International Basketball Championships 21 (IC Thread)

[Northern Sunrise Islands]

[quote="Northern Sunrise Islands";p="29389063"]
NSI.BASKETBALL
Former World Champs, Boston Shamrocks reveal kit

In what seems like dozens of years, Boston Shamrocks (then Boston Celtics) managed to raise the Trophy of Champions against the Broncos de Chihuahua from Texacano. Things were promising to Sunrisian basketball, but things then went sour, trope of many heads failing to pick up the sport and the team itself fading. Granted, it was much better than the civil war Texacano would end up having, the Sunrisian basketball scene never capitalized on the advancements of the team and by the time competition stepped up, the Sunrisians couldn't answer properly.

On shades of another basketball league promising wonders (though with much more notion of what they might accomplish), the Boston Shamrocks remain there and now bring up their own new set of kits. Vulpine Sportif, responsible for this new group of uniforms for the basketball team have been pretty open about how they decided not to introduce massive changes for the team.

Shamrocks set.

The Shamrocks prepare to play the Mardi 70ers at home, the cherished O'Hoolyhan Park.

[Vangaziland]

Opposite of teams LOUDER AND BIGGER and Drawkland, Abanhfleft fielded a starting lineup of players under 6 feet. This is true, although they have taller players on the bench. They squared up against the Vangaziland Royals during a night of friendly games in the IBC.

"I think the Fleftic team tries to be slick with the small ball lineup. It has its angle", said Coach Tomasson. "So tonight, we focused on that style. It was our chance to see how the Royals could play small ball."

Vangaziland came with a different starting lineup. Most noticeably, Lonnie Knucks played less than 10 minutes, just a fraction of his normal playtime. He has been one of the most important players for the Royals' offense, along with Yulssen.

"Coach told me he wanted to rest me tonight. It was interesting to watch the small ball lineup take shape. I think it was the first time the Royals have played this style."

The starting lineup was as follows:

C - Manny Battle - 6'9
F - Christopher Ironwrought - 6'8
F - Tom Gravu - 6'6
G - Julius Handsen - 6'5
G - Hectare Yulssen - 6'1

Battle did well at center, scoring 15 points, but having a monster night on the boards with 10 rebounds. This was his best performance of the season, along with the most minutes he's played during his IBC career.

"Against such smaller players, I felt really strong in the post", Battle said. "It makes me wish I was a seven footer. I could get used to that spot."

Julius Handsen had a major night, finding himself tall enough to shoot with relative impunity against such shorter defenders. He built confidence as the game went on, heating up in the third quarter. He finished with 17 points and 4 rebounds.

The ever-present, Hectare Yulssen also had a solid performance, scoring 13 and picking up 10 assists. He was clearly in pass-first mode and looked to facilitate. Some of his passes became downright flashy, similar to point guards like Jason Williams, Jason Kidd or Allen Iverson. Yulssen was on his way to entering the category with some of those point guards.

Yulssen could beat you with his pass or his shot. He got back on defense and challenged shots.

The substitutions were very tactical. For example, whenever Abanhfleft put their 7'5, half-Drawkish center in, Tomasson would sub in Frank Hurcle. Hurcle was only 7'0, but he knew how to defend big guys in the post. It was all about putting your weight onto someone and keeping them off balance. Hurcle only scored 4, but he had 3 blocks, one of them on the tall center.

"I may not be as flashy as some other players", Hurcle said. "But I hope the coaching staff notices my role and my importance to this team."

The center spoke in response to a reporter that questioned if Vangaziland might be better served with two offensive centers rather than one. Hurcle must feel like he's sitting on the hot seat at the moment, next in line to be replaced.

"Frank has had an impact on each of our wins", Coach Tomasson said. "We aren't thinking about replacing him right now. We put him on this team because he helps our chances."

The coach refused to speak on the future. In truth, there are a few centers who might one day replace Hurcle, some of which are in college.

Fan favorite, Sarah Overson also got a significant amount of playing time. Her style was a bit closer to exhibition style. She even admitted after the game, "I was just trying to have fun tonight. This was a friendly." She was probably referring to the many crossover moves she set up. Some critics said she was just showboating or slowing down the game. In her mind, she was just practicing. She was also trying to show some of the fans a few moves she's worked on during her off-season.

She managed 9 points and 6 assists.

The game was the second most watched IBC game of the season in Vangaziland. Only the game versus Saintland drew a bigger audience. Some of the Vangazi fans would have no choice but to admire the smaller, plucky Fleftic players. The half-Drawkian center would also find new watchers. Their social media accounts might find themselves getting new followers. The team website would track lots of hits from Vannish ISPs.

These friendlies were garnering major media attention in Vangaziland. The upcoming match versus Saint Kanye was forecast to be the most watched basketball game in Vangaziland of the season. Vangaziland is set to be the underdog in the battle. The Royals will at least look to show up strong.

"Tonight's match helped us scout a new lineup to use versus Abanhfleft", said Assistant Coach Kate Foyelson. "The next match against Saint Kanye will be just that... Another scouting opportunity."

Despite the new lineup, Vangaziland only beat Abanhfleft by one point. It didn't come down to a last second play, but instead, tough defense that stopped the Fleftic team from scoring on their last two possessions.

The Royals also never had a solid lead on the game, as the lead changed back and forth throughout the game.

"I thought we were going to lose that one", Chris Ironwrought said after the game. "I think a lot of us did. Probably helped us defend a little tighter near the end."

[Anglatia]

This is half as long as I wanted, but here's the next part. The next one will be around the length of the first part.
Republique de Sang - Part Two

“There’s at least three more up here, but I count more than three voices,” said Sophie, leading her unit up the stairs to the upper level of the villa. “Spread out, everyone. Jeremy, Luke, go to the bedroom to the north. Ash, stay with me. We’ll take the east bedroom.”

“Affirmative,” replied Jeremy, raising his light machine gun and running down the corridor. As Sophie and Ash turned to the other direction and started down the hall, a shout made them both freeze.

“Jo një hap prapa!” screamed a voice from down the hall, and Sophie raised her rifle just in time for a larger man to run around the corner with a machete. She stepped back and fired at the same time, her shot hitting its mark and dropping her target as he was three or four steps away from getting to her.

“Is this guy Torsjan or is he from the Eastern Brotherhood? I can’t even tell any more,” Sophie remarked, putting one more round into his back to make sure that he was down for good. She was going to make another remark, when Ash grabbed her by the arm and started pulling her away.

“Sophie, run!” he shouted, and that was when she noticed the beeping noise.

“Shit!” she said to herself, running back towards the stairwell and reaching it just as a fireball engulfed the area where she had been standing. “You know, I really fucking hate fighting these guys. When we have to fight an enemy that welcomes death, we get shit like this. That had to be rigged to go off even if he did survive charging us.”

“We should’ve asked to be reassigned when we got sent to this shithole,” replied Ash, looking down the hall. “I don’t think the floor is stable after that blast. We’re going to have to join the others.”

Sophie nodded and the two soldiers ran after their colleagues, who were heading to the north bedroom. “Look out, guys. The enemy is prone to blowing up in your face. Literally. It looks like the SVLA is learning from their friends, the Eastern Brotherhood.”

“So that’s what the bang was…” muttered Jeremy. He was going to say something else when the other team contacted Sophie’s radio.

“This is Weasel 2-6. My unit was just engaged in a quick battle outside of the north end of the villa. There’s four dead hostiles, two from the EB and two from the SVLA. They tried to get out through the back doors, but we caught them before they could get to their vehicles. Be careful, though. We don’t have a translator with us, but we think we overheard them saying that the place is rigged to blow. Get out of there as soon as possible,” said the voice on the over end of the line.

“Understood. We already neutralized four. They all looked South Valerian… We’ll be out as soon as possible,” said Sophie, letting out a sigh. “Let’s go. It’s not far fetched to think that 2-6 is right.”

The four commandos ran back to the stairs and went down to the lower level, running outside and surveying the area for potential enemies. By now, there were civilians in the street also, trying to figure out where the gunshots were coming from. “Let’s get back to the street, we don’t want to get caught in-” said Sophie, getting cut off as all of the windows of the house exploded at once. Fire shot out of those windows, and every other opening in the building. She wasn’t caught by the blast, but she was knocked over by the shockwave. Jeremy and Ash had to duck to avoid being hit by debris.

“That was too damn close,” muttered Jeremy, helping Sophie to stand. There was a moment of calm as the villa began to burn, but that moment wouldn’t last for long. There were screams from the onlookers as they tried to figure out what had just happened, and they didn’t know about the operation or what the soldiers were doing. They only knew that a group of Anglatian special forces operatives were standing in the courtyard of what had been the most expensive home in their town, and they believed that they were behind the destruction of the building. In other words, they were a mob, and they were out for blood.

The clash between the Anglatians and the locals started with them throwing rocks at the soldiers, but it only escalated when one man charged them with a knife and was promptly shot by Luke, who was wielding a shotgun. “If it’s a fight they want, it’s a fight they’ll get,” he said to the others, reloading and leveling his weapon at the mob. His move only ignited the fury of the crowd, who charged the open gate that the soldiers were standing behind. The soldiers had been ordered to do their job and to leave quietly before attracting the attention of civilians, but now they weren’t faced with much of a choice. It was a fight or die situation, and they chose to fight.

“Open fire, they’ll turn around when they see we aren’t playing around,” Sophie ordered, reloading her own rifle before squeezing the trigger. The others did the same, including Jeremy, who was holding a light machine gun. The moments afterward could only be described as chaos. The mob nearly reached the soldiers, but the LMG made sure that they couldn’t get too close. There were bodies everywhere, and Sophie had nearly gotten stabbed by an attacker who had climbed the wall and approached from the side. Even though it felt like forever, the battle only lasted for a maximum of thirty seconds. Most of the mob ran the other way when they realized what was happening, and the commandos used that as a chance to flee towards the back, where the others were waiting for them in a pair of SUVs.

“What the fuck happened back there?” asked the leader of the second squad, as Sophie climbed into the first SUV in the passenger seat.

“You don’t want to know… You really don’t want to know. Come on, we have to go. Right now. There’s a mob around the other side and they might come back if we wait,” she answered, closing her eyes and thinking about what had just happened. This would be all over the news by the end of the day, and she wondered if she would have a future in the special forces if her name was connected to the story. She didn’t regret her choice. Her men would have died at the hands of the mob if they hadn’t fought back. But she did regret that they had botched the mission badly enough to be in that situation in the first place.

This was only the beginning of the war, and the death toll for Patierre was already astounding. Maybe in all the other news of the war, this would be forgotten. Or maybe it would turn into something bigger, and Sophie and her squad would have to find new jobs. It wasn’t easy to tell.

