Int'l Basketball Championships 18 - Everything Thread (IC)

[Armeia]

The Ravens weren't having the tournament they'd expected, and frustration was reaching an all time high. Alois Feldt went up for a three point shot that bounced off the rim and out, and he threw his arms up in stress. There were two minutes left in the fourth quarter, and the Ravens had been outplayed the entire time. They were being dominated on the glass and that could be scene as Tori Gunnarsson got beat out for the rebound and the Patistani power forward took the ball the other way for a dunk. The only bright spot in the game was Tamara Asker, who scored twenty eight points and had eight assists, coming off the bench at point guard.

By the time the final whistle blew, most of the younger players were in tears. "I didn't come all the way here for this," said center Alex Raske, covering his face with his hands. "If we didn't already blow our shot at advancing, we did today."

"Welcome to my world," replied Alois, his voice filled with bitterness.

On the other side of the court, Tamara tightly hugged Tori, who was nearly crying, guessing that Northern had been eliminated from the round of 16 contention. "You don't have to be so sad, Tori, we've still got some games left..."

"It doesn't matter, T, we're done, I think even if we win all of them we're still eliminated," replied Tori. "We were supposed to shock the world, but now... There isn't even anything left to play for."

Tamara sighed and Tori pushed her away, walking off the court with the others. "Well, at least it can't get any worse," she muttered to herself, before hanging her head and following.

[San Jose Guayabal]

Matchday 6 cutoff

[San Jose Guayabal]

Matchday N°6 - Québécois half

Group A

The Royal Kingdom of Québec 72–74 Zadiner
The Dark Star Republic 66–81 Elejamie
Banija 70–75 Firebolt

  Group A                        Pld   W  L   PF  PA  PD  Pts 
1 The Royal Kingdom of Québec      5   4  1  454 350 +104   12
2 Elejamie                         5   4  1  414 364 +50   12
3 Banija                           5   3  2  428 420  +8    9
4 Firebolt                         6   3  3  440 451 −11    9
5 The Dark Star Republic           5   2  3  364 391 −27    6
6 Zadiner                          5   2  3  371 444 −73    6
7 Allied Omaha                     5   0  5  347 398 −51    0

Group B

Abanhfleft 71–64 Zainea
Kirisaki 76–90 Vangaziland
Omerica 93–71 Valanora

  Group B                        Pld   W  L   PF  PA  PD  Pts 
1 Abanhfleft                       5   5  0  428 349 +79   15
2 Omerica                          5   4  1  448 388 +60   12
3 Valanora                         6   4  2  462 446 +16   12
4 Luxdonia                         5   3  2  401 403  −2    9
5 Vangaziland                      5   1  4  373 404 −31    3
6 Zainea                           5   1  4  350 392 −42    3
7 Kirisaki                         5   0  5  364 444 −80    0

Group C

Electrum 93–81 Nueva Andalusía
The Sword Bloke 75–58 Sri Lankin
Hispania y Filipinas 60–88 Euskirribakondara

  Group C                        Pld   W  L   PF  PA  PD  Pts 
1 Electrum                         5   5  0  399 340 +59   15
2 Brockholtistan                   5   4  1  372 357 +15   12
3 Euskirribakondara                6   3  3  455 444 +11    9
4 Nueva Andalusía                  5   3  2  387 380  +7    9
5 The Sword Bloke                  5   2  3  372 358 +14    6
6 Hispania y Filipinas             5   1  4  348 406 −58    3
7 Sri Lankin                       5   0  5  350 398 −48    0

Group D

Ko-oren 91–66 Morrow Den
The Jeckish Union 77–91 Northeasternland
San Llera 83–72 DBostick

  Group D                        Pld   W  L   PF  PA  PD  Pts 
1 Ko-oren                          5   4  1  402 324 +78   12
2 DBostick                         6   3  3  453 462  −9    9
3 Northeasternland                 5   3  2  383 396 −13    9
4 San Llera                        5   2  3  365 369  −4    6
5 South Kannap                     5   2  3  388 394  −6    6
6 Morrow Den                       5   2  3  358 378 −20    6
7 The Jeckish Union                5   2  3  366 392 −26    6

[The Royal Kingdom of Quebec]

Matchday 6 Results

Group E
San Jose Guayabal 79–78 Volcanoc
Taeshan 76–71 Ekoz
Gregoryisgodistan 85–79 Valladares

Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD 
1 Taeshan                 5    5   0   445  373  +72
2 Valladares              6    3   3   498  471  +27
3 San Jose Guayabal       5    3   2   384  408  −24
4 Damukuni                5    2   3   366  412  −46
5 Gregoryisgodistan       5    2   3   369  377   −8
6 Ekoz                    5    2   3   378  388  −10
7 Volcanoc                5    1   4   368  379  −11

Group F
Cosumar 78–64 Kannap
Nova Anglicana 79–75 Marion Oaks
Semarland 77–73 Chromatika

Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD 
1 Cosumar                 5    4   1   409  359  +50
2 Nova Anglicana          5    4   1   387  346  +41
3 Semarland               5    4   1   378  376   +2
4 Kannap                  5    2   3   375  365  +10
5 Chromatika              6    2   4   426  452  −26
6 Krytenia                5    1   4   361  395  −34
7 Marion Oaks             5    1   4   345  388  −43

Group G
Chiata 76–74 Ack Barnes
New Wolfopolis 83–67 Cruenatia
United States of Devonta 66–84 Kaboomlandia

Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD 
1 Chiata                      5    4   1   380  347  +33
2 New Wolfopolis              5    4   1   394  358  +36
3 Cruenatia                   5    3   2   412  387  +25
4 Kaboomlandia                6    2   4   434  460  −26
5 Ack Barnes                  5    2   3   367  376   −9
6 United States of Devonta    5    2   3   343  380  −37
7 Minecraft Miners            5    1   4   374  396  −22

Group H
Saintland 91–57 Alastonia
Patistan 85–84 Frenline Delpha
Flardania 91–68 North Armeia

Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD 
1 Flardania               5    5   0   418  342  +76
2 Saintland               5    4   1   423  335  +88
3 Patistan                5    3   2   403  393  +10
4 Alastonia               5    3   2   380  375   +5
5 Frenline Delpha         5    2   3   388  396   −8
6 North Armeia            6    1   5   413  496  −83
7 Natanians and Nosts     5    0   5   345  433  −88

[Alastonia-]

A-Sport's live coverage of the 18th International Basketball Championships

Ramirez, San Jose Guayabal- Some days, it seems like everything goes your way.

This was not one of those days.

Alastonia suffered their second loss of the IBC with a 91-57 blowout defeat at the hands of Saintland.

Saintland, the second-ranked team in the world, led the game wire-to-wire, using their height advantage in the frontcourt to score at will all game long. Alastonia had no answer all game, as a poor shooting night killed any chance of an upset. Alastonia would cut the lead to ten early in the second half, but wouldn't get any closer before surrendering a big run that essentially put the game out of reach.

"We knew we'd need to play a nearly perfect game tonight, and we didn't come close to that," said Alastonian coach Gustave Holiday, with an exasperated look on his face. "We struggled, that's for sure. They were just able to do whatever they wanted inside, and we couldn't stop them. There's a reason they're ranked where they are. They were the better team tonight."

The loss mathematically eliminates Alastonia from advancing to the knockout stage, but the team still hopes to close out group play on a high note, as they'll face Patistan in their final match of the tournament.

ALASTONIA vs SAINTLAND
International Basketball Championships 18
Group H

Alastonia
Player, points, rebounds, fouls
Gordon, 8, 2, 4
Parker, 12, 3, 1
Vickers, 5, 2, 3
Orwell, 8, 3, 2
Prince, 10, 5, 5
Smith, 4, 3, 2
Islie, 3, 1, 1
Teller, 1, 1, 0
Campbell, 6, 3, 1

Saintland
Ply., pts., rebs., fls.
P. Delluius, 14, 5, 2
A. Delluius, 9, 5, 1
Cornificius, 15, 7, 3
Sacerdus, 13, 11, 1
Ioannes, 15, 14, 2
Talmudius, 7, 3, 1
Acilius, 7, 3, 0
A. Dexius, 3, 0, 0
G. Dexius, 4, 1, 1
Axius 0, 3, 0
Sornatius 4, 1, 0


Alastonia- 11-13-20-13= 57
Saintland- 23-19-24-25= 91

[Ko-oren]

Milena Carlisle gets early MVP nomination

Thaulandian 7'0" Center Milena Carlisle has made an excellent impression in the first five games of the IBC, and San Lleran media have already named her the very early #2 best player of this tournament, after Saintland's Prince Ioannes. She reinforced the bold claim with great performances in the group stage of the IBC, where the Union of Ko-oren is trying to go for a repeat championship.

The position of Center in the Union of Ko-oren's national team is a stacked position by default, with Milton Hayes still named second string Center of the team. Behind him are youngsters Gao and Bao, both from Kang Rao. Centers are immensely vital in the game the Dragonflies are playing, with great defence inside the paint, all due to having a great player at centre position. The nomination is a great motivator for Carlisle, but media in Ko-oren have made their own ranking, which - to them - mirrors the actual quality in the team a little more. They started off by saying that Marco Brelli made good judgment in choosing a Center, which definitely is the position that would impress most foreigners in Ko-orenite basketball.

10. Masao Miura, Guard. Masao made the team a while ago under the guise of becoming a starter in no-time. He hasn't exactly lived up to that promise, but with Shillington and Shen ahead of him, that's no problem. Miura is the best second string Guard on the team for his accuracy in hitting 3s and great ball distributing without the usually accompanying turnovers.

9. Wang Shen, Guard. Shen plays alongside Shillington as a starting shooting guard. He shows excellent defensive skills in a guard, even if his offensive input can be lacking. However, with him on the court, the Union has yet to concede a fast break, which is almost entirely his doing. He might not be the most exciting player to watch, but he breathes and lives the Unionite game.

