International Basketball Championship XII

[Cassadaigua]

Champs turned into applesauce,
by Brittany Baynes

We hoped that you enjoyed our win over Qazox in the second game of the semfinals. As far as we know, the defending champions did not contract some massive flu bug before the game, and no one set the fire alarm at their team hotel to prevent them from sleeping all night, and the officials called the game evenly and fairly. If you watched the game, then you saw us again get off to a pretty hot start, but there was a little more fight in Qazox today, as they seemed to put more pressure on the perimeter, to try and contain Ashley Stokes better then they had in the first game. I had to deal with this myself, but we adapted well, and got more points in the paint in the first quarter then we probably have in any game we have played since this all began. My points number wasn’t high, but the assist number was climbing as Kiersten Clarke and Bridget Connolly were the players most responsible for us grabbing that 38-29 halftime lead. That’s the beauty of this team, we don’t rely on one or two players, and we can adapt where we need too. Coach Morroni did a great job of anticipating what Qazox would try to do in the second half on defense, and our game plan changed somewhat. This is where Ashley was at her best, as she finished with 23 points, and some may say that was a very quiet 23 points. We never allowed Qazox to get any closer then 5 points back, and made the shots at the end when they counted. Very proud of this effort, for sure.

While there were no reports of apples being thrown onto the court, we have heard that there were some thrown in the stands at fans from Qazox. Sometimes, it might seem like deserve it, but we really don’t want to get a reputation now as a bunch of apple-tossers. It was also good to see that the protestors have gone home, so now we can focus on basketball out there. I’m pretty sure that with the World Baseball Classic playoffs beginning in Cassadaigua pretty soon, and with the Dagans themselves unlikely to make the playoffs, there will be plenty of stages throughout the country to for the men’s rights activists to try and get sympathy.

It is now time for the finals, and the only nation preventing us from becoming the first nation to win the World Cup (soccer), the World Baseball Classic, the World Bowl, the World Cup of Hockey, and the International Basketball Championships, is The Andromeda Islands. Basketball seems to be a very big deal in that country, because you don’t seem them that much in other competitions, but they have made a good name for themselves in not just this tournament, but they got some good results in the most recently completed NSCAA 5 season, also. This isn’t a nation to throw apples at, because they too have a woman in their starting lineup. Sure there were a couple on Qazox as well, but we can think of many other reasons why they should have fresh produce tossed at them. Within our own locker room, we have been made stronger by all of this adversity put upon us, not just by the protests at home, the false allegations, or the arrogance of “Sister” Polus of Saintland, but by all of you who are giving us your support as we look to do something that has never been done in international sports by a single country.

[Qazox]

No Excuses as Qazox is swept by Cassadaigua.

Qazox finally ran into the one team that could stay with them defensively, as Cassadaigua finished a 2-game sweep of Qazox, sending the Wolves into the 3rd place series vs. Valladares. We wish the best to Cassaadaigua and the Andromeda Islands in the finals.

QZX 17 12 23 18  70
CDG 21 18 25 16  81

[Andossa Se Mitrin Vega]

And now for some scores...

Third Place Series
Qazox 74–77 Valladares (Valladares leads series 1-0)


Championship Series
Cassadaigua 75–68 The Andromeda Islands (Cassadaigua leads series 1-0)

[The Andromeda Islands]

Andromeda Times
IBC Championship Coverage – Game 1
Andromeda Eagles vs. Cassadaigua
Viastormin Memorial Stadium
Errion Vega
Monday, August 23, 2027

G-Train Jenkins started at center, with Chambers coming off the bench early in the first half. The first half was essentially an even matchup with Jenkins, Chambers and Cannonball Williams each playing in the middle.

“We saw Ashley Stokes as the key to their offense,” Jenkins said. “Our job was to effectively neutralize her, so we double-teamed her.”

Stokes was held to 14 points, including a block from Chambers late in the second half. Chambers had some complaints about the officiating late in the game.

“It was like we were playing five-on-eight for much of the second half,” Chambers said. “I wouldn’t have reacted the way Cannonball did, but don’t blame him for what he did.”

What Cannonball Williams did was complain about a foul called against him late in the second half. After receiving two technical fouls from the referee, Williams slapped the referee in the face.

“He said I intentionally fouled Kiersten Clarke,” Cannonball said. “I told him that he was blind. He teed me up and ejected me just so he could embarrass me in front of the whole world. So I decided to show his dumbazz what a foul actually looks like.”