[Vettrera]

Whatever doubt Rachel had in her mind on how to act was going to be short-lived. She wasn’t the type of person to struggle with decision making, even when the stakes were high. As second in command for the VCSA Executive Committee, she got used to cleaning up Donald’s messes. As the leader of the VCSA, Donald couldn’t speak his mind much, so Rachel became the proxy. Attacking the dissenters on the committee became commonplace for her. She even earned the nickname Rachel Rottweiler for her aggressive methods of dealing with her opposition. Even so, she longed for more. Even as the logical successor to the VCSA Presidency, the amount of drama and political outrage caused by a lot of their decisions means that when power shifts, it’ll be an entire overhaul. And as of now, Rachel needed to make sure William didn’t.

Her approach was simple, at least it was going to be in her mind. She was going to confront Rowan about his lies, and then make sure William didn’t have a leg to stand on. She was gonna make sure the allegations of bribery stopped then and there.

Rachel quickly exited Hudson’s office, went to the nearest elevator, and took herself one floor down to where Rowan’s office was located. Luckily for her, he was in the office that day.

She was greeted instantly by Rowan’s secretary, Melody.

“Rowan’s taking a very important phone call Ms. Vice President, I don’t think it’d be—“

“Don’t worry dear, I won’t be long”

Rachel pushed through the door not even waiting to see the concerned look on Melody’s face. Before the doors closed again, Rachel could hear Melody grunt “fucking bitch” under her breath.

Rachel continued through the doors and smirked at Rowan, who was finishing a conversation with someone she could easily deduce was William. Rowan glancing down at his desk however, didn’t even notice that Rachel had entered the room. He mistook her legs for those of Melody and continued to talk on the phone.

“Yes sir. I mean there’s no way this could end badly for us. I’m just saying that he needs to go. We can’t trust him to run the organization when he’s out there making threats to get his way, and especially when every can see his bias is so far towards the Western provinces. I mean, I’m scared. I’m worried. Obviously the Huddleston decision is a small example but what’s next. I just don’t want everyone on our side to feel marginalized under…” at this point Rowan had finally made eye contact with Rachel. “I need to call you back” he said, hanging up the phone.

“Well aren’t you a sight for sore eyes Rachel! What can I do for you?” Rowan asked.

“Oh Rowan,” Rachel said with a soft giggle. “I’d rather talk about what you’re doing to me.”

“Wait? What.”

“Please don’t play dumb with me Rowan. Half the committee already knows what you’re planning to do to Hudson. And we both know it isn’t true. Hudson wasn’t intimidating you and trying to convict you over some disgusting shit you did 20 years ago. Hudson was telling you that it’s about time you made up for all the wrongs you did back then. And I’m not saying you’re as bad as that kid from UHuddleston, but I’m just telling you that everyone knew about your slimy nature in college. And considering the multitude of affairs you’ve been having over the years that everyone ALSO knows about now, you’re still equally slimy. Comes may be ignorant to what the truth is, but I’m not. What the hell were you planning to do anyway? You were gonna argue that Hudson intimidated you, incriminate yourself in the process, and then let Comes take over the committee? Really?”
“Are you done? Anyway I’m going to respond now so I hope you are done. Hudson was very clear with his words when he came up to me. He told me point blank that if I didn’t go through with the vote, he would ‘bury me’.”

“That’s literally the opposite of clear.”

“Well it doesn’t matter anyway. Because I have it on video…Whatever homegrown narrative of nonsense Hudson tried to spin you is a lie. The simple fact here is that Hudson is clearly biased and is doing whatever it takes to suppress the voices of the community that disagree with him, and here you are trying to validate his decisions.”

“What Hudson is doing is demanding that these institutions take a firm stance against rape. Which is much less than what you’ve done.”

“Goddamn it Rachel, I am so tired of you’re nonsensical rumors and lies about me. Was I kinda a womanizer in college, yes? Have I been less than faithful in the past, yes? But I’ve never touched a woman inappropriately. This isn’t about the rape. This is about me needing the ability to do my job without his ass interfering. This is about Hudson’s history. Whether you want to admit it or not the nation is polarized among regional and political lines. And the same goes for this organization. Hudson is manipulating the situation to make sure he comes out on top at every turn. He’s gaining more power, and when this all blows up in his face YOU will be the one that suffers. He’s got you running around HQ like his little puppy. You’re the one that’s going to be linked to everything he does, and it’s going to lead to you being forced out of power with his entire administration rather than being his successor. Whether you want to admit it or not, he is playing everyone. He wants to be the lone wolf, and you’re still clinging onto him for some reason when he’s shown you what he’s capable of. So you can bark at me all you want, but you’re still acting like his little pet.”

“I’m only going to say this once. And I want to make this abundantly clear so make sure you get your head out of your ass while I’m talking. I don’t know what you said to Hudson and I frankly don’t care. I’m not here to defend either of you, I’m here to maintain control of MY situation. And if either of you fuck with it, I swear you’re both going to be sorry. I have spent the last three years suppressing the bullshit scandals and situations both of you have gotten into, and I have no problem releasing all of it. Remember what happened at Dolphin Cove? I have no problem telling everyone. You can try to sink this ship if you want, but I guarantee you’ll drown. And unlike what Hudson said, I definitely mean this as a threat.”

[Qasden]

Qasden
Athletic News

IBC21 Quick Report- #QADvETM


As our time in Montreal has passed, the Vans re-emerge. After finishing with a 3-2 record in Montreal, plus a victory in California City to #3 Saint Kanye, Qasden looks to storm through Ottawa as they rematch with one of their bigger sports rivals, Electrum.

The Electrumites finished in Montreal with a 3-2 record as well, losing to only RK Quebec and Qasden. The Qads will come into the Palladium, now fresh from their Cal City friendly. When we interviewed Starks.....again, his confidence in the team had sharply rose since prior to IBC21. "This entire experience for the team was and will be great. We're really starting to feel like a family, and of course, Markins acts as the cool brother you never had. Frosts contains many surprises, so I wouldn't be too shocked to see her perform on par with Andrew. The last time we played Electrum, we took the game by a single point. Now, after an almost identical win against the defending champions, as well as blowout wins to Nueva Andalusia and Levivania, the Vans Family has come back, stronger than ever, ready to fight and defeat the Electrumites again."

STARTING LINE-UP

0- Justen Hocks (PG)
1- Rebecca Tazel (SG)
7- Wendi Frosts (C)
3- Ryu Okasayo (PF)
9- Matt Ulemar (SF)

BLUE v WHITE

Blue Jerseys- 2-2
White Jerseys- 2-0

With tonight's game against Electrum in our white jerseys, the match is simply crucial to the Vans' success into the knockouts. A victory would give them the edge in head-to-head record, allowing them to slip past Electrum into the R16. To put it straight, tonight's game in Ottawa is a "win or go home" situation.

Will Qasden surprise Electrum again, allowing them to get closer to an R16 spot? Can the Electrumites whomp the Vans and hand them their first away loss? Stay alert for MD6 recap report, ripe for the picking from the frozen orchards of Ottawa.

[Drawkland]

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MATCHDAY SIX CUTOFF! - QUEBECOIS SIDE

Here's this neat techno song I like.
Welcome to the second leg. For Drawkian Side matches, your city's venues have probably switched. Be sure to check.

---

Group A
West Phoencia 65–100 Royal Kingdom of Quebec
Nueva Andalusia 65–75 Levivania
Qasden 62–62 Electrum (68–65 OT)

# Group A                   Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts
1 Royal Kingdom of Quebec     6    6   0   506  382 +124     6
2 Qasden                      6    4   2   454  446   +8     4
3 Electrum                    6    3   3   448  383  +65     3
4 Levivania                   6    2   4   407  466  −59     2
5 West Phoencia               6    2   4   430  505  −75     2
6 Nueva Andalusia             6    1   5   424  487  −63     1

Group B
Pey 71–66 Abanhfleft
Kaboomlandia 95–74 Alastonia-
Free Swiss States 77–75 Frenline Delpha

# Group B                   Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts
1 Abanhfleft                  6    5   1   521  423  +98     5
2 Kaboomlandia                6    4   2   449  460  −11     4
3 Pey                         6    3   3   455  440  +15     3
4 Free Swiss States           6    3   3   460  474  −14     3
5 Frenline Delpha             6    2   4   461  446  +15     2
6 Alastonia-                  6    1   5   415  518 −103     1

Group C
United States of Devonta 55–71 Cosumar
Theia Boatia 67–83 San Llera
Unified Sunrise Islands 63–76 Jagellion

# Group C                   Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts
1 Cosumar                     6    4   2   463  411  +52     4
2 Unified Sunrise Islands     6    4   2   476  432  +44     4
3 San Llera                   6    3   3   465  457   +8     3
4 Jagellion                   6    3   3   454  455   −1     3
5 United States of Devonta    6    3   3   435  474  −39     3
6 Theia Boatia                6    1   5   439  503  −64     1

Group D
United Vietussia 76–67 Kirisaki
Anglatia 63–78 Ko-oren
Nova Anglicana 74–42 Nuevo Caracas

# Group D                   Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts
1 Ko-oren                     6    6   0   471  349 +122     6
2 Nova Anglicana              6    3   3   437  388  +49     3
3 Anglatia                    6    3   3   447  459  −12     3
4 Kirisaki                    6    2   4   450  442   +8     2
5 United Vietussia            6    2   4   416  475  −59     2
6 Nuevo Caracas               6    2   4   379  487 −108     2

[The Royal Kingdom of Quebec]

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MATCHDAY SIX RESULTS! - DRAWKIAN SIDE

Let's start the second half with a WRECKING BALL!

Welcome to the second leg. For Quebecois Side matches, your city's venues have switched. Be sure to check.

---

Group E
Mahrcain 66–82 Valladares
Yymea 69–74 Drawkland
Dunnes 97–87 Rardium

Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Drawkland               6    6   0   0   510  459  +51    18
2 Valladares              6    5   0   1   495  415  +80    15
3 Dunnes                  6    3   0   3   475  456  +19     9
4 Yymea                   6    2   0   4   459  481  −22     6
5 Rardium                 6    1   0   5   464  493  −29     3
6 Mahrcain                6    1   0   5   426  525  −99     3

Group F
Jarwel 53–81 Banguela
Saint Kanye 67–70 Vettrera
Amouraland 71–67 Banija

Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Vettrera                6    5   0   1   506  437  +69    15
2 Banguela                6    4   0   2   474  426  +48    12
3 Saint Kanye             6    3   0   3   446  449   −3     9
4 Banija                  6    3   0   3   446  457  −11     9
5 Amouraland              6    3   0   3   436  460  −24     9
6 Jarwel                  6    0   0   6   416  495  −79     0

Group G
Cheongji 62–82 Vangaziland
LOUDER AND BIGGER 64–79 Abaja
Saintland 96–96 Tir y Tan (115–99 OT)

Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Vangaziland             6    5   0   1   472  411  +61    15
2 Saintland               6    4   0   2   554  490  +64    12
3 Abaja                   6    4   0   2   488  468  +20    12
4 LOUDER AND BIGGER       6    3   0   3   418  449  −31     9
5 Cheongji                6    2   0   4   466  497  −31     6
6 Tir y Tan               6    0   0   6   456  539  −83     0

Group H
Peisandros 73–76 DBostick
Ceni 73–74 The Andromeda Islands
Valanora 97–66 Social Justice Islands

Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Valanora                  6    6   0   0   534  409 +125    18
2 Ceni                      6    4   0   2   480  439  +41    12
3 The Andromeda Islands     6    4   0   2   441  429  +12    12
4 DBostick                  6    3   0   3   466  452  +14     9
5 Social Justice Islands    6    1   0   5   413  532 −119     3
6 Peisandros                6    0   0   6   425  498  −73     0

[Valanora]

Valanora Times
Dragons On Point

The Dragons are sitting in a very good position after they finished the first half of group play with a perfect record that was finished off with a very entertaining but edgy last game against Ceni, as the one point victory secured a perfect first half. However, the Dragons know that the last game against Ceni is going to be a deciding factor in the balance of the two and who will ultimately emerge as the victor from the group. Though there is four matches between now and then and there is quite a few possible scenarios that may occur between now and then, though the Dragons definitely are keeping one eye on that fixture as they begin the second half of this IBC group phrase, with a clear goal of advancing out of the group and perhaps even as the winner of the group.

