Simeon Nikolov, Kristiyan Titriyski, and Aleksandar Kandev departed early this morning for the USA. Nikolov and Kandev flew to Munich, from where they continued to Los Angeles. There they will be students at Long Beach State University (California) under the guidance of coach Alan Knipe. The assistant coach of the team, Nick MacRae, was in Bulgaria during the U18 Men's European Championship. Kristiyan Titriyski flew via Frankfurt to Hawaii, where the academic year has already begun. On the island, he will be a teammate with French national Adrien Roure, who was named best receiver at the recent European Championship in Vrnjačka Banja. There was also an option for Titriyski to be a teammate of Moni and Sasho, but Long Beach did not need an opposite hitter. Aleksandar Kandev will play with number 12. There was a free 13th, but for some unknown reason, they didn't give it to me, explained Sasho, who wears the 'fatal' jersey for the national team and Levski-Sofia. The information was confirmed that Nikolov and Kandev flew to the USA immediately after the Balkan Championship final in Vrnjačka Banja, due to mandatory administrative procedures at the university. The Americans don't care that we have a European Championship; they want all procedures to be completed within their deadlines, explained Vladimir Nikolov.
On September 12, Stiliyan Delibosov will also fly to the USA, where he will play at California State University, Northridge (Los Angeles).

photos: Nikolay Varadinov