Graphic: Mārtiņš Zaļūksnis
Spartak Pleven is the first club from Bulgaria which will play in the European North Basketball league.
Five Bulgarian clubs have recently played in FIBA competitions.
Lukoil Levski Sofia, Rilski Sportist Samokov and Balkan Botevgrad have participated in the qualifying rounds of the Basketball Champions league.
The usual suspects plus Beroe Stara Zagora and Academic Plovdiv have also tested the waters of the FIBA Europe Cup.
Pleven is a historic city located 170 kilometres northeast of capital Sofia and approximately 160 kilometres south of Bucharest, Romania.
Basketball club Spartak Pleven was founded in 1947.
It was known under names of Spartak (1947-1993) and Plama (1993-1997) before rebranding itself as Spartak Pleven in 1997.
Pleven won two consecutive Bulgarian championships in 1995 and 1996.
They also won Bulgarian Cup in 1996.
The most recent achievement dates back to 2022 when Spartak Pleven reached the Bulgarian league semifinals.
The club has four European campaigns under its belt.
Plama Pleven played in the FIBA European Cup (1994-1997), named after Raimundo Saporta, a former Real Madrid director.
The club also played at the EuroChallenge qualifiers in 2008.
Spartak has posted glorious victories over basketball giants like Real Madrid, Partizan Belgrade and Bešiktaš Istanbul.
Pleven`s home gym is a Balkanstroy Hall with a capacity of 1300.