This group has been somewhat surprising in how the Dragons have been able to navigate, as they were supposed to be a struggling third seed and on the downswing, especially given their disappointing exit last tournament to one of the tournament hosts. Yet it has not been the Dragons who have come up short of expectations, indeed they are quite overachieving being in the top spot of the group through the first five matches, it has been The Andromedea Islands that have been the great underachievers of the group. With the first seed not looking their best and being able to take advantage of the power void that their struggles have provided, the Dragons have seen themselves as an emerging favorite in the tournament. While those in Valanora are not quite convinced of such a status, those in foreign media seem to think so.

The question now is can the Dragons keep up their pace and form through the last five matches, can they avoid a crucial upset against one of the three lower ranked sides in the group? If they can manage to get those three victories, then they can even afford to lose both games against Ceni and The Andromedea Islands, as they will be at worst second in the group assuming that Ceni and the Islands both win their remaining matches excluding the one between them. That is what the victory over Ceni has provided, a bit of insurance for the Dragons so that they can play this second half without the burden of thinking that they have to win every match before them in order to advance. With that loose feeling through the camp with spirits already high, then this Dragons squad may just have the perfect setup to make a very deep run in the tournament.

[Qasden]

Qasden
Athletic News

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IBC21 Report- Day 6

---

What a better way to start our journey in Ottawa. The Qasden Vans have done it again, shocking the Electrumites in overtime, 68-65. The match was a crucial step for both countries towards a spot in the knockout rounds.

After the adrenaline-pumping overtime, the country roared in excitement and cheered for the heroes of Qasden. Coach Starks, who went ecstatic after the final buzzer, could nearly contain his spirit during the press conference. "This team has really gone far in this competition. The fact that they've put up with me and still compete at a master level, it shows you that our team has more heart and trust in each other, like one giant family. Now, our next game, we still need to be prepared, especially against a team who kicked out butts in Montreal. Qasden will never die, not until the last wisps of athletic spirit leaves the multiverse."

The win bumped them up to 2nd place in the group, behind the unstoppable Quebec Reapers. The victory also improved the Vans' PD to +8, which is still pretty low compared to Electrum's +65.

Next for the Vans, a rematch with unranked West Phoencia, the only other nation besides Quebec to defeat Qasden, thus far. Since their last encounter, the Scorpions slumped down to 5th in the group, as well as achieving the lowest PD in group A,-75. With hope and luck on our side, a win here would be sweet revenge at its finest. Also, the Vans are currently discussing a potential friendly with Banija after their time in Ottawa. The Banijans currently sit in 4th place in Group F, just narrowly below Saint Kanye. More details on that are to come later.

Will the Vans keep their luck and skill with them in tomorrow night's game? Or can the Scorpions once again shut them down. Stay alert for the tomorrow's quick and recap reports, only from Ottawa's Palladium.

[Abaja]

International Basketball Championships XXI

Lions' defense give problems in second half

- By Amina Ogwu

@ Spartan Valley Arena

Sadeg, Drawkland

Tuesday, July 19

LOUDER AND BIGGER

V. Adrov - 13 pts, 4 ast, 5 rebs, 1 stl (5/12 FG)
J. Yzva - 11 pts, 6 ast, 8 rebs, 1 stl, 1 blk (4/14 FG)
D. Lawson - 10 pts, 2 ast, 8 rebs, 2 blk (4/12 FG)
S. Redstone - 8 pts, 4 ast, 2 rebs (4/7 FG)
F. Wivsik - 7 pts, 3 ast, 5 rebs, 1 stl (2/8 FG)
E. Velsard - 4 pts, 3 ast, 2 rebs (2/5 FG)
K. Illys - 4 pts, 4 rebs (2/3 FG)
N. Andels - 4 pts, 1 ast, 5 rebs (2/2 FG)
A. Harrick - 3 pts, 7 rebs (1/9 FG)

ABAJA

P. Mouyre - 14 pts, 7 rebs, 4 ast, 1 blk (6/10 FG)
J. Nessal - 12 pts, 2 rebs, 3 ast, 2 stl (4/8 FG)
A. Welch - 10 pts, 4 rebs, 9 ast, 5 stl (4/10 FG)
J. Olu - 10 pts, 8 rebs, 2 ast, 2 blk, 1 stl (4/6 FG)
M. al-Zalahwi - 7 pts, 3 rebs, 1 ast, 1 blk (3/3 FG)
N. Mdamnbe - 6 pts, 5 rebs, 3 blk (3/7 FG)
C. Anelé - 6 pts, 2 rebs, 2 ast, 1 stl (2/6 FG)
J. Nicholson - 5 pts, 3 rebs (2/3 FG)
D. Marakwo - 5 pts, 1 rebs, 2 ast (2/5 FG)
A. Eryenu - 4 pts, 2 rebs, 1 ast (2/2 FG)

64 - 79

---

GROUP G

Cheongji 62–82 Vangaziland
LOUDER AND BIGGER 64–79 Abaja
Saintland 96–96 Tir y Tan (115–99 OT)

Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Vangaziland             6    5   0   1   472  411  +61    15
2 Saintland               6    4   0   2   554  490  +64    12
3 Abaja                   6    4   0   2   488  468  +20    12
4 LOUDER AND BIGGER       6    3   0   3   418  449  −31     9
5 Cheongji                6    2   0   4   466  497  −31     6
6 Tir y Tan               6    0   0   6   456  539  −83     0

On match day 1, Abaja took an L against unranked LOUDER AND BIGGER 65-76. Today, the Lions got payback and won 79-64. It wasn't really a high scoring game, but it was a win none-the-less. That's all that matters at this point for Abaja. Wins are starting to get more and more important as the match days keep going by, and Group G is still very close with Saintland, Vangaziland, and of course Abaja. However with this win, the Lions are still in third place, just behind the Saintland Sanctii. The Lions hope that Vangaziland can beat them so that they have at a playoff spot. Because, if Vangaziland can't beat them, then who will? The only team other than Vangaziland that would be valid in that argument would be Abaja, but nobody is sure if the Abajans will beat Saintland once more, considering their first win over them was only by 3 points. But it's a bit too early for that, don't you think? Let's talk about this game for now. The Abajans had a total of 7 blocks in the game, 3 of them by Náná Mdamnbe, who has been quiet throughout this tournament, but makes up for it with his stellar defense. Armani Welch also got 5 steals,including back-to-back steals during Abaja's huge in the 3rd quarter. The rest of the team combined got just 4 steals. It's was a great game defensively for Abaja, and they hope to carry it into next game against Cheongji, another unranked team who had beat them by 8 points in match day 2. At the press conference, a reporter asked Armani Welch "With the five steals that you had in the game, do you think you're coming back to your usual ANBL-self?" He answered and said "I think so. My IBC performance is improving. After my ankle injury about a month and a half ago, I've had some problems scoring and getting steals like I used to. Though I did this against a Not-So dangerous team, I'm still pretty happy with how I played. I guess I'm starting to get on the right track." Another reporter asked Head Coach Yuhan Anekwe, "Sir Anekwe, in your first two matches in IBC twenty-one, your coaching career was already on the line after back-to-back losses. Since match day three, you guys have been winning. Do you think your job is in the 'safe zone' now?" Anekwe responded with "It's definetly too early to say that my job is in the 'safe zone'. I mean, sure, we are winning games. We've won four straight, but look ahead of the schedule. It's only match day 6, buddy. I don't know for sure if we'll make it out. We'll likely have some good days and bad days.And plus, we aren't even in second place yet. We're still glued to the third place spot. The only way that we can surpass Saintland is if they lose at least one more game, and we win the rest of ours. Not easy. And the only real challenge that they'll have is against Vangaziland. Maybe I'll try to convince Vangaziland to back us up. I mean, we DID offer them some players in our league to theirs. Hopefully they'll be nice enough to defeat Saintland for us. *Whispers ~ Don't tell the media I said that*" The reporter answered "Sir, we're on live."