8. Solène Dupre, Forward. Dupre is the most technical forward, knocking in twos and threes everywhere. She has the great mix of passing and shooting, but she also has a great sense for where opposing players are going, and blocks, steals and interceptions in general are her thing.

7. Shinji Yamamoto, Forward. We'll admit, he hasn't done anything too impressive yet, but his potential and his results in the domestic league prove to us he's something special, and this IBC it might just come out. His talent for finding space is something else, and that isn't even about finding space for himself, but rather for those around him to make the plays. Assists for this guy should get through the roof.

6. Amy Janssen, Guard. Janssen is the pace control on the team. If she speeds up, she'll take the entire team under her wing. If she slows down, the entire team will match her pace. This is also a risk, because she might not choose the right tempo for the situation. Her ball movement is fantastic, and she's a stable factor in the team in all situations. Defensively, she's always making sure that the player she's guarding won't get to the ball, but she occasionally doesn't space out that well and allow other attackers to get past her.

5. Vasco Azevedo, Forward. Azevedo is more than anything a great player for his club, but he lights it up for the national team as well. He is the kind of player to find a role in any team, against any kind of opposition. He can quickly identify the biggest bottleneck for his team and do something about it. In offence, he can find any gap and exploit it, often finding space in the paint.

4. Selena Vaughn, Forward. Vaughn is the kind of player to win by character and sheer force. None of the personality and basketball intelligence, Vaughn can straight up stop an attack on our basket and launch a counterattack straight away. She's fast, strong and despite her height gets enough rebounds to make any Center feel inadequate.

3. Milton Hayes, Center. As said, our centers are pretty good. Like Carlisle, Hayes is from the frozen tundra called Thaulandi, and also has learned to be on either side of the ball. He can intercept to some extent, and might be the better allrounder of the two, but overall has less of a mental drive and that is the single skill that puts Carlisle as starting Center and Hayes as secondary.

2. Milena Carlisle, Center. She embodies Ko-orenite basketball extremely well... for a Thaulandian. She was raised in the high paced, attacking kind of game that is played up north, but came to know both sides of the game. At any Thaulandian club, she will be the defensive anchor, and in international teams, she will be an offensive giant. Either way, she's got almost perfect skills on both sides of the ball.

1. Juliet Shillington, Guard. She is the starting point guard for a reason. Lacking the defensive qualities that Shen, for instance, possesses, she is the prime point guard and gets the ball where it needs to be, as the absolute leader on the court. She plays more minutes than most on the team, if not the most. She is allround, and while her statistics (PPG, TO) are not tournament-best, her communicative skills outweigh those by far.

[Taeshan]

The Final Countdown

http://chirb.it/1zagAd

[The Royal Kingdom of Quebec]

MD7 Results- Guayabalian Side

Group E
Ekoz 59–94 Gregoryisgodistan
Volcanoc 70–80 Taeshan
Damukuni 74–72 San Jose Guayabal

Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD 
1 Taeshan                 6    6   0   525  443  +82
2 Gregoryisgodistan       6    3   3   463  436  +27
3 Valladares              6    3   3   498  471  +27
4 Damukuni                6    3   3   440  484  −44
5 San Jose Guayabal       6    3   3   456  482  −26
6 Ekoz                    6    2   4   437  482  −45
7 Volcanoc                6    1   5   438  459  −21

Group F
Marion Oaks 82–76 Semarland
Kannap 89–97 Nova Anglicana
Krytenia 82–88 Cosumar

Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD 
1 Nova Anglicana          6    5   1   484  435  +49
2 Cosumar                 6    5   1   497  441  +56
3 Semarland               6    4   2   454  458   −4
4 Kannap                  6    2   4   464  462   +2
5 Chromatika              6    2   4   426  452  −26
6 Marion Oaks             6    2   4   427  464  −37
7 Krytenia                6    1   5   443  483  −40

Group G
Cruenatia 93–86 United States of Devonta
Ack Barnes 72–77 New Wolfopolis
Minecraft Miners 74–77 Chiata

Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD 
1 Chiata                      6    5   1   457  421  +36
2 New Wolfopolis              6    5   1   471  430  +41
3 Cruenatia                   6    4   2   505  473  +32
4 Kaboomlandia                6    2   4   434  460  −26
5 Ack Barnes                  6    2   4   439  453  −14
6 United States of Devonta    6    2   4   429  473  −44
7 Minecraft Miners            6    1   5   448  473  −25

Group H
Frenline Delpha 70–90 Flardania
Alastonia 92–65 Patistan
Natanians and Nosts 73–96 Saintland

Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD 
1 Flardania               6    6   0   508  412  +96
2 Saintland               6    5   1   519  408 +111
3 Alastonia               6    4   2   472  440  +32
4 Patistan                6    3   3   468  485  −17
5 Frenline Delpha         6    2   4   458  486  −28
6 North Armeia            6    1   5   413  496  −83
7 Natanians and Nosts     6    0   6   418  529 −111

[San Jose Guayabal]

MD N°7 Cutoff!

