Vezenkov and Bost combine for 61 points to gain Bulgaria its first win / News - Basketnews.com

Dee Bost made 9 three-pointers en route to 33 points while Sasha Vezenkov ended the game with an alley-oop and 28 points in his account.

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

Dee Bost and Sasha Vezenkov dominated against Georgia (1-3) as Bulgaria (1-3) captured its first win in EuroBasket 2022 92-80 (14-18, 25-20, 27-19, 26-23) to take control of their fate in the tournament.

Player of the Game EFF 37 Dee Bost Points 33 Accuracy 11-19 Rebounds 4 Assists 12

The Dee Bost-Sasha Vezenkov duo was simply unstoppable. Both players recorded double-doubles and combined for 61 out of the team's 92 points. Bost finished the game with 33 on 11-for-19 shooting, making a whopping 9 triples out of 14. He also dished out 11 assists for a team-leading 37 PIR.

Bost's nine three-pointers tie Sasha Djordjevic's EuroBasket record that he set in the 1995 final against Lithuania.

Sasha Vezenkov was not that far behind with 28 points on 12-for-25 shooting. The Olympiacos Piraeus forward also grabbed 14 rebounds to end the game with 32 PIR points.

Although the home team led to begin the third quarter (40-39), Bulgaria took the game over in the second half. Led by the Bost-Vezenkov duo, the Bulgarians slowly but surely built their lead and went into the last quarter leading by 9 (66-57).

Georgia tried to come back during the last 10 minutes but all their efforts were not successful. Playing for a lower deficit at the end of the game, Beka Burjanadze received an unsportsmanlike foul, which later ended in an and-one alley-oop by Vezenkov.

Bulgaria now has its fate in its own hands. If they beat Belgium tomorrow, the Bulgarians will advance to the next round.

Georgia: Goga Bitadze 21 (6/8 2PT, 6/7 FT, 6 REB), Thaddus McFadden 19 (3/10 3PT), Sandro Mamukelashvili 13 (4/8 2PT, 11 REB, 6 AST), Duda Sanadze 10 (2/6 3PT), Giorgi Shermadini 10 (3/6 2PT, 6 REB).

Bulgaria: Dee Bost 33 (9/14 3PT, 12 AST), Sasha Vezenkov 28 (8/15 2PT, 4/10 3PT, 14 REB), Pavlin Ivanov 17 (5/8 3PT).

Full game highlights:

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