The Lions remained in the city of Sadeg, but in a different court; The Spartan Valley Arena. This is going to be the place where the Lions will play for the remainder for the second leg, and their opponent, LOUDER AND BIGGER, was looking to shock them again in this one. The 1st quarter soon started, and already the Abajans started to struggle on the court. Jacob Nessal (ABJ) misses 2 consecutive 3 pointers, and then Armani Welch (ABJ) had driven to the paint and got past his defender, Josip Yzva (LAB), but he was unable to get the scoop layup to go down. Considering he normally makes those types of layups, the Abajan fans already had their hands on their heads. A couple minutes later, Falgar Wivsik (LAB) picked the pocket of Pápá Mouyre (ABJ) and took it down to the other end of the court for an easy rim grazing dunk. Joseph Olu (ABJ) then inbounds to Armani Welch. Welch rushes it up the court. He lobs it to Náná Mdamnbe (ABJ) from the three point line. The ball floats in the air until Mdamnbe catches the pass with one hand and slams it down with authority. After that, Vistak Adrov (LAB) gets a pas from Josip Yzva. He goes in, then bounce passes it to the center Dudley Lawson (ABJ). Lawson is in the post against Joseph Olu. He pump fakes. Olu jumps and lands on him. Lawson puts it up. The whistle blows, and the ball bounces off the front rim and in plus the foul! Lawson makes the extra free throw. A few minutes later, here's Armani Welch. He scans the court. He passes to Jacob Nessal on the right wing. Nessal runs left toward the ball. He stops once he gets it. Nessal pump fakes. He gets Vistak Adrov up in the air. He dribbles right, steps back, shoots the three, and it's good! With 4 minutes to go in the quarter, both teams begin to make substitutions. For Abaja, Jola Nicholson (ABJ) comes in for Náná Mdamnbe. And the deadly three point shooter Calvin Anelé (ABJ) comes in for Jacob Nessal. For LOUDER AND BIGGER, Sever Redstone (LAB) is in for Vistak Adrov and Kaleb Illys (LAB) replaces Erik Velsard (LAB). After the break, Armani Welch immediately passes to Calvin Anelé. Since Anelé isn't open, he passe back to Welch. Welch then passes to Pápá Mouyre. Mouyre gets the ball blasts past Falgar Wivsik for the tomahawk slam. After that, Sever Redstone knocks down a fade away jumper after a nice pass from Josip Yzva. With 17 seconds left in the quarter, LOUDER AND BIGGER hold the ball. It's in the hands of Sever Redstone. They keep holding it until the last few seconds. Then, Redstone gives it to Falgar Wivsik. Wivsik gets by Pápá Mouyre, but Mouyre catches up from behind. Mouyre slaps the ball off the backboard after Wivsik tries to quickly lay it in. That's the end of the first, and LOUDER AND BIGGER have a 24-18 lead over Abaja. In the second quarter, it was pretty much more of the same. At the start of the second, here's who was on the court for both teams: Abaja; PG: Armani Welch, SG: Jacob Nessal, SF: Malik al-Zalahwi, PF: Vincent Osu, C: Joseph Olu. And for LOUDER AND BIGGER; PG: Josip Yzva, SG: Vistak Adrov, SF: Naven Andels, PF: Erik Velsard, C: Victor Jakob. For most LOUDER AND BIGGER fans, putting in Victor Jakob (LAB) wasn't really a good idea against an athletic center like Joseph Olu. They stood correct. Olu refused to let Victor Jakob get ANY points as long as he was still on the court. Vistak Adrov got a pass to Jakob. Jakob backs down Olu. He spins. Here's the left hand scoop. The ball is swatted by Joseph Olu and out of bounds. LOUDER AND BIGGER's ball. Erik Velsard inbounds it to Josip Yzva, who tries to get past Armani Welch. The ball goes to Yzva, but Welch manages to jump and get a hand on it, and tips it up in the air. He jumps again and snatches the ball out of the air. Welch rushes up court. He's against Vistak Adrov, who is right beside him. It's a 1-on-1. Welch goes to the hoop. Adrov tries to knock him off coarse. Welch absorbs the contact, takes a step, puts the shot up, and the whistle blows as the shot goes in. Three point play opportunity for Abaja. He makes the extra free throw. Josip Yzva then hits a three on the pull up.. Armani Welch gets the inbound pass and jogs it up court. He passes to Malik al-Zalahwi (ABJ). al-Zalahwi, who could possibly to going to Vangaziland to play in their basketball league, gets the ball in the corner. He crosses left, the gets a spin move. He loses Naven Andels (LAB) and throws a lob to Joseph Olu for the two hand jam. What a play. The Abajans still seemed to struggle a bit. They still had problems knocking down their three point shots. That's when head coach Yuhan Anekwe put back in Calvin Anelé for Jacob Nessal, and Alenau Eryenu (ABJ) and Náná Mdamnbe come in for Armani Welch and Jola Nicholson. Anelé knocks down a three. Then Alenau Eryenu turns the ball over. LOUDER AND BIGGER slow it down. Vistak Adrov passes to Dudley Lawson who had come back into the game, and Náná Mdamnbe gets a block of his own. About 11 seconds left in the half, and Náná Mdamnbe gets the rebound and throws it up to Calvin Anelé. He goes up court, then goes up for the layup, and Josip Yzva flies in from behind to block the shot! They had to hurry and get back. Not much time Josip Yzva then goes up the the three point line to shoot, and it's no good. That' half.

At the halftime mark, things weren't looking too good for Abaja. They were trailing 42-32. Losing by double digits is bad enough, but to a team like this, it's kind of embarrassing. Hang on, though. It gets better! At the start of the third quarter, Abaja had their starting 5 on the court, while LOUDER AND BIGGER still had Naven Andels in for Falgar Wivsik and Sever Redstone in for Vistak Adrov. After Andels had gotten a mid range shot to fall, Jacob Nessal passes to Náná Mdamnbe. Mdamnbe goes the paint and rises up. Dudley Lawson reacts just in time to come over and slap the ball away. While the ball is in the air, it comes to Joseph Olu, and Olu jumps and grabs it out the air and put it back into the hoop. Guess what, folks. This was just the beginning of a 22-7 run. After Olu had scored, he went back and got another block, this time on Sever Redstone as he was trying to get a layup over Olu. The ball comes to Jacob Nessal. He sees Pápá Mouyre rushing up the court all by himself. He tosses it up there. Mouyre gets the pass, takes a couple dribbles, and windmills it home. Josip Yzva then takes it up court. He passes to Sever Redstone. Redstone misses his three point shot attempt, and Pápá Mouyre. He hands it to Armani Welch. Welch pulls up at the three point line and drains it. Right in the face of Josip Yzva. Josip Yzva then tries driving to the hoop. He gets stuck and is forced to pass it back out. Redstone gets the pass outside the arc, and shoots the three. No good again as it bounces off the side rim. Joseph Olu gets the rebound. He gives it to Welch. Welch passes it to Jacob Nessal, who is is the corner, open for a three. He shoots the three, and it's off the mark. Náná Mdamnbe gets the offensive board. He kicks it back out to Nessal, who moves to the wing. Now Nessal gets a second chance, and he rattles in the three. LOUDER AND BIGGER still could not get anything to fall, until Naven Andels hit a fade away shot over Pápá Mouyre, plus the foul. Andels failed to convert, but at least they stopped a 10-0 run. However, that wasn't the end of it. A couple plays after the and-one, Náná Mdamnbe put in some work in the post, scoring a hook shot over Erik Velsard. Armani Welch then uses his long arms to rip Josip Yzva of the ball. He goes all the way and lays it up and in. Josip Yzva then dibbles up court. He finds Sever Redstone. Redstone dribbles forward then passes back to Yzva. Armani Welch again tips the pass. The ball almost goes out of bounds, so he dives for it. He saves the ball, and Jacob Nessal gets it. Nessal passes all the way up court to Pápá Mouyre who is against Naven Andels. Fastbreak chance for Abaja if they can get it. Andels leaps to try and tip the ball out of Mouyre's reach, but he misses and falls to the floor. Mouyre gets it and slams it with both. LOUDER AND BIGGER's head coach finally calls timeout. There were some new people on the court for both teams. For Abaja; PG: Armani Welch, SG: Calvin Anelé, SF: Malik al-Zalahwi, PF: Náná Mdamnbe, C: Mbade Grette. And for LOUDER AND BIGGER; PG: Adriel Harrick, SG: Vistak Adrov, SF: Falgar Wivsik, PF: Erik Velsard, C: Dudley Lawson. This lineup actually made it worse for LOUDER AND BIGGER. Adriel Harrick had a terrible shooting night, going 1/9. He missed his first jumpshot after Vistak Adrov delivered a pass to him. Mbade Grette got the rebound, and passes to Armani Welch. Welch throws it up to Malik al-Zalahwi. al-Zalahwi jab steps, then takes a three pointer. He gets it to go, and the Abajan crowd is going crazy. It's a 17-2 run right now. That was until Vistak Adrov hit a three pointer of his own, after an offensive rebound from Falgar Wivsik. Abaja did not stop, though. Malik al-Zalahwi dishes a bounce pass to Calvin Anelé. Anelé shoots a deep three from 28 feet out and swishes it. LOUDER AND BIGGER then hits another shot. After that, Náná Mdamnbe denies Erik Velsard after trying to score a hook shot over him. Mdamnbe gets the rebound. There is 14 seconds left in the quarter. He hands it to Armani Welch. He slows it down. Welch drives to the hoop and slips by his defenders for a double clutch layup off the glass. Two seconds left. LOUDER AND BIGGER chuck it for beyond half court. No good. That completes the 22-7 run Abaja had in the 3rd, and now the Lions went from down 32-42 to ahead 54-49. In the 4th quarter, Abaja kept on the defense, but LOUDER AND BIGGER still managed to score more points in the 4th than in the 3rd. Abaja began the 4th on a 7-0 run, after another steal from Armani Welch and a three from Jacob Nessal, then a bucket from Pápá Mouyre and another dunk from Joseph Olu. After that, Vistak Adrov had gotten an and-one over Jacob Nessal after Nessal had bumped him on his way to the basket. He made the free throw. Many minutes later, Abaja was up 68-55. Their lead grew until that point, when Head Coach Yuhan Anekwe put in Alenau Eryenu, Damian Marakwo, Mathew Ojeije, Jola Nicholson, and Joseph Olu, while LOUDER AND BIGGER's head coach put in Adriel Harrick, Sever Redstone, Naven Andels, Kaleb Illys, and Dudley Lawson. Abaja went on another small run, going 6-2,to push the lead to 17. after a layup and floater by Eryenu and hook shot from Jola Nicholson. LOUDER AND BIGGER then scored back-to-back baskets from Sever Redstone and Kaleb Illys. With just a few minutes to go in the game, Damian Marakwo hits his first 3 of the game to give Abaja a 10 point lead. After that, he gets a rebound and takes it all the way for 2. With two minutes left, Adriel Harrick then gets thrown by Jola Nicholson after attempting to go up for the layup. He makes his first free throw, and Joseph Olu is subbed out and Mbade Grette comes back in. The fans cheer on Olu as he leaves the court Adriel Harrick then misses the second, and Abaja scores another 4 points to close out the game. Abaja again walks out victorious, and tie their highest win streak in IBC. They'll hope to surpass the win streak tonight against Cheongji. Will they?

---

NEXT UP

July 23, 2016

ABAJA vs CHEONGJI

---

COMMENTS • 31,115
Top Comments • New Comments

Bhaki Bhaki - July 23, 1:22 AM
I've only seen about 21 or 22 international basketball games from this team and I have to say that 3rd quarter defense was the best I've seen from them.
Reply • Like (3926) • Dislike (27)

Jensa Holedi - July 23, 12:04 AM
"Sir, we're on live" Lol Yuhan
Reply • Like (3844) • Dislike (31)

ArmaniWelchGOAT - July 23, 2:09 AM
They came back f*cking quick. I left for 8 minutes when they were down 10 then when I come bck they have the lead
Reply • Like (3632) • Dislike (17)

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[Abanhfleft]

Three Gorges Rural Development Bank Arena
Mereilles, Ceneisis, Abanhfleft

"Hayden, very good game for the Port Boys," the reporter said. "Now, I'm sure you're a bit sick and tired of talking about the game, so let's talk about something else. There's been rumors that Abdul Halim bin Osman of the national team is looking to call you back into service after our elimination against Saint Kanye for the second time. Care to comment on this?"

Hayden Dorola, known throughout the Democratic Republic of Abanhfleft as "The Floor General" for his great court organization, laughed and shook his head. "I already announced my retirement from international basketball what, four years ago," he said. "Representing the blue, orange, and green was a very proud experience for me, and it's going to be some of the proudest moments of my life, but now I'm just content with playing in the league and for my team, the Mereilles Port Boys."

"Well, I have to be honest, that's quite the letdown for all the Rebolusyonaryos fans," the reporter said. "People have been really looking forward to seeing you pull on the blue jersey of the country once again."