[San Jose Guayabal]

Matchday N°7 - Québécois half

Group A

Elejamie 58–72 Banija
Zadiner 65–77 The Dark Star Republic
Allied Omaha 75–92 The Royal Kingdom of Québec

  Group A                        Pld   W  L   PF  PA  PD  Pts 
1 The Royal Kingdom of Québec      6   5  1  546 425 +121   15
2 Elejamie                         6   4  2  472 436 +36   12
3 Banija                           6   4  2  500 478 +22   12
4 Firebolt                         6   3  3  440 451 −11    9
5 The Dark Star Republic           6   3  3  441 456 −15    9
6 Zadiner                          6   2  4  436 521 −85    6
7 Allied Omaha                     6   0  6  422 490 −68    0

Group B

Vangaziland 92–81 Omerica
Zainea 53–85 Kirisaki
Luxdonia 74–76 Abanhfleft

  Group B                        Pld   W  L   PF  PA  PD  Pts 
1 Abanhfleft                       6   6  0  504 423 +81   18
2 Omerica                          6   4  2  529 480 +49   12
3 Valanora                         6   4  2  462 446 +16   12
4 Luxdonia                         6   3  3  475 479  −4    9
5 Vangaziland                      6   2  4  465 485 −20    6
6 Kirisaki                         6   1  5  449 497 −48    3
7 Zainea                           6   1  5  403 477 −74    3

Group C

Sri Lankin 80–76 Hispania y Filipinas
Nueva Andalusía 78–78 The Sword Bloke (86–88 OT)
Brockholtistan 74–71 Electrum

  Group C                        Pld   W  L   PF  PA  PD  Pts 
1 Electrum                         6   5  1  470 414 +56   15
2 Brockholtistan                   6   5  1  446 428 +18   15
3 The Sword Bloke                  6   3  3  460 444 +16    9
4 Euskirribakondara                6   3  3  455 444 +11    9
5 Nueva Andalusía                  6   3  3  473 468  +5    9
6 Sri Lankin                       6   1  5  430 474 −44    3
7 Hispania y Filipinas             6   1  5  424 486 −62    3

Group D

Northeasternland 66–91 San Llera
Morrow Den 72–91 The Jeckish Union
South Kannap 77–77 Ko-oren (84–85 OT)

  Group D                        Pld   W  L   PF  PA  PD  Pts 
1 Ko-oren                          6   5  1  487 408 +79   15
2 San Llera                        6   3  3  456 435 +21    9
3 The Jeckish Union                6   3  3  457 464  −7    9
4 DBostick                         6   3  3  453 462  −9    9
5 Northeasternland                 6   3  3  449 487 −38    9
6 South Kannap                     6   2  4  472 479  −7    6
7 Morrow Den                       6   2  4  430 469 −39    6

EDIT: Playoff seedings and pairings will be posted by my co-host as soon as possible for him.

[The Royal Kingdom of Quebec]

International Basketball Championships 18- Playoff Fixtures

Guayabalense Side
#G1 Flardania vs. #G8 Gregoryisgodistan
#G2 Taeshan vs. #G7 Cosumar*
#G3 Nova Anglicana vs. #G6 New Wolfopolis*
#G4 Chiata vs. #G5 Saintland

Quebecois Side
#Q1 Abanhfleft vs. #Q8 San Llera
#Q2 Royal Kingdom of Quebec vs. #Q7 Omerica*
#Q3 Electrum* vs. #Q6 Elejamie*
#Q4 Ko-oren* vs. #Q5 Brockholtistan

*Adjustments made to avoid in-group matchups. Will continue until Quarterfinals

[Ko-oren]

Weiyao's Basketball Link

No city has put so much talent into the Union's team than Weiyao. The capital of Kang Rao couldn't be located much further from the official home of the association in Ko-oren, but nonetheless gave us Wang, Gao and Bao. The latter two are centers with barely more than 20 minutes between them in the IBC so far, the former is the starting shooting guard who appears in ninth place on the player power rankings.

For those who don't know: Weiyao is one of the bigger cities in the Union, but not many people will claim to have been a tourist there. Kang Rao is not one of the rich parts of the Union, and Weiyao isn't either. The business district is flourishing, the traditional centre by the river is beautiful and the religious centre is downright impressive. But that is mostly it. The industry, which is the majority of the city's GDP, dominates the river scenery. Businesses are built in the middle of residential areas, and this is how the trio started out playing.

The three made their debuts for local Weiyao Tigers, who usually occupy a spot near the middle of the league. Both Wang and Gao moved to Nanhua Gold in recent seasons, and this is where Kang Rao's basketball started to bloom. A regular season championship during last season is the cherry on the cake, leaving their old team behind. Weiyao is a massive city... where all that shines is not Gold. Because Gold is in Nanhua. With so much talent in once city, we are just waiting for that one season the Waiyaoans are going to do well. And then the silverware should just keep coming.