Even fans who weren’t especially fond of the Eagles, noticed the bad officiating, which seemed to favor the Daigans.

“I think the center, Williams overreacted,” an unnamed Daigan fan said. “The officiating was pretty bad all around. Frankly, I don’t know what I would have done in the heat of the moment.”

At the time, the Eagles were down 63-60. Most of the spectators thought that Williams managed a clean block. The Daigans used the momentum from this event to gain a 68-60 lead which held for the rest of the game.

Donovan “Cannonball” Williams, 36, received the harshest penalty ever given by the International Basketball Organization. The Governing Body of International Basketball issued a lifetime ban from further IBC Competition. Williams, who played in two previous IBC tournaments, had already planned to retire from professional basketball after this Tournament.

FINAL SCORE: Andromeda loses 75-68

[Cassadaigua]

Back to Basketball,
by Brittany Baynes

Looking at the World Baseball Classic, we see that Cassadaigua is going to play Saintland in the first round of those playoffs. That should mean plenty of opportunities for people that want to protest things, to do so in Concord Heights. While I sympathize with Concord Heights law enforcement in having to deal with what may happen, it allows Errion Vega to be strictly a basketball mecca as two teams battle it out for this coveted title.

The first game, as you know, went in our favor by the score of 75-68, putting us one win away from winning a championship. Now I’m sure you’re wanting my opinion of the ejection of “Cannonball” Williams. Mr. Williams first demonstrates some of that male testosterone that we see too often come from countries like this, that put the man before the woman. Donovan put his selfish self first above the rest of the team with his childish antic. You never, ever, slap an official. We heard the Andromeda fans get on the officials for most of the night as they felt as though we were getting the benefit of a lot of the calls. Regardless of what you think about the officiating, it is important to remember that basketball is a team game. All too often in this sport sometimes, do individual personas get in the way, and you hear that it’s “so and so’s” team. So now we have Williams, a 36-year old veteran who declared his retirement following the tournament, slapping a referee in the face. What in the world does this say to the impressionable young players on the team? Or those young Eagle fans watching at home? Exactly. What a terrible role model Williams is for his own fans, and this is the way he can say that he ended his career. Surely he regrets this now, I could only hope anyway, but one day when he has kids and he tries to teach them a thing or two about respect, he is going to have to answer to that.

During the Qazox series, I said that Qazox needed to step up, and have players pick up their game for those who were injured. This really applies to the Eagles as well because we’ll always have games where we feel the officials are working against us. Despite the calls that were made, the Eagles only had a three point deficit to overcome at the time of the incident, so it wasn’t hampering them that bad. Instead of putting the team first, Williams lost his cool, and as such, the team became deflated. I’m not going to comment on the actual call that led to the technical because anyone who plays at this level knows how close a play in the paint can be from being a clean block to a foul. The referee called what was called, and it was time for the team to rally around it, if they felt they were wronged, but instead they caved in to the pressure. A player snapped, and the bench wondered what was going to be the after-effect of that. They wondered just long enough for us to push our advantage to eight, and secure control of the game.

As for ourselves, we played a smart game. Ashley Stokes was double-teamed for the majority of the game, and we had to make some adjustments to their strong defensive pressure, but we did a very good job of that. Though she only had fourteen points, she hit a huge three-pointer immediately following the ejection of Williams to give us the six point lead. Heading in to game two, we’re sure that the Eagles are going to bring a double-team again, but without obviously going into detail, we feel we have a good counter attack strategy. I hope you’ll be watching!

[Andossa Se Mitrin Vega]

Third Place Series
Valladares 57–79 Qazox (Series tied 1-1)


Championship Series
The Andromeda Islands 77–61 Cassadaigua (Series tied 1-1)


Tune in tomorrow to see who claims the title!

