Bulgaria crushes North Macedonia 102–62 to settle 13th-place match
Bulgaria routed North Macedonia 102–62 in the classification match for 13th place at the U16 Division B tournament hosted in Gevgelija and Skopje.
North Macedonia's U16 cadet team closed out the FIBA U16 European Championship Division B on a sour note, falling heavily to Bulgaria in the final classification game played on 15.08.2026 in the host cities Gevgelija and Skopje.
In the match that decided 13th place, Bulgaria imposed a one-sided scoreline and defeated North Macedonia 102–62, leaving the hosts to finish the tournament in 14th place.
The visitors set the tone early, outscoring North Macedonia 24–15 in the opening quarter and carrying a commanding 54–29 advantage into halftime. The gap never narrowed in the second half, and Bulgaria dominated across all phases of play.
Offensively North Macedonia depended on a few performers: Konevski and Zunzurovski scored 13 points each, Kotevski added 11, and Shabani finished with 10.
The result underlined Bulgaria's superiority in this age group and leaves North Macedonia with material for reflection as coaches and federation officials analyse the campaign and plan for the next cycle.
Overall tournament placement and the margin in the final game will be focal points in post-tournament evaluations inside the Macedonian basketball setup.
Photo: press material from the event
