The Bulgarian national U18 men's volleyball team won the Balkan Championship title after a convincing 3:1 victory over Turkey (25:21, 19:25, 25:15, 25:14) in the final in the Montenegrin capital.
A masterclass in the trophy match
The team led by coach Miroslav Zhivkov delivered a true spectacle. After an evenly matched first set, in which Bulgaria gained the upper hand and closed the set at 25:21, only in the second set did the Turks manage to respond. From then on, complete domination followed. In the third and fourth sets, the opponent simply had no answers – the Bulgarians closed them at 25:15 and 25:14. In the deciding set, our boys took a 23:12 lead, and Antoan Veselinov scored the final point for the ultimate success.
A perfect tournament
Bulgaria finished the Balkan Championship undefeated – five wins from five matches. In the group stage, Moldova, Greece, and Serbia were defeated, and in the semi-finals, the hosts from Montenegro also succumbed.
Individual awards
Two Bulgarians left with individual prizes: Pavel Dzhenev – Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the championship; Nikola Velikov – the team's captain won the award for Best Setter.
What's next
The team continues its preparation for the European Championship in Italy (July 7–18, 2026). The Bulgarians were drawn into Group B in Cisterna di Latina, where they will face France, Belgium, Czechia, Spain, Germany, Romania, and the Netherlands.