[Nova Anglicana]

(Camera zooms in on anchor Corey Brady standing next to a TV screen as the theme music plays)

Corey Brady: Hello and welcome to Lions on the Court, on StateSports1. Today we recap the Lions' last group stage game in IBC 18, and then look ahead to the playoffs. As always, we'll show you the highlights and then turn it over to our studio analysts for more discussion. Let's get right to it.

(Screen now reads):

Lions Escape Kannap, To Face Taeshan in Playoffs

CB: The last game of the group stage was against Kannap. They'd struggled in their last couple of games, dropping both of them to Cosumar and Krytenia. The Lions, by contrast, had won their last two, defeating unheralded Chromatika by eight and slipping past newbies Marion Oaks. If it hadn't been for a last-second shot against Semarland, the Lions would have been undefeated going into this game. As it was, they were tied with Cosumar and Semarland at 4-1 going into the final game. Kannap may have been unranked, but the Lions certainly weren't taking them lightly. They needed a win to be assured of a playoff spot. Camera shows the standings in Group F, then the Lions players warming up before the game.

CB: The first quarter started off about as well as one could hope for. Omar Martin came out on fire, hitting four of his first five shots, including this heat check from waaaay downtown. His ten points got the Lions off to a 24-10 advantage. They continued to pour in the points against a hapless Kannap defense in the second quarter. Caleb Burns was running wild, with the scoop and score here, the dish to Cody Lewis for the 3, and then the finish in traffic with the foul! But Kannap wasn't going to quit. They outscored the Lions in the second quarter, 34-27, mainly thanks to their shooting guard. 6-6 from the floor and 4-4 from beyond the arc. Just look at him go! Lions up 51-44 at the half.
(Lions shooting guard hits a 26-foot shot and looks very pleased with himself, then point guard makes a tricky layup, drives in and passes to forward for the three-point shot. He finishes up with another layup while colliding with a Kannapian player. Camera shows a Kannapian guard hitting several shots in a row, including a couple of three-pointers.)

CB: In the second half, it was the Dominic King show. Omar Martin twisted his ankle and had to come out. Up until this point, King was averaging just under seven points a game in limited action. But he turned that around. He played all but two minutes in the second half, hitting eight of twelve shots. This bomb from downtown got him going, and then he shows he's still got the moves by blowing by the Kannapian guard. Twenty-two points in the second half, nearly half the Lions' total. Wow! Kannap scored a ton of points in the second half too, but they never got closer than five and King hit a three to keep them at bay. Lions win by eight, 97-89. Lions shooting guard is shown limping off the court. Older player hits long three-pointer, then drives past his defender to score a basket. Several shots of Kannapian players hitting shots, but older player hits another three-pointer and the screen changes to the final score.

CB: Up next for the Lions, a #7 seed in the round of 16 and a matchup against the #2 seed Taeshan, at least for now. Let's turn it over to our analysts Victor Jackson and Chris Oliver for more. Guys? (Camera pans over to two men in suits at a table)

Victor Jackson: Thanks, Corey. The Lions sure proved they could score some points tonight. A great performance from Dominic King. But what's up with the seeding?

Chris Oliver: Yeah, Vic. The Lions beat Cosumar head-to-head, but got the second seed in the group. I don't know what the tiebreakers are, but in my book, if you beat somebody, you shouldn't get the short end of the stick.

VJ: I've got to agree with you, Chris. But let's focus on the Lions for a second. Play has definitely been dominated by the guards so far, with Omar Martin and Caleb Burns really running the show. It's been good so far, and these two can take this team a long way. One thing you do have to be concerned with is the defense after this game. The Lions were playing pretty good D early on, but giving up 87 points to Kannap? That's gotta change. As for seeding, we'll see if there's anything new, but for now, we'll stick with Taeshan.

CO: Yeah, Vic, Taeshan is a good squad. They're ranked thirteenth in the world, and Jimmy Tremmor at the small forward position is a force to be reckoned with an offense. A volume shooter for sure, but he scores a ton and really leads Taeshan. Taeshan opened up by scoring 96 and 94, cruising past Damukuni and absolutely trashing co-hosts San José Guayabal. They won by almost 30! Follow that up by whipping the Tall Slaves by 20 and edging Valladares, and the Purple Knights were looking unstoppable. They didn't look great after that, squeaking by Ekoz and struggling to pull away from Volcanoc, but they finished 6-0. They're a small team overall, so I look for the Lions to really try and get Ibrahim Mbaraza involved. He's no Gary Hale, but he can put the biscuit in the basket when he needs to. I also think they'll pound the rock to whoever Tremmor is guarding. The best way to neutralize a scorer is to get him in foul trouble, and the Lions will try to do exactly that.

VJ: Taeshan's a solid team, and I expect a close series. I think the Lions will prevail 2-1. Should they advance, they would likely face a rematch with their group stage opponent Cosumar, seeded 3rd and ranked #4 in the world. That's barring an upset by New Wolfopolis. That's not likely to happen though, as the Wolves are only ranked 26th. I think their 5-1 group stage was a bit of good luck. They're a good team, don't get me wrong, but not on Cosumar's level. It's a daunting opponent for whoever advances, but let's hope it's the Lions that go through. Back to you, Corey. (Camera switches back to anchor in front of a TV screen with Taeshani and Nova Anglican flags on it)

CB: Thanks, guys. Tune in tonight at 20:30 to see the Lions take on Taeshan, right here on StateSports1. Let's hope the change from Yucaiquín to Vladivostok doesn't affect the national team. We'll be back after these messages. (Camera fades to commercial.)

