The Bulgarian national team completed its preparation for the World Championship in the Philippines with two control matches against the USA – a 2:1 win and a 0:3 loss.
Early this morning, the two staffs held training matches on two courts.
On the main court at Hiroshima Thunders Sport Complex, our team lost 0:3. The lineup was: Simeon Nikolov, Aleksandar Nikolov, Iliya Petkov, Martin Atanasov, Asparuh Asparuhov, Alex Grozdanov, and libero Damian Kolev.
The Bulgarian team lost the individual sets 20:25, 22:25, and 24:26. Aleksandar Nikolov was the top scorer with 15 points, and Iliya Petkov added 8.
In the third set, the two setters – Simeon Nikolov and Stoil Palev – swapped teams.
On the second court, our formation was composed of: Boris Nachev, Georgi Tatarov, Rusi Zhelev, Venislav Antov, Preslav Petkov, and Dimitar Dobrev.
The team won the first and third sets – 25:22 and 25:20 respectively, while losing 14:25 in the second. Opposite Hitter Venislav Antov distinguished himself with 15 points.
Tomorrow morning, our national team departs for Manila.
Bulgaria's first match at the World Championship in the Philippines is against Germany – on September 13.
photos: BFV