[Cassadaigua]

It's not what could've happened yesterday, it's what can happen tomorrow,
by Brittany Baynes

The second game of the championship series will not win any style points. In what was a low-scoring, defense-first, drain off every second of the shot clock before you shoot, type game, we were defeated by what proved to be sixteen points when it was all said and done. Anyone who has been following us would know that we have made a habit of getting out to big leads early in these games, and Al Gooden certainly came up with a frustrating game plan on us early. Not only were they using the full shot clock, their frequent full court press was something that we were not expecting overall. It wouldn’t have been that bad if our shots were falling, but they were not, and we were not getting the rebounds. The first quarter ended with us only having 11 points, trailing 19-11. During the second quarter, we began to solve the full court press, but the shots were not falling, still. Ashley Stokes struggled with the double team put on her again, and failed to hit more then a lone basket in the first half. Taylor Willis really seemed to be the one to try and carry us as the rest of us struggled, but the Eagles did a good job of reacting to her as well, and while we came back briefly to tie the game at 25, they scored the final ten points of the first. Falling into a big hole allowed them to milk the clock throughout the second half, and we obliged very well by having one of our worst games from the floor since the tournament started, almost as bad as that qualifying game against Filopines.

That however, is in the past. The game is over and we still have the chance to win ourselves a title and complete the illustrious five-sport sweep as a nation. Sometimes, when things go real wrong, it’s easier to fix the problem then if things just went slightly wrong. For example, you’re balancing your bank statement at home and realize your checkbook is off by $38. Chances are, you can quickly realize what that $38 was. Now, say its off by 38-cents? Chances are, there’s a couple things wrong, because it’s odd that it would be off by such a small number. I hope that example makes sense. We can see where we went wrong in this game; we didn’t start well and it went south. By not starting well, we allowed the Eagles to be comfortable with a style of ball control and working the clock. We didn’t start well because we didn’t adapt early enough to the full court press that they decided to bring. That’s the kind of thing that’s not going to catch someone by surprise two games in a row. Now we know how we can overcome their press, and if they do it early again, we’ll be prepared.

The Eagles have done a good job in this series containing Ashley Stokes, but the rest of us can and will step up for her. Ashley has only managed 23 combined points in these two games, but she is not getting frustrated. That’s not to say she isn’t disappointed in her play, but if you think about everything she has been through since this tournament began, this is one tough woman, who has already rose up in the face of adversity. She did that against Saintland, and I certainly would never bet against her doing it when the stage lights will be greatest in the third and deciding game of this series.

Win or lose, we’ll be going home, hopefully with a trophy in hand and honor that no other nation has ever accomplished. How's that for euneirophrenia?

[The Andromeda Islands]

Andromeda News Network
IBC Championship Coverage – Game 2
Andromeda Eagles vs. Cassadaigua
Viastormin Memorial Stadium
Errion Vega
Wednesday, August 25, 2027
11:20 pm, Andromeda Time

Mya Thomas, ANN correspondent, stands outside off Viastormin Memorial Stadium.

THOMAS: The IBC Championship Series began with Cassadaigua handing the Andromeda Eagles their first loss of the tournament. Would the Eagles bounce back in Game 2? Would the Eagles lose their cool again?

(cut to pre-game)

THOMAS: (off camera) In this tournament, the Eagles were at their best when they focused on defense and ball control. In Andromedan basketball, this is called the Palermo Offense. The Eagles held the Daigans to 25 first half points.

(cut to Chuck Taylor)

TAYLOR: After Game 1, we had to change our tactics. Our backs were against the wall, so we did what we had to do to force a Game 3.

(cut to Taylor highlights)

THOMAS: Taylor led the Eagles with 25 points, helping the Eagles to a 35-25 halftime lead. The second half saw Orlando Chambers and Taylor with a three guard offense. Norm Peterson joined Dom Pagnotti and Velvet Jones in the backcourt for most of the second half.

TAYLOR: (off camera) The coaches weren’t sure we could run the Palermo Offense with three guards. For a while, we weren’t sure we could do it either, but we found out that it actually works better with three guards.

THOMAS: The Daigans pulled to within five points before they got into foul trouble. The Eagles went 15 for 16 from the foul line in the second half. Taylor himself went 6 for 6.

(cut to Taylor)

TAYLOR: After our loss, our main focuses during practice were on defense and foul shooting. Clearly, it paid off.

(cut to highlights)

TAYLOR: When we got enough of a lead, it was easy for us to keep the ball in the guard’s hands and draw fouls.

THOMAS: Taylor commented on the competitive series against Cassadaigua.

(cut to highlights)

TAYLOR: When I was young, I didn’t dream about winning all of the IBC Championship Games by 20 points. I dreamed of making a dramatic last second shot in the pivotal last game. We’re also aware that any one of us on either side could make that last shot. Any one of us on either side could emerge as the hero, or heroine, of the IBC.