"Look, if Coach Osman had offered me a spot on the team, then I would have told you that there's been some contact between us about this," Dorola said. "But there's nothing from his camp or from the Samahang Basketbol ng Abanhfleft to indicate any interest in bringing me back into the team. And even if they did ask me to come back, can I still keep up with the other players? It's been four years since I played internationally... Do I still have what it takes?"

"Do you really have to ask that question, Hayden?" the reporter said. "Everyone knows how good you are, both locally and internationally! I'm sure you can still keep up with the stars of today."

"We'll see," Dorola mused, nodding his head. "We'll see."

---

It turned out that the reporter had approached Dorola just hours before Abdul Halim bin Osman and two representatives of the Samahang Basketbol ng Abanhfleft, Abanhfleft's national basketball governing body, had visited Dorola's house in Mereilles to ask for The Floor General to come out of retirement for just one more tournament and add that special something to the squad. Three days after that meeting, Dorola appeared alongside Osman in The Fleftic Arena, the official home stadium of the Abanhfleft Rebolusyonaryos, to announce that Hayden Dorola was officially coming out of retirement once again to play in the International Basketball Championships 21 in Quebec and Drawkland.

The Floor General, upon his return on the international parquet floor, picked up where he left off and took command of every game that the Fleftics had played so far. Every game had always ended with either him or his new point guard protege, Leo Baxter, being the player of the game. Hayden and Leo had led Abanhfleft to five consecutive victories in Sarnia, and they looked to be on course to sweep the rest of Leg 2 of the group stage to go undefeated in the groups once again.

And then came the bye day scrimmage against Vangaziland, and then Abanhfleft had been confronted with their age-old problem.

Everyone knew that in recent years, Abanhfleft had willingly put themselves at a height disadvantage by putting out a starting five composed of players who never even looked like breaking into six feet and above, and teams had looked to take advantage of that. Some, like Saint Kanye and San Llera to some extent, had succeeded, but many others, most notably Drawkland in the last IBC, had failed. Vangaziland had looked to use their taller lineup to triumph over the Rebolusyonaryos, and the Fleftics had looked to counter those "tall tactics" in their usual way, but in the end it was the Royals who succeeded, but only by a single point. It all came down to two defensive stops in the last few seconds of the game which forced Dorola to keep the ball and eventually throw up a brick from 20 feet, which was five feet beyond his "comfortable shooting range".

Dorola knew the reason why the Rebolusyonaryos were not able to overcome their taller opponents this time. Whenever they were up against opponents who looked to use their height to their advantage, Abanhfleft had relied on their big man, the naturalized Damian Gonzalez originally from Argentina, to provide height and physicality within the paint, but Damian had announced his retirement from international basketball after some kind of injury suffered in the league. His supposed replacement in the big man role, the half-Drawkian and half-Kanyean Jazz Higgs, was still very much a diamond in the rough, a work in progress. Higgs may have led the Uranium City Nukes to their first ever FBA championship, but he was basically a rookie going on a sophomore. He didn't have much experience against "tall tactics" opponents yet.

But that was just a scrimmage, right? It didn't have any effect on the overall run of things in the tournament itself.

The rematch against Pey turned out to be one of the hardest, most disappointing, and most heartbreaking losses ever in the history of Fleftic basketball. The Rebolusyonaryos, who had once taken complete control of the first game of the tournament against this same opponent, was now struggling to do the same in game six of the group stage.

Against all odds, Pey had managed to pull level against Abanhfleft in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter, and then they did the undoable and scored a three-pointer to grab themselves a most unlikely lead. Coach Osman quickly called his last timeout and laid out his plan to force overtime.

Hayden Dorola would inbound the ball to Leo Baxter, who was on fire from beyond the arc in this game. All he needed to do was to get the ball to Baxter's hands, and Baxter would send the ball through the net and force overtime. That was the plan.

But as they said with the best laid plans of mice and men... a Pey player managed to get in between the ball and Leo Baxter and steal the ball, and the player managed to run all the way to the other end of the court to score the lay-up and hand Abanhfleft their first defeat of the tournament.

Hayden Dorola could only sink down on his knees. He wiped both the sweat on his forehead and the tears beginning to form in his eyes.

[Vangaziland]

Vangaziland returned to group play winning by their largest margin yet. Once again, they faced the team from Cheongji. Vangaziland started pushing early, in a game they looked likely to win from the start.

There were a few big pushes by Cheongji early in the game. Vangaziland stepped up it's defense, going to a press in the last few minutes of the first half. Julius Handsen got hot fast. The shooting guard scored 12 points in the first half. His 3-point shooting was timely and fairly accurate. He found himself getting open off Ironwrought's screens. As his defender would try to get around Ironwrought, Handsen had space for a quick shot.

Julius ended up scoring 20 points, added 3 rebounds and an assist. "I've been more of a role-player this season", Handsen said after the game. "Tonight I was a major part of the offense. It felt good to be on target."

Just as important to the game was Jon Jennsen. The power forward had another double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Boxing out and fundamental play around the boards led to the performance. He also did well to grab offensive rebounds, which is where some of his points came from.

"The battle of the boards is just as important as the score", Jennsen told reporters. "Someone's got to step up and rebound. It gives our team second chances and takes the ball away from the other team.

Of course, point guard Hectare Yulssen also had his hand in the game. He looked to pass early in the game as he started 0-for-4 from the field on a minor cold streak.. He still picked up 4 assists in the first quarter. "It was a bad start for me, but I still kept the offense moving", Yulssen said.

Yulssen would finish with 12 points and 9 assists. His passes weren't too flashy, but instead were timely. The Royals really had their offense down to a T. It was chemistry that brought Vangaziland these wins. It looked like they had a sixth sense with each other. A screen would be set and the other player would move past it while another player would cut. Yulssen seemed to be good at knowing which man to hit, just at the right time.

Sarah Overson was also pretty solid at running the offense as a point guard. She called things a little differently than Yulssen though. She was taller and had a more aggressive handle. She was a fan of going isolation and then kicking it out from the post. Her passes often had a little flair to them. She often went for behind the back or over-the shoulder passes.

Tonight she scored 12 points and had 5 assists. She doesn't get a ton of minutes, with Yulssen playing most of the game. But she had fallen into the offense as an important piece.

"The team has been so supportive of me", Sarah said. "They've helped me find my spot in the rotation. Hectare is like a big brother to me. If I hit a cold patch, they come up to me and tell me to shake it off... To start fresh."

Many Vangazi have become fans of her fluid style. There were plenty of players for the Vannish fans to rally around.

Big Frank Hurcle actually had a fair game. He scored 10 points and picked up 7 rebounds. He also managed a steal and a block, with his long arms.

The rest of the scoring was split pretty evenly between players like Mike Marks, who scored 6 or Fred Sokol who scored 4. A big part of Vangaziland's offense involves moving the ball. Everyone gets a touch. And when the offense sets picks and moves off the ball, touches equal shots as the players find themselves with space.

Lonnie Knucks had a quiet night with 6 points and 6 rebounds. He never found himself in a rhythm and ended up on the bench as Hurcle hit a hot streak. "These sort of games can happen", Knucks said after the match. "I focused on playing good defense, challenged shots and just tried to find my shot. The team is deep enough, so that if one or two players have tough games, someone else will probably be having a good game. It evens out. We work together. The point is not to give up. I kept trying."

The Royals won by their largest margin of IBC 21. They appear to be in mid-season form.

[Qasden]

Qasden
Athletic News

IBC21 Quick Report- #QADvFWP


After our death-defying victory over the Electrumites, Qasden hopes not to make the same mistake against fellow unranked team, West Phoencia.

Though not big rivals, the Scorpions were the first of two to defeat the Vans, crushing them in Montreal. Since then, Qasden has grown into one of the power nations in Group A, defeating Saint Kanye (friendly), Electrum twice, and beat the snozzberries out of Nueva Andalusia and Levivania. West Phoencia, on the other hand, have only been able to win one game against someone other than Qasden, slouching them into 5th place in the group. Going into their second game in Ottawa, Starks seems heavily confident towards his players. "We've got a great team in a strong group. Sure, we slipped up to them once in the past, but I'm extremely positive that we will come on top with a sweet revenge feeling."

-STARTING V-

0- Justen Hocks (PG)
1- Rebecca Tazel (SG)
7- Wendi Frosts (C)
3- Ryu Okasayo (PF)
9- Matt Ulemar (SF)

-BLUE v WHITE-
Blue Jerseys: 2-2
White Jerseys: 3-0

Can the Vans get their revenge on the Scorpions? Or will West Phoencia sting the Qad spirits? Stay on the lookout for tonight's recap report, only from QADAN.

[Saint Kanye]

THE KARDASHIA KIBITZER

IBC 21: SURGE FALTER AGAINST VETTRERA ANEW, FALL TO 0.500

by Dante Dinkley

Surge Schedule - Group F

Matchday 1: L 78-79 vs. Vettrera (UR*)
Matchday 2: W 66-64 vs. Banija (36)
Matchday 3: W 83-82 vs. Banguela (10)
Matchday 4: W 80-71 vs. Jarwel (UR)
Matchday 5: L 72-83 vs. Amouraland (UR)
Friendly: L 70-71 vs. Qasden (UR)
Matchday 6: L 67-70 vs. Vettrera
Matchday 7: White vs. Banija
Matchday 8: Purple vs. Banguela
Matchday 9: White vs. Jarwel
Matchday 10: Purple vs. Amouraland
Friendly: Purple vs. Vangaziland (4)


* Unranked.

All games televised live through SKYNET
(Saint KanYe NETwork) Sports Channel 12
and our new dedicated website, ibc-tv.stk.

METROPOLON - The St. Kanye Surge "still can't catch a break" in these 21st International Basketball Championships, if assistant coach Bernard Foley is to be believed. His team is now 3-3 after a three-game losing streak, starting with a shocker against Amouraland and a one-point defeat in a friendly (no effect on the W-L column) versus Qasden. The team that sneaked past the Kanyeans in Matchday One, Vettrera, once again won in a game that's not as close it seems, the score this time being 70-67.

Fans of the Glorious Free Republic's national basketball team are discussing, whether face to face or online, about what made the defending champions not play like defending champions. Maybe it was the black alternate jerseys, although they did surpass the century mark, 102-64 in last season's semis Game 3 against Quebec wearing those. Or maybe it was something in the Drawkian water. The theories also range from game-fixing to players being replaced by lookalikes. Although, despite the crazies, the majority of Kanyeans are still in support of their ballers in purple and lime. A recent poll held in Kardashia showed a 91% support of the masses for the Surge, with 35% believing that they will be the first repeat champions since Saintland won IBCs 14 to 16 straight. When shown the results of this poll, Assistant Coach Foley told reporters, "This number can still be improved. We just have to win and show the people that we can get out of this rough spot in our campain. Coach [Paulie] Brewster will get better, that's for sure. Although with regards to our numbers, that can be fixed by being more serious in preparing for the games ahead."