[Abanhfleft]

Somewhere in the Royal Kingdom of Quebec

It was the moment that every Fleftic fan feared for. Sure, the Fleftic national basketball team was going on a straight roll through the International Basketball Championships--the same couldn't be said for the national baseball team, however--but in recent days their luck had been growing just that little bit more strained. Just before the game against Luxdonia, Abanhfleft had barely escaped with a win over Zainea. Zainea, a new nation to compete in the international basketball scene, had somehow managed to keep themselves within arm's distance of the Fleftics, and while Fleftics weren't as troubled as they were now, it was still enough to put a little fear in their hearts that their luck at fielding a comparatively smaller starting five might just be up and over.

And now it looked like that might really happen now. Luxdonia had proven just as tenacious in keeping up with Abanhfleft as Zainea had just a few days ago, and now, with just seconds left in the fourth quarter, Luxdonia actually had a lead. It was a one-point lead, sure, but still, it really made Fleftic fans fear that it was just the first step towards the chasm of consecutive defeats. It was a situation Fleftic basketball fans were all too familiar with. It was also the reason why the SBF (Samahang Basketbol ng Abanhfleft) had elected to create a new team for this competition. Still, it looked as if only a miracle would save the team now.

There were exactly two seconds left on the clock. It was Abanhfleft's ball to inbound, and they really would have to make it count. It was Boris Barry to do the honors, and the Luxdonians were doing their absolute best to frustrate him as much as possible. No one appeared to be open, that much was certain at the moment. He truly looked far and wide to find the one player that would make all the difference.

The referee blew the whistle, and Barry lifted up the ball in his arms and prepared to heave it all the way to whoever gets lucky enough to intercept its path. Then he found his target: Leo Baxter, just a hair far enough away from his defender. Barry heaved with all his strength and threw the ball high over to Baxter's waiting arms, and the point guard caught it with a steady hand. As the clock began to run down, Baxter found himself suddenly smothered on two sides by Luxdonian players, and he knew that he had to pass the ball or else pass up Abanhfleft's chance to go undefeated in the groups. But he himself couldn't see any open players this time around.

But then of course he remembered who had passed him the ball in the first place: Boris Barry. The small forward was now standing undefended and open for the shot. Baxter scooped the ball and bounce-passed it beyond the double team, where Barry was waiting for it. He jumped, lifted the ball high in his arms, and made the shot from downtown. The buzzer sounded right at the moment the ball left Barry's hands, and it would soon become a moment of consternation for both sides. But for now, everyone was focused on that orange ball, flying towards the hoop.

It seemed to last all eternity, when in fact it was more probably just about half a second at most. The ball flew and flew and flew above everyone on the court, and then it went into the basket with barely a sound. At that moment every Fleftic fan in the building stood up in joy and adulation, even though there were a few brief moments in which they thought the basket hadn't counted. Right then, joy was replaced by sadness, grief, and probably a bit of anger as well.

But the replays showed it clearly. The ball was just out of contact from the skin of Boris Barry's palms when the buzzer sounded, and therefore it counted as a buzzerbeater. And it wasn't just any buzzerbeater; it was a three-pointer, meaning Boris Barry's final shot of the game had actually given Abanhfleft a 2-point lead over Luxdonia at the end of the game. And that was how Abanhfleft managed to keep its perfect record in the 18th International Basketball Championships group stage intact. Now only time will tell if it will last through the knockout stages.

[San Jose Guayabal]

And the route for Glory starts now, sixteen teams got the qualification to this round, but this is the tough road and just two will reach the finals, you'll be one of them? let's freak out and discover it on the first cutoff of the Round of 16 Series.

[San Jose Guayabal]

Round of 16 - Québécois Half

Rounnd of 16 - Best of 3 Series

Abanhfleft 67–88 San Llera
The Royal Kingdom of Québec 70–63 Omerica
Electrum 91–60 Elejamie
Ko-oren 99–63 Brockholtistan

Winners leads series 1-0

[The Royal Kingdom of Quebec]

Round of 16- Day 1, Guayabalense Half

Flardania 72–71 Gregoryisgodistan
Taeshan 57–68 Cosumar
Nova Anglicana 66–64 New Wolfopolis
Chiata 74–97 Saintland

[Taeshan]

Down but not out.

http://chirb.it/a3zsFb

[Abanhfleft]

Somewhere in the Royal Kingdom of Quebec

Now the moment every Fleftic fan had feared had well and truly happened. Someone had finally beaten the Rebolusyonaryong Maliit, and it had to be the one team that Abanhfleft seemed most likely to beat: San Llera.

