Armenia was eliminated from contention for EuroBasket 2029 after a loss to Bulgaria

The Armenia national basketball team suffered a defeat against Bulgaria in the EuroBasket 2029 pre-qualification match. The game, held in Yerevan, ended 80:100 in favor of the visitors.

It was the second meeting between the two sides in the group stage. In the first round, which took place in Bulgaria, the Bulgarian team also claimed victory. As a result, Armenia lost any chance of advancing from Group B.

Despite the final score, the game was intense and largely balanced. Armenia competed достойно for most of the match, but in the closing stages the team lacked depth. Foul trouble became a serious issue, as several key players had to play cautiously to avoid disqualification.

Both centers — Yura Melikyan and David Khachatryan — fouled out after receiving five personal fouls each. Daniel Kirakosyan spent one and a half quarters with four fouls, which also affected his defensive aggressiveness.

In this match, Armenia were without team captain Andre Spight-Mkrtchyan, who missed the game due to injury, as well as Gabriel Ajemyan, who cannot play home games because of document-related issues. American point guard Chris Jones was replaced by another legionnaire, Darius McGhee, who delivered an outstanding performance and became the top scorer of the game.

Only five Armenian players scored points, while all ten Bulgarian players registered scoring contributions, clearly demonstrating the difference in squad depth.

Top scorers for Armenia:

Darius McGhee — 35 points
Yura Melikyan — 22
Daniel Kirakosyan — 15
Albert Tadevosyan — 6
Valeriy Aghajanyan — 2

Group B standings:

Norway — 2 wins, 0 losses
Bulgaria — 2 wins, 1 loss
Armenia — 0 wins, 3 losses

On July 2, Armenia will face Norway in the final round.