First half blues have once again bothered the Kanyeans. They were down by ten, 25-15, at the end of the first, and by a baker's dozen, 27-40, at halftime. The starters weren't playing well, with James Blackwell making only two of his eight shots (none of them threes), Frederic Trichet being similarly atrocious (1-for-7, 0-for-3 threes), and Billy Forrest having only four points, and four fouls. An all-bench lineup at the start of the third, led by sixth man Marc Stevens, helped stop the bleeding, though not by much. Stevens scored ten points in this quarter alone to help the Surge catch up and end the quarter just down by six, 53-59; he would go on as the game's top scorer with fourteen. The starters returned in the fourth with renewed energy, but Vettrera wasn't having any of that and decided to match St. Kanye point by point. In the last two minutes, the Surge couldn't get the ball and had to foul the Vettrerans repeatedly. The lead was still six, 70-64, with five seconds remaining in the game and Vettrera still in possession and only needing to preserve the win. Brian Warner, thinking of the quotient, stole the ball from Nicko Lenton and made a three as the time expired for the final score.

"We still can't win, it's so frustrating", said Trichet in the locker room. "Tomorrow, it's Banija again. We beat them, but we're in bad form right now that they can very well get their revenge on us. I don't know what happens even if we win everything after that, our record's just so bad." Assistant Coach Foley isn't having any of this. He said "Our team morale is in dangerously low levels, but I'm keeping positive and trying to spread this positivity onto the players. That would be a lot easier if it's not just me, but also you, the Kanyeans, who will support our team, your team." 2,761 Kanyeans left The Ring, Drawkland, some in tears and many shaking their heads.

Scores:

VETTRERA 70 - Woodland 13, Morrison 12, Thompkins 10, Now 8, Harkers 7, Lenton 6, Morrison 6, Roadeer 5, Brown 2, Marks 1.

ST. KANYE 67 - Stevens 14, Overton 8, Blackwell 7, Morrigan 7, Forrest 6, Trichet 6, Warner 6, Philips 4, Smith 3, Gatson 2, Larsson 2, Page 2.

Quarters: 25-15, 40-27, 59-53, 70-67.

[The Royal Kingdom of Quebec]

EMERGENCY HOST ANNOUNCEMENT : Due to the sudden circumstantial reason that means the unavailability of a co-host, the upcoming matchday cutoff will happen in 22-24 hours' time.

[Ko-oren]

The first steps towards the Union of Ko-oren - Part 3

We're finally at the 200-year-ago-mark, which as we promised is the start of the Union. In actuality, it's the start of collaboration between the three powers of the time: Ko-oren, Polaris and the Nine Sisters. By now, Polaris was slowly expanding northward into the Polaris Landmass, the Nine Sisters were thinking of setting up colonies in northern Crux Landmass and the Ko-orenites were on their own archipelago, slowly absorbing more islands around it. For this phase in the Union, however, we have to look at these three in more depth.

Nine Sisters
The Nine Sisters were a favourite stop for merchants from everywhere in Atlantian Oceania and beyond. Which one of the Sisters they landed at, was a cold war between the Sisters themselves. After all, the nation consists of nine city states on nine different islands. At different points in time, they were good at different things, but as a whole, all nine adopted similar pro-economy stances, opened up their ports for trade, and as long as there were no global financial problems, they made money far more quickly than the other two. The Nine Sisters, 200 years ago, were renowned for fine mechanics and making practical (and less practical) items: everything from steam engines, to libraries, to musical instruments, and later, even airships.

Polaris
The Polarians were the first great civilisation in the area. Their culture started spreading thousands of years before the other two nations looked beyond their borders. As a matter of fact, Polaris was extremely late to look beyond their borders (but why would they? There were only barbarians there!). Polaris had the benefit of a larger population, and efficient bureaucracy before the other nations even established any kind of hierarchy. This went on for a while, until they were finally awoken to rich Nonosororitan businessmen buying valuable artifacts, and Ko-orenites slowly absorbing territory that was Polarian tribute territory not a century earlier.

Ko-oren
Lastly, Ko-oren. They were the last of the three to set up a government, but they did so swiftly and without (hardly) any bloodshed. They gave rise to many diplomats and statesmen and established a far more efficient government than Polaris ever had. It incorporated a separation of power, a limit to the power of aristocracy, and after some political changes, they settled on meritocracy for legislative purposes, and a democratically chosen body to check the meritocracy. Just before this chapter in history, the Ko-orenites were coming off of a very successful national unification movement.

Now that we've seen what was going on in these, it's time to introduce some smaller players:

Near Polaris
On Polaris' west coast, where the other nations had no business, there were three small independent countries: Arhoria, Irisia and Taloren. Rumour, and oral tradition, has it that these three are the cradle of Polarian civilisation, but this is obviously denied by the Polarians themselves. Anyhow, the three nations were in any way subordinate to Polaris.

Near Ko-oren
On Ko-oren's west coast, between Polaris and Ko-oren, are the Dragonfly Islands. They were absorbed into Ko-oren as autonomous territories, and weren't made to report to any of the five kingdoms. Instead, they had to answer to the overall government. The same applied to the Wolf Islands, a set of islands starting where northeastern Ko-oren ends.

Nowhere near anywhere
There was one last territory, Skyvinduren, which is located in the far northeast of the entire Union. It has a tiny population and area. We will still mention them because they have been interested in a Union since the unification of Ko-oren's five kingdoms.

Crux Landmass and other islands have also been inhabited around this time, but they play no role in the Union until they were up for integration.

Now that we have introduced all players, it's time to see how this plays out.

Starting 200 years ago, the Ko-orenites started having a larger set of demands in international politics. They even convinced the Wolf and Dragonfly to answer to them instead of Polaris. This sparked the Polarians into motion, and the Nine Sisters were heading into a bad economic spell for two reasons: the first is a larger international economic crisis, and the second is the reduced volume of ships heading to the Sisters when the foreign merchants found a new haven: Willowbourne, southern Ko-oren. Willowbourne became the single richest city in the Union over any of the Sisters and even Talsheer, the capital of Polaris, in no time at all and this set off the Nonosororitans as well. All three nations possessed too small an army to invade another party. Polaris had an army, part of a longstanding tradition, but it was a land army, no match for the rough seas that separated the nations.

The Ko-orenites responded with a trade treaty with the Nine Sisters (to the frustration of Willowbourne, who would lose their status less than three years after getting there), which they happily agreed to. Now, tariffs were shared between the two, and merchants would not have to prioritise one over the other. This caused a slow recovery from their crisis, aided by the treaty as well as Ko-orenite trade ships pulling into Nonosororitan harbours. They went a little further by also letting the Wolf and Dragonfly islands profit from this, and those two were immediately on the side of the Ko-orenites. They continued with an embargo against the Polarian state, which nearly crippled its government, until they finally gave into several demands and were included into the trade treaty - under very unfavourable terms. Arhoria, Irisia and Taloren received the same status as the Wolf and Dragonfly Islands, and for the first time in their history they had a better deal than Polaris.

Subsequent leadership of the Sisters and Ko-oren reduced the penalty to Polaris, striking a new deal, but ended the tribute relationship between Polaris and the smaller nations. Some nationalist voices in Polaris popped up, who demanded that their state would stand up to the barbarians. These voices gained some following and forced the autocracy of Polaris to stand down, replaced by a nationalist government. After all, the trade treaty nations went too far in keeping the entitled Polarians down, but as soon as this change of leadership happened, the other two large nations stepped in, settled the large northern landmass that would later become Thaulandi, and halted northward expansion of Polaris. For the origin and development of Thaulandi, you're best to consult a history book for that nation only, but the early seed of a Thaulandian state was sown here. The trade treaty nations then offered another new treaty to the Polarians, with even better conditions than their previous one, and this had a great effect:
1) the nationalist government claimed a victory for getting a better deal
2) the people voted in a more centralist government and relegated the nationalists to the opposition for the next decades
3) the neutral government was positive towards regional integration, as long as it meant that the autocrats and nationalists stayed away
4) the people of Polaris slowly received some of the improved wealth, as anyone could set up a business now (for more information on the Guilds of Polaris, read a Polarian medieval history book)

The Union was now in its infancy, and events over the next 120 years would increase its membership significantly. Colonies now sprang up all over Crux Landmass and the surrounding islands, and they would all be claiming independence soon.

[Drawkland]

---

MATCHDAY SEVEN CUTOFF! - QUEBECOIS SIDE

Here's the symphonic version of last matchday's song.
Many apologies for the delay. Slightly early cutoff because y'all have got an extra day.

---

Group A
Qasden 76–92 West Phoencia
Electrum 92–64 Nueva Andalusia
Levivania 72–86 Royal Kingdom of Quebec

# Group A                   Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts
1 Royal Kingdom of Quebec     7    7   0   592  454 +138     7
2 Electrum                    7    4   3   540  447  +93     4
3 Qasden                      7    4   3   530  538   −8     4
4 West Phoencia               7    3   4   522  581  −59     3
5 Levivania                   7    2   5   479  552  −73     2
6 Nueva Andalusia             7    1   6   488  579  −91     1

Group B
Free Swiss States 84–72 Pey
Frenline Delpha 68–87 Kaboomlandia
Alastonia- 75–66 Abanhfleft

# Group B                   Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts
1 Abanhfleft                  7    5   2   587  498  +89     5
2 Kaboomlandia                7    5   2   536  528   +8     5
3 Free Swiss States           7    4   3   544  546   −2     4
4 Pey                         7    3   4   527  524   +3     3
5 Frenline Delpha             7    2   5   529  533   −4     2
6 Alastonia-                  7    2   5   490  584  −94     2

Group C
Unified Sunrise Islands 97–83 United States of Devonta
Jagellion 75–63 Theia Boatia
San Llera 69–86 Cosumar

# Group C                   Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts
1 Cosumar                     7    5   2   549  480  +69     5
2 Unified Sunrise Islands     7    5   2   573  515  +58     5
3 Jagellion                   7    4   3   529  518  +11     4
4 San Llera                   7    3   4   534  543   −9     3
5 United States of Devonta    7    3   4   518  571  −53     3
6 Theia Boatia                7    1   6   502  578  −76     1

Group D
Nova Anglicana 77–78 United Vietussia
Nuevo Caracas 65–71 Anglatia
Ko-oren 121–60 Kirisaki

# Group D                   Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts
1 Ko-oren                     7    7   0   592  409 +183     7
2 Anglatia                    7    4   3   518  524   −6     4
3 Nova Anglicana              7    3   4   514  466  +48     3
4 United Vietussia            7    3   4   494  552  −58     3
5 Kirisaki                    7    2   5   510  563  −53     2
6 Nuevo Caracas               7    2   5   444  558 −114     2

*Eliminated From Playoff Contention

[The Royal Kingdom of Quebec]

---

MATCHDAY SEVEN RESULTS! - DRAWKIAN SIDE

Sir Christopher Lee <3.
Slightly early cutoff here as well, because an extra day.