There must be some curse or bad mojo going on between Abanhfleft and San Llera, because that was the only thing that Fleftic fans, particularly the superstitious ones, could think of to explain the string of bad results that always came up in games between these two nations, no matter the sport. There was of course the "uninspiring" San Llera San Llerans during the International Baseball Slam in Nova Anglicana (if that was even the right tournament). And now, the same "San Lleran curse" had apparently struck the Fleftic national basketball team.

Not that anything supernatural could have had anything to do with it. Perhaps San Llera had just watched game tapes of Abanhfleft and adapted their strategy accordingly. They had certainly banked on their tall players, up to and including the great Ganchana, to contain the Rebolusyonaryong Maliit. And it had worked, to a degree. Everyone had assumed that Ganchana would not be at his peak due to being still in recovery from a reported torn ligament. But if the Ganchana that had faced the Fleftics in game one of the quarterfinals was the injured Ganchana, then everyone sure did not wish to face the fully fit one. This Ganchana was simply an impenetrable wall in defense, and neither the speedy Leo Baxter nor the big bad buster Damian Gonzalez could do anything about it. What's worse, the San Lleran was on the form of his life as he sent in basket after basket.

But of course Ganchana wasn't the only offensive provider for the San Llerans as they went on the unexpected victory over Abanhfleft. If perhaps it was only Ganchana performing on the court for San Llera then maybe Abanhfleft could have had a hope of winning. But if you brought Carlos Tell and Atualo Vela into the mix, then that was game over for Abanhfleft. None of the short starting five or the other substitutes could hope to contain these three tall players as they combined to produce 65 of San Llera's 88 points against Abanhfleft.

Now San Llera had the lead in the quarterfinals series. it was not the way the Fleftic fans had envisioned their national basketball team's campaign to end, not against the one team that their country just couldn't seem to beat. All everyone could hope for now was a win in the next game to force game three.

"This wasn't supposed to happen," Newton Isaacs said to no one in particular as the team cooled off in the locker room. "We weren't supposed to drop the ball tonight! And against San Llera, of all teams!"

"Just let it go, man," Leo Baxter said from the locker next to Isaacs'. "There's no such thing as forever, man. There's no way we could have kept this winning streak going for too long. At least it happened now and not in game three or game five of the finals against Saintland or Ko-oren. Now that's when you should moan about losing."

"Still, man, it's like I've forgotten what losing feels like, and someone decided it's time for us to know that feeling again."

"Now don't go weird and supernatural and stuff like that on me, a'ight?" Leo said. "You know that shit freaks me out."

"Look at me, Leo," Newt said. "I'm gonna zip my mouth, and no sound's gonna come out of my yapper later." He mimed closing a zipper over his mouth, and true to his word Newton Isaacs went silent and stayed silent for the rest of the cleanup.

[The Royal Kingdom of Quebec]

Some of you are down, some of you are up. Who will take the task up and win the draw as if you're 23?

Round of Sixteen - Game 2, Guayabalense Side

Gregoryisgodistan 79–85 Flardania
Flardania wins, 2-0

Cosumar 60–79 Taeshan
Series tied, 1-1

New Wolfopolis 87–88 Nova Anglicana
Nova Anglicana wins, 2-0

Saintland 93–64 Chiata
Saintland wins, 2-0

[San Jose Guayabal]

Matchday 2 of the Round of 16 series Cut-off!

[San Jose Guayabal]

Round of 16 MD N°2 - Québécois side

San Llera 68–79 Abanhfleft (Series tied 1-1)
Omerica 74–78 The Royal Kingdom of Québec (Québec wins the series 2-0)
Elejamie 70–80 Electrum (Electrum wins the series 2-0)
Brockholtistan 77–85 Ko-oren (Ko-oren wins the series 2-0)

[San Llera]

Guillem Llano attends basically every San Lleran national team match, be it basketball, football, baseball, soccer, you name it. Given his wealth, Llano always views the matches from a suite, except in the case of matches at Camp L'Aigua. He had been at the two International Baseball Slam games San Llera had played against Abanhfleft in Nova Anglicana. Abanhfleft were a strong side in that tournament, but San Llera beat them twice. Llano was confident they would do the same in this matchup in the Royal Kingdom of Quebec.

Watching Game 1 of the series, his confidence was justified. San Llera beat down on Abanhfleft, with Ganchana playing unstoppable basketball in an 88-67 victory. There was some kind of blessing placed on San Llera vs. Abanhfleft games, letting San Llera beat down on their higher-ranked but perhaps inferior foe.

*Perhaps* inferior?, Llano thought. This team was definitely inferior to San Llera. They probably just aren't that good.

Ya, probably. Abanhfleft were nothing special. They performed well on tape against other teams, their opponents in Group B for example. But those teams aren't San Llera. Against the Swagfish, the Fleftics just looked helpless. They couldn't defend larger, more athletic players. It was like a JV team playing varsity. Welcome to the big leagues, Abanhfleft. You might not be staying here long.

So, as stated, San Llera would beat Abanhfleft in Game 2. Any fears about facing the Fleftic team Omerica and Vangaziland and Luxdonia faced were quelled by Llano's rewatching of the tape of Game 1 several times, during the flight to Saintland for the World Baseball Classic. But now he was back in Atlantian Oceania, a region San Llera would soon conquer.