(cut to Thomas)

THOMAS: The pivotal Friday finale will determine whether Cassadaigua or Andromeda will emerge as IBC Champions. Game 1 showed that Cassadaigua was up to the task. Game 2 showed that the Eagles are equal to the challenge as well. Mya Thomas, Andromeda News.

FINAL SCORE: Andromeda 77-61 Cassadaigua

----------

PLAYER OF THE GAME

20 F Chuck Taylor

Age: 27
Team: Angeles City Sun Kings
Height: 6’8”
Education: B.Ed., Physical Education; University of Angeles City, 2021
2027 Stats: 25.2 ppg, 7.7 rpg

The ASBA Leading scorer for the past two years, Charles Magnus Taylor led the Angeles City Sun Spots to the ASBA Finals in each of the past two years, winning the ASBA Championship in 2026.

One of the most exciting players in the ASBA, Taylor is the first player to have his own shoe endorsement deal.

[Andossa Se Mitrin Vega]

Third Place Series
Qazox 92-84 Valladares (Qazox wins series 2-1)


Championship Series
Cassadaigua 61-62 The Andromeda Islands (The Andromeda Islands wins Series 2-1)


Congratulations to IBC XII Champions The Andromeda Islands!

And congrats to Cass, Qazox, and Valladares for a great tournament as well.

[The Andromeda Islands]

Andromeda Times
IBC Championship Coverage – Game 3
Andromeda Eagles vs. Cassadaigua
Viastormin Memorial Stadium
Errion Vega
Friday, August 27, 2027

1:00 left in the second half

The Eagles had been running the Palermo Offense for the whole game. In response, Cassadaigua also employed their version of the Palermo, which is known in International circles as the Princeton Offense. The game is tied at 59. Ashley Stokes steals an errant pass between Velvet Jones and Coke Jackson. Stokes and Kiersten Clarke broke out. Stokes passes the ball to Jackson, who makes an easy layup and gives the Daigans their first lead of the game. The crowd erupts.

0:20 left in the game

Jones passes the ball into Coke Jackson who quickly brings the ball down court. Coach Gooden tells Jones to call time out. Instead, Jones looks at Norm Peterson, who knows what to do. He runs to the top of the key, looking at Jackson. Kareem Akbar, stands and gives Peterson a chance to free himself from Courtney Chapman. He runs behind the three point line, near the bench. Jackson passes the ball to Peterson who shoots… and scores.

The Eagles are up 62-61 as time expires… but…

The replay of Peterson’s winning three clearly shows that his foot was on the sideline. Had the referees seen this, the basket would have been disallowed and Cassadaigua would have won 61-59. In the excitement of the last seconds of the game, the referee were either out of position or just as caught up in the excitement as everyone else in Viastormin Memorial Stadium.

The replay was shown on the screen above the court. It’s unclear if Peterson’s foot straddles the sideline in the closing seconds of the game. The crowd, more inclined toward Cassadaigua, was outraged at the result. A few apples were thrown at the Eagles from the stands as the two teams awaited the awarding of the Henry West Trophy.

----------

During the trophy presentation, the Andromeda Coaching staff and the 13 remaining Eagles broke with tradition and invited the Cassadaigua Squad to join them as the press took the traditional picture of the IBC Champions with the Henry West Trophy.

“This is just as much their trophy as it is ours,” Coach Gooden said. “I don’t think we could have had a better opponent in the IBC Finals. They overcame adversity, elevated their game and helped us to elevate our game. It’s a shame that we both couldn’t win tonight.”

OOC: Looking forward to IBC XIII this fall!

[Cassadaigua]

Disgraceful call,
by Brittany Baynes

I have had a few hours now to think about it. Had I blogged immediately after the game, it would have been full of expletives. If you’re reading, you don’t need me to tell you why. It is a shame that after a competitive game involving two teams that played hard throughout a three-game series, that is has been decided in this matter. We know we should have won. They know that their title will always have a “yeah but” attached to it.

Had we lost properly, I would have congratulated openly the players on the Eagles. I really can’t do that now. Sure, congrats on your title, but it’s not something I say with much sincerity. I’ve never been one to criticize officials. It’s not something we, as a nation, like to do. We always like to say that the bad calls will even out. But the only way this will even out is if we win IBC 13.

Motivating for next time? Sure. But not right now.