---

Group E
Dunnes 60–81 Valladares
Rardium 95–80 Yymea
Drawkland 79–77 Mahrcain

Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Drawkland               7    7   0   0   589  536  +53    21
2 Valladares              7    6   0   1   576  475 +101    18
3 Dunnes                  7    3   0   4   535  537   −2     9
4 Rardium                 7    2   0   5   559  573  −14     6
5 Yymea                   7    2   0   5   539  576  −37     6
6 Mahrcain                7    1   0   6   503  604 −101     3

Group F
Amouraland 63–82 Banguela
Banija 60–75 Saint Kanye
Vettrera 89–60 Jarwel

Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Vettrera                7    6   0   1   595  497  +98    18
2 Banguela                7    5   0   2   556  489  +67    15
3 Saint Kanye             7    4   0   3   521  509  +12    12
4 Banija                  7    3   0   4   506  532  −26     9
5 Amouraland              7    3   0   4   499  542  −43     9
6 Jarwel                  7    0   0   7   476  584 −108     0

Group G
Saintland 92–74 Vangaziland
Tir y Tan 64–97 LOUDER AND BIGGER
Abaja 94–77 Cheongji

Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Saintland               7    5   0   2   646  564  +82    15
2 Vangaziland             7    5   0   2   546  503  +43    15
3 Abaja                   7    5   0   2   582  545  +37    15
4 LOUDER AND BIGGER       7    4   0   3   515  513   +2    12
5 Cheongji                7    2   0   5   543  591  −48     6
6 Tir y Tan               7    0   0   7   520  636 −116     0

Group H
Valanora 90–63 DBostick
Social Justice Islands 76–81 Ceni
The Andromeda Islands 60–73 Peisandros

Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Valanora                  7    7   0   0   624  472 +152    21
2 Ceni                      7    5   0   2   561  515  +46    15
3 The Andromeda Islands     7    4   0   3   501  502   −1    12
4 DBostick                  7    3   0   4   529  542  −13     9
5 Peisandros                7    1   0   6   498  558  −60     3
6 Social Justice Islands    7    1   0   6   489  613 −124     3

[The Royal Kingdom of Quebec]

BATHURST-JINJU DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD
ENGLISH VERSION





BOARD OF STUDIES/COMMISSION D'ETUDES/교육청
ACADIA/ACADIE/아카디아

        2024
HIGHER SCHOOL CERTIFICATE EXAMINATION











Agriculture
            PART 1


|  Total Marks - 182
|
|  Section I: Page 2-14
|  96 marks
|  • Attempt Questions 1-7
|  • This section should take approximately 105 minutes
|
|  Section II: Page 14-25
|  86 marks
|  • Attempt Questions 8-9
|  • Allow about 90 minutes
|
|  
|  
|  
|  
|



General Instructions

 • Reading Time: 15 minutes
 • Working Time: 3 hours and 15 minutes
 • Writing with a black or blood pen is
 recommended
 • Monolingual or Bilingual Dictionary
may be used

Section 1

96 marks
Attempt ALL of the questions
Allow about 1 hour and 45 minutes for this section

Answer the question in a writing booklet. Extra writing booklets are available.



 Question 1  (13 marks)

a) How can farm animals, through use of genetically-modifying technologies so widely used in international agriculture nowadays, be affected in their productivity and reproduction? (10 marks)


b) Explain how greenhouse protection can provide optimal growing condition for the plants in the summer. (3 marks)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

 Question 2 (14 marks)

a) Outline the influence of marijuana on the behaviour of farm animals. (6 marks)

b) Explain the impact the cannabis may carry on fertility and eating patterns of farm animals. (8 marks)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Question 3 (15 marks)

a) Explain the possible effects of soil fertility, sustainability and reusability in long-term with development and planting of genetically-modified crops. Are they positive or negative in long term? (10 marks)

b) Explain how conservation tillage assists in maintaining soil fertility. (5 marks)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Question 4 (18 marks)

a) Describe the importance of the proper design and use of animal facilities and the equipment for the most efficient and cost-effective production. (6 marks)

b) Identify and describe the components of handling all materials with the particular lifestock you've worked with, during your placement, as well as the identification of safe and biosecurity plan for that particular class of animals. (12 marks)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Question 5 (8 marks)

Describe a lab experiment you have performed earlier in your Year 11 or 12 Agricultural Studies Course, to experiment on possible plant density on growth and yield. Why was it important to do series of experiments in various times throughout the year? (8 marks)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Question 6 (16 marks)

a) Explain how land capability assessment can be used to improve the long-term sustainability of Quebecois farms. (7 marks)

b) Explain how soil texture, substance and the nutrients contained can be improved for the purpose of water holding capacity and yields that can be produced by the very crop. (9 marks)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Question 7 (12 marks)

a) Explain how a recent technology has harmed farmers in the production or marketing of the agricultural products. (5 marks)

b) Identify and describe possible result of the recent technology and widespread accessibility of the agricultural products on the environment. (7 marks)

Section II

86 marks
Allow about 1 hour and 30 minutes for this section
You must attempt ALL of the questions



In your answer you will be assessed on how well you:
■ demonstrate knowledge and understanding relevant to the question
■ communicate ideas and information using relevant examples
■ present a logical, detailed and cohesive response



Question 8 — Climate Change and its effects on Quebecois Agriculture (37 marks)

a) Many climate scientists and agricultural researchers predict the Royal Kingdom of Quebec's average temperatures will drop and precipitation patterns and levels will change in the future. Discuss the options available to farmers to maintain BOTH profit and production under the changed conditions. In your answers, explain with clarity, theory and specific examples on how this can happen. (20 marks)

b) With the climate change in mind, there will be regions planting different types of crops over time. On top of it, the globalisation of agriculture, through improved retails and transportation, will also allow new opportunities for foreign crops to rise. Explain, with biosecurity in mind, on what alternate crops, whether foreign or domestic, may fulfill their roles of future. (17 marks)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Question 9 - Technology, Research and Ethics in Agriculture (49 marks)

a) Outline the importance of Research and Development (R&D), as well as Copyrights, in modern agricultural environment for small-setting farmers. (24 marks)

b) Are genetically modified crops healthy to consume? Should they be consumed with as little regulation as possible, for the sake of market and producers? In your answer, state specific examples from past, present and possible future implications in mind. (25 marks)

[Ko-oren]

Independence issues - Part 4

Leaving the last chapter, about 250 years ago, we see that the Nine Sisters and Ko-oren waged an economic war with Polaris and won. Over the next 50 years, we see that all of a sudden, other nations start popping up. In the north, Thaulandians, while still de jure subordinate to Ko-oren and Polaris, started to develop a national spirit with free settlers from anywhere allowed to settle on what is currently Thaulandi. The first free settlers were drawn to the unbound Thaulandian land twenty years prior, with enough land for anyone to grow their crops, let their cattle graze, and set up a new life for themselves. The other governments tried to stop this, until there would be a solution for what to do with these people at least, because they settled in official terra nullius (following the 1607 land treaty between Ko-oren and Polaris). The people moved there anyway, and started feeling distinct from the rest of the nations. More legitimately, the Nine Sisters set up colonies on northern Crux Landmass. Their first was settled 30 years prior to the end of last chapter, and was called Waratah after native names for the place. They settled three cities as an experiment, and it grew slowly from there. This was in cooperation with the people that already lived there, but were few in number and unorganised. To Waratah's east, there was another settlement, namely Protea. The southeastern nations of Santa Teresa and the Six Saints were created as well.

Over the course of a hundred years (300 to 200 years ago), we see these colonies rise and do very well for themselves in some cases. New identities were forged by people who felt themselves disconnected from their ancestor's lands and this even led to some of the colonies and settlement declaring independence. In the beginning, independence was gracefully asked for, and things offered in return, but in some cases, independence turned into a demand and breaking ties with the big three. Thaulandians were finally recognised about 50 years into this period and went into talks with the Polarian government. The area that would become Thaulandi borders Polaris directly, and the Polarians still believed in their attempts to settle more and more northward, even if those claims were the same as what the Thaulandians claimed - and already inhabited. Both Polaris and Ko-oren had already settled further up Thaulandian soil, further to the north, and these properties were slowly bought by the Thaulandians, forcing out the two original settlers. However, by the end of the 100 year period, they were still stuck with no independent nation, even if it was unclear who they would have to declare independence from. After all, the 1607 treaty dictated that neither Polaris nor Ko-oren could settle too far up north (where Thaulandi is). This treaty assumed that even if nobody could live there, the land would still naturally become Polarian/Ko-orenite.

Waratah's three cities were far apart, and the only way to travel there was by boat - there were no roads between the settlements yet. For this reason, they were very dependent on the merchants and government ships to carry people from one place to another. By half a century into this 100-year period, the cities grew into full fledged colonies with governments that decided they would develop Waratah from the ground up. Roads were built, towns were built in strategic places on the way, and they even made some attempts to go further south, inland, but those attempts stopped after the first summer. Fresh water would eventually be found in lakes and rivers, and some towns sprang up, but populations inland remained low. Yalloodoola, Wajanong and Narrawoo, the three cities, became capital cities of their own in these colonies, and worked together very often. Sometimes, this was with the Nine Sisters government, and sometimes, they discussed issues to their own benefit separately from the Nine Sisters.

Basically, the big three powers grew relatively less powerful as these new nations sought to resolve their own matters on their own. Respect to the parent nations stayed, and autonomy and so on were granted in small doses to the colonies, in return for trade monopolies - slowly including them in the original trade treaties between the three original nations. Furthermore, the 'three' grew into four as the Thaulandian cities grew to sizes that otherwise only occurred in the original three nations, and the Thaulandian government made decisions on local matters in absence of a clear parent nation.

In the southeast, the Six Saints were kept small enough that full control by the parent nation was possible (Ko-oren). Santa Teresa, settled earlier, grew out more quickly. They developed a national sense very quickly as they were so far from the rest of the Union. They conducted trade with other nations more than with their colonial power, and felt like they were kept down. As Ko-oren threatened with financial consequences, Santa Teresa showed that they had enough money and people by revolting, claiming independence, and there was nothing Ko-oren could do about it - the first time that that nation could not stop something by diplomacy. There would be no military consequences and for a while, Santa Teresa went their own way (until financial problems would push them back to Ko-oren, but we'll see that next chapter).

At the end of the century, the three created nations that grew up very quickly, and failed to keep them all in check. In the next chapter, we'll see that this isn't the end of the world, in fact, it kickstarted the Union.

[Abanhfleft]

Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five Part Six Part Seven Part Eight Part Nine Part Ten Part Eleven Part Twelve Part Thirteen Part Fourteen Part Fifteen Part Sixteen Part Seventeen Part Eighteen Part Nineteen Part Twenty Part Twenty-one Part Twenty-two Part Twenty-three Part Twenty-four Part Twenty-five Part Twenty-six

No Place For Heroes, Part Twenty-seven

Betah, Gharbambiyah

“What’s wrong, Johnny?” Ephraim Somerset asked John Quarry. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“That’s him, Eppie,” John told Ephraim, pointing a finger at the most recent arrival to their group. “His name is Rafik Ahmed Quzwini. He was the one who came up with the plan for the Jihad Legion to attack Betah.”

