A lightning first quarter lifts Spartak Pleven over foul troubled Newcastle Eagles
- marisnoviks
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
Spartak Pleven scored 38 points in the first quarter and secured a 95-91 win over foul troubled Newcastle Eagles on Wednesday, December 17, at the Balkanstroy hall in northern Bulgaria.
Players of the game
It does not happen often in European basketball when three players from the winning team score 20 or more points each.
Wednesday was truly extraordinary as three Spartak players scored 25 (!) or more points.
Jalan McCloud led the pack with a game high 27 points on 10/19 shooting from the field and 5/7 from the charity stripe.
Martin Sotirov followed with 26 points.
A double citizen of Bulgaria and Serbia shot 16/22 from the free throw line after forcing 14 fouls.
St. Bonaventure center Noel Brown posted 25 points and 13 rebounds.
Terrell Burden Junior answered with 19 points.
A former Kennesaw State point guard joined Newcastle a week ago.
Key stats
Spartak Pleven outscored Newcastle Eagles in the first quarter, 38-7.
Thirty eight points in one quarter ties a second best result in ENBL history.
Bulgarian team pushed on and had a 26 points lead at the half, 57-31.
Newcastle Eagles scored 60 points in the second half.
Their comeback – a biggest in league history – wasn`t far from success.
The Eagles cut the gap to single digit, 70-61, with 8.14 left.
Four Eagles – captain Darius Defoe, Ray`Sean Taylor, Cole Long, Emmanuel Kanwei – were fouled out.
Only five Eagles were available at the buzzer.
Most points scored in quarter | ENBL records
43 Legia 102-72 Fyllingen (October 2, 2024)
38 Manchester 112-92 Opava (December 16, 2025)
38 Spartak 95-91 Newcastle (December 17, 2025)
37 Tindastoll 125-88 Gimle (October 14, 2025)
Game notes
Spartak Pleven improved to 3-3, while Newcastle Eagles dropped to 0-4.
Todor Todorov and his men are 3-1 on the home floor.
Newcastle Eagles are 0-2 on the road.
ENBL access: follow the game on YouTube
ENBL standings as of December 17, 2025 | without tie-breakers
CSO Voluntari 5-1, +81 Q
Syntainics MBC 4-0, +107
Dziki Warszawa 4-1, +94
Tindastoll 4-1, +64
Iraklis BC 4-1, +49
Valmiera 4-1, +19
Dinamo Zagreb 4-1, +17
Manchester 4-2, +46
Donar Groningen 4-2, +40
BK Opava 4-2, +32
Sigal Prishtina 4-2, +21
TalTech Alexela 3-2, +9
Dubrava Zagreb 3-3, +17
Riga Zelli 3-3, -10
Spartak Pleven 3-3, -10
Slovan Bratislava 3-4, -7
Olomoucko 2-2, -38
Brussels Basketball 2-3, +4
Bristol Flyers 2-3, -15
Go+ Peja 1-3, -33
Alkar Sinj 1-4, -62
Hefte Helfen Bulls 1-5, -38
Gimle Basket 1-5, -80
Keila Coolbet 0-6, -97
Fyllingen Lions 0-6, -141
Newcastle Eagles 0-4, -69
2025-2026 ENBL format and pools
2025-2026 ENBL schedule UPD12
2025 ENBL classification
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