The game was about to start.

What transpired in the next two-and-a-half hours was very painful, but, above all, shocking. Llano was so stunned by what he saw on the court that he barely had time to be upset with his team.

Throughout those two-and-a-half hours (which felt like longer), Fleftic players such as Newton Isaacs and Leo Baxter who looked out of their depth in the first game were anything but. Those players were now dominating the court, their sleek offense and scrappy defense getting the better on San Llerans who had a clear height advantage.

Abanhfleft were the team they had been earlier. They had broken the blessing. Or maybe it was a curse.

The floodgates were now open.

Llano took a moment to comprehend all this, and as he came to more realizations, he fell into a deeper despair.

Margaret bless our souls, he thought, but Llano knew that Margaret had done enough blessing, and she was about to turn the tables.

[Taeshan]

We have a Game 3.
http://chirb.it/LbIK3G

[Abanhfleft]

Somewhere in the Royal Kingdom of Quebec

It all went down to this game 2. Everyone was down in the dumps after San Llera absolutely bossed Abanhfleft in game 1 of the quarterfinals, and every Fleftic fan that had gone to Quebec to watch the International Basketball Championships were dreading that they might be treated to yet another display of the same disappointing performance and knocking them out of the competition despite going undefeated in the group stage.

The comments from the coach just before the game weren't all that assuring, either. Abdul Halim bin Osman had all but admitted that his tactics were at fault for the last defeat against San Llera. He had decided to risk it with the short starting five despite knowing that the San Llerans had absolutely huge players in their own starting five, and once it was obvious that his team weren't up to scratch he didn't bring out his own big players until it was too late. All he could say in front of the cameras was that he had messed up, and he hoped that this time he wouldn't fail the fans and the country.

The Lleran fans were also making life worse for even the most optimistic and die-hard Fleftics, with shouts of "Margaret's blessed us, she's cursed you" and other such chants. Well, the Llerans always seemed to be full of themselves anyway. Tossing around talk of taking over their regions and winning the World Cup and calling high-ranked countries inferior... they were ripe for the picking. They were just calling to be brought back down to earth.

And when the two teams went out on the court for the start of game 2, Abdul Halim bin Osman looked to be preparing to do just that. Gone were Dylan Kapowski, Boris Barry and Jan Harris. Damian Gonzalez was now playing center, Menandros Katatonoios was the new power forward, Eldred Rogerson was given the go-ahead to being shooting guard, and Newton Isaacs had been turned into a small forward for this game, making Fleftic fans hark back to the days of Hayden Dorola and other players played out of position to the benefit of the whole.

If there was one thing that could describe the Fleftic strategy coming into game 2, it was beat the opponents at their own game. The Llerans had passed to their tall players to their benefit during game 1. Now Abanhfleft did the same on their unexpecting opponents. Gonzalez and Katatonoios were assigned to neutralizing their counterparts Ganchana and Carlos Tell, and they did so to devastating effect. The Lleran center and power forward weren't able to put up the same numbers that they did in the previous game, and San Llera felt the pain of losing their two best scorers against Abanhfleft almost immediately. Antoni Ferra took up some of the slack, going on to score 30 of San Llera's 68 points, but it was clear from the moment that San Llera had met their match.

Leo Baxter and Newt Isaacs had become bullies on the court. They were punching far above their weight in defense, and they were managing to slip through the cracks being created by Katatonoios and Gonzalez, eventually combining to give 42 of Abanhfleft's 79 points. By the time the final buzzer sounded, the Lleran fans looked utterly humiliated, and rightly so. There was a reason why Abanhfleft was ranked 8th, and San Llera only 52nd, and both teams showed that on the court today.

"Good game, man, good game," Leo told Newt as they walked down the hallway to the locker rooms. It had been an exhausting game for the both of them, having had to defend players way higher than they were. "Them Llerans sure deserved that beatdown, didn't they?"

"Tell me about it, brother," Newt replied as they entered the Fleftic locker room. "Shit, did you hear what some of their fans were saying? Shit like 'Welcome to the big leagues, Abanhfleft, see you a long time later,'" Newt said, making a horrible and intentionally offensive imitation of a Lleran accent. "Ha! We showed them where the real big league was! Heck, we've even gone as far as the semifinals and the third-place playoffs in this here tournament! What have they got for themselves?"

"Don't push it, Newt," Leo said. "Now that you said all that shit, we're probably gonna end up dropping the ball again in game 3 and crashing out of the IBC in super-spectacular fashion. Nope, what we gotta do is focus on the next game and train as best and as much as we can, and then go out and play our best in game 3. They've seen us play. If they adapt, we change our tactics. If we're beating them, we keep going at it. And if we play good against them but not really well, then we gotta tweak the gameplan. That's all there is to it, man. Read the game better than your opponent, and the win's all yours."

"I'll be sure to remember that, man, when we end up shitting the bed next game," Newt declared.