Bulgaria head coach Lyubomir Minchev "I'm really happy that we beat one of the best teams in Europe and also in the world

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BOTEVGRAD (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers) - Bulgaria handed France their first loss in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers with a huge 74-68 upset at home to give them a major boost in their dreams of advancing to China. 
Dee Bost led the way for Bulgaria with 17 points and 6 rebounds while Dimitar Dimitrov added 15 points, Pavel Marinov had 13 points and Aleksandar Vezenkov chipped in 9 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks. 
The win improves Bulgaria's record to 3-4 in Group K, while France dropped to 6-1 and off the list of undefeated teams in these Qualifiers, despite 17 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists from Nicolas Batum. Nando De Colo had just 8 points and 5 turnovers in Les Bleus' first game since the retirement of long-time captain Boris Diaw.
Turning point: Bulgaria withstood a big 17-2 first half run by France to erase the hosts' 11-point lead and never let the visitors pull away - with the French never leading by more than four points. The game went back and forth with 19 lead changes and in the end, Bulgaria held France scoreless for nearly 4 minutes in the fourth quarter and closed the game with a 10-2 run over the final 6 minutes. 
Game hero: Dimitrov was a model of efficiency with 16 points on 7-9 shooting to go with 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal. 
Stats don't lie: France allowed 14 Bulgarian offensive rebounds while they picked up just 7 rebounds off their own offensive glass. Vincent Collet's troops also committed 19 turnovers while shooting 4-22 (18%) from three-point range. 

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