were Jordan Hulls with 22 points and Julian Mavunga with 16 points. Whereas, Rilski’s most efficient players were Tony Gugino with 25 points and Vernon Taylor with 15 points.
A delegation from Kosovo Basketball Federation led by President, Erolld Belegu, were present at the sports hall “Arena”, in Samokov, Bulgaria. "I would like to congratulate Sigal Prishtina for the well deserved trophy, which was proven in the final matches against Rilski Sportist. This success completes Kosovo’s affiliation to FIBA. This is a great success for Kosovo basketball. I would like to congratulate this victory to all basketball fans, because this is a great achievement. We won’t stop here, but we will continue to work even harder. During the summer we will compete in two European Championships with youth categories and hope to continue with this rhythm of successes” stated Mr. Belegu, who was also one of the officials to handle the medals to the finalist teams. After the game, KBF’s Number 1 and the Coach of Sigal Prishtina, Marjan Ilievski received congratulations from the President of Kosovo, Ms. Atifete Jahjaga.
Rilski Sportist - Sigal Prishtina 71:80 (26:22, 10:16, 16:19, 19:23)
Sports Hall “Arena”, in Samakov.
Spectators: 1500.
Referees: A. Zurapovic, O. Jokic, H. Bijedic.
Rilski Sportist: Gugino 25, Taylor 15, Bozov 8, Rakocevic 6, Z. Georgiev 11, Milov, Ivanov, Norfleet 2, K. Georgiev, Kirov, Iliev, Todorov 4.
Sigal Prishtina: Trajkovski 8, Berisha 12, Bavcic 12, Azemi, Hulls 22, Mazreku, Stitt, Bajrami, Mavunga 16, Coles 10, Mekaj, Jakupi.