“Hey, guys,” Gerry Anthony said as he brought the man whom Johnny Quarry knew as Rafik Ahmed Quzwini into the dining room. “What’s the matter, Johnny? Why do you look, er, brown?” Quarry was of African descent, and his skin showed it very clearly.

“Is this your guy?” John asked Gerry, pointing at Quzwini. Gerry nodded. “He had me really convinced that he was planning the attack on Betah for the greater good of the Jihad Legion!”

Gerry turned to look at Quzwini, and then they laughed and high-fived each other. “Looks like your acting skills have not been diminished by the desert heat one whit!” Gerry told Quzwini.

“I wouldn’t be your actor anymore if that had happened,” Quzwini said.

“Excuse me, Gerry, but can you tell me, us, what’s going on?” John asked Gerry.

“Oh, yeah, right, about that.” Gerry patted Quzwini’s shoulder. “This man’s real name is Casemiro Goncalves. I recruited him into my unit after proving his skills as a very great undercover agent, as he has just proven to poor old Johnny here. Say hi to Johnny, Casey.”

“How do you do, my brother in the One True Faith?” Casemiro Goncalves asked John Quarry, extending his hand. He said the last part of the sentence in Arabic.

“I am very well, praise be unto God,” John replied, also in Arabic. The two of them shook hands. “Once again, I just have to say that you really had me going about all that rhetoric about Betah being the first stepping stone for the world conquest of the Jihad Legion,” John said in English.

“That is my specialty,” Casemiro said. “If I wasn’t any good at playing the part, then I wouldn’t even be here.”

“That’s right,” Gerry said to back up his agent. “I’ve seen him play anyone and everyone there is. I saw him become a crossing guard, a street sweeper, and even a carnie. About the only thing I’ve never seen him play is a woman, but I’m sure that he can pull it off.”

“Gee, Gerry, thanks for the vote of confidence,” Casemiro said with mock sadness. “Now I’m going to have to play a woman for our next op.”

“Depends on what our next op will be, Casey,” Gerry said. “Why don’t you have dinner with us? We’re almost done, but you must be starving.”

“That depends. What have you guys been eating while I was gone?”

“Oh, you know, MREs. The classic homecoming food,” Gerry said with a serious tone and in a serious face.

“Whatever,” Casemiro said, raising his arms in the air theatrically in mock defeat. “It can’t be much worse than boiled camel broth cooked over motor oil.”

Once everyone had finished eating, John turned to Casemiro and asked him, “How did you come up with the plan for the attack on Betah, anyway? I know that you’re most probably a smart guy because the RBI doesn’t recruit stupid people, but surely something like that doesn’t come along to everyone?”

“It’s actually my idea, Johnny,” Gerry said. “We know that the Jihad Legion and the Emirate of Al Jawal are planning some kind of big attack to make a statement to Cabulovowino and the World Assembly after we captured Al Jawal from Edward Eskalumbuye, but we didn’t know when and where exactly that was going to happen. So we decided that we were going to make them attack where we want them to.

“Betah is smack in the middle of this little plain in the desert,” Gerry continued. “It’s basically open to attack from all directions, and there’s only so many places that we can protect with all the army units and peacekeepers available to us here. What we had hoped to do by infiltrating Casey here into the Jihad Legion is to make them attack us where we want them.”

“My cover was a dissatisfied peacekeeper who had come to believe that the World Assembly was working to actively destroy the legacy of Islam within Gharbambiyah,” Casemiro said. “As part of the headquarters staff, I supposedly had access to the troop deployments all over Gharbambiyah, and based on the information I had, I judged that Betah was the best place for the combined forces of the Jihad Legion, the Emirate of Al Jawal, and the various other rebel factions to stage their attack.

“Based on a map of troop deployments in Betah that I had supposedly managed to smuggle out of HQ, a map that was actually fabricated under orders from General Balladur himself,” Casemiro continued, “I quote-unquote developed a plan to quickly and rapidly smash the government and WA forces in Betah and claim it in the name of the Holy Legion of the Islamic Jihad. The rebels are going to attack the town from three directions simultaneously, from the north, the east, and the southwest. My map says that the defenders are thinnest there because we quote-unquote think that they wouldn’t be stupid enough to attack from these directions because of natural obstacles and possible bottlenecks, but in reality those places are where we have the greatest concentration of our forces waiting to smash the rebels into dust.”

“How sure are you that the rebels won’t use your plan and actually manage to defeat us because of it?” John Quarry asked Casemiro.

“That’s a chance that both General Balladur and President Cabulovowino are willing to take,” Casemiro admitted. “If it means that it will finally put an end to the various rebellions against his presidency, Cabulovowino is all for it. And Balladur’s still seething at Eskalumbuye for chopping off his son’s middle finger and sending it to him as a grisly ‘fuck you’ to the WA.”

“Also, you have to take into account that aside from Eddie Eskalumbuye and Omar Saud, the rebels have no leaders who could be described as ‘tactically adept’,” Gerry added. “And Saud’s more of a rabble-rouser and an administrator than an actual military commander. Eskalumbuye’s the greatest threat, but he’s still going to be seething at having been kicked out of his own self-declared capital. He’s emotional, and he’s not going to be making the best decisions while in that state of mind. We can pull this off, Johnny,” Gerry said to end.

“I sure hope that we do, Gerry,” John said. “It’s our asses, and the asses of everyone else in this place, on the line for this job.”

“Don’t you think we know that?” Gerry asked him. “Why do you think the town’s gone all quiet? We’ve already evacuated all of the civilians here, so tomorrow it’s only going to be us peacekeepers versus the rebels. It’s going to be a tough fight no matter how you look at it.”

“Three thousand and so peacekeepers against almost five thousand rebels?” Johnny asked rhetorically. “It sure as hell will be.”

And on that, they decided to turn in for the night. John bunked in a large bedroom with three other Group I contractors and Gerry and Casemiro. John closed his eyes, and he quickly and immediately fell into a dreamless sleep.

And then that dreamless sleep was shattered by a huge explosion.

“What the hell!” Johnny shouted as he shot bolt upright on his bed and got on his feet. The others inside the room had also been shaken awake by the explosion, and everyone was looking at everyone else in half-awake confusion.

“Oh, my God,” Gerry muttered as he chanced a look out of the window. “I think we’ve been had.”

“What? What are you talking about?” Johnny asked him.

“The Jihad Legion took our plan and added their own flair and twist to it,” Gerry told him. “Those explosions were suicide bombers. That’s the Jihad Legion’s thing, right? If they were able to get suicide bombers in here, then who knows what else they might have been able to smuggle into Betah?”

“Jesus Christ,” Johnny muttered. “We just gave them the keys into the city.”

“Yeah,” Gerry agreed. “And instead of us crushing them, they might be the ones who could end up crushing us. What a way to start the day, right?”

[Qasden]

Qasden
Athletic News

IBC21 Recap Report- MD7


Absolutely heartbreaking. The Vans tried their hardest, but the Scorpions were just too strong as West Phoencia de-rails Qasden, 92-76.

The game started out good for the Qad team, leading the first quarter, 27-24. Sadly, our lead was miraged before our eyes, as the Scorpions led the rest of the game, 45-39, 75-63, and 92-76. The loss marked Qasden's first defeat in the white jerseys, and ricocheted our PD back into the negatives. Frosts did manage to grab a good 16 points for the Vans, and Ulemar took 12. Assistant Coach Llamer probably took the loss bigger than Starks, as she was seen getting ready to throw a chair. As usual, Starks walked into the lockers with a stoic face, but with a bit of fear.

"You know, this has probably been one of the more unfortunate defeats of Qad Basketball. Our revenge will happen sometime, but until then, we need to train harder if we want a chance to sweep Nueva Andalusia and......maybe......be the first to upset Quebec. We will not finish this tournament quietly. Instead, we shall keep fighting until the last of us vanish. The Vans family will never vanish."

Despite the loss, Qasden is still high up in the group standings, just falling to third. The lost threw the Vans' PD down to -8. Next up for the Qads, a rematch with the Nueva Andalusia Horneros. NA were unfortunate enough to land in last place of group A, and are no longer eligible for a spot in the playoffs. Don't underestimate them, however, as we must stay vigilant against the small surprises. Let's cross our fingers and destroy the Horneros!

Will Qasden be able to defeat the Horneros again? Or can Nueva Andalusia pound the Vans as bad as West Phoencia? Stay tuned for our Quick Report and Recap Report on Matchday 8, straight from the Palladium in Ottawa.

[Vangaziland]

A fair amount of media attention was given to Hectare Yulssen in the weeks leading up to IBC 21. It dealt around his personal life. He started dating someone of some popularity in the world of Vannish and International sports. The pair played it coy at first, trying to keep their relationship out of the public light.

The reputation of the Vannish media preceded itself. The two Vangazi knew the rumor-mongers and nosy snoops of the Vannish paparazzi would be all over their relationship, like a fly on sugar.

Hectare Yulssen was dating a racecar driver, who was the daughter of a famous racer of the 1970s. She started in Vannish leagues, but was currently competing in the World Gran Prix Championships. Jessica joined the season late, but made a lot of noise during her stretch of races. Out of 6 races, she won 2. She brought her team into the top 5 and brought herself into the top 10 drivers.

She scored as many points in her stretch as the league's top driver, who many say dominated the season. The truth was Jessica joined the season too late to do more than she did. Her goals were to gain experience, help her team and put her sponsors into the spotlight.

There were 2 rough qualifying starts for her. By the second, the media had sniffed out her relationship with Hectare Yulssen. Right away, the outcome they both dreaded became a reality. The media asked a dreaded question. Was the relationship a distraction?

Jessica stayed positive about things in her interviews. She reassured the media that she was not distracted. She proved it by going out and winning the next race. The relationship was still under paparazzi scrutiny. The couple posted on social media to clear up any rumors. They had nothing to hide. They just expressed sorrow that the Vannish media industry has such a lack of respect for privacy.

But the truth is, Vangaziland needed their pop culture, soapy media. The truth was that mainstream Vannish news focused on war and military spending, more often than not. The people needed an escape. Some people escaped with sports. Others needed to keep up on relationships between all their favorite celebrities.

The relationship, dubbed 'Hessica', was once again thrown into the public spotlight. The media found out that Jessica had attended two games. She went to the game versus Abaja, as well as the latest game against Saintland. Both games ended up in a loss.

The media never said anything was wrong with the relationship and were in fact usually positive about it. But they couldn't help but draw questions about the two losses. Was Jessica responsible? Was Hectare distracted or nervous about playing in front of his girlfriend?

"I don't think anything changed about the way I, or anyone else played tonight", Yulssen told reporters. "Saintland is a top 10 team and they came out hot tonight. They game-planned against us after the first match. Credit to them. But this has nothing to do with Jessica Franssen."

Hectare finished with 15 points and 7 assists, in a fairly mediocre performance.

"We've been pretty even with our distribution", Yulssen told reporters. "Thing is, we haven't really done a lot of scoring. Nobody has had any big games. That might be the difference maker we'll need to really go far in this tournament, to get us back in the Championship game."

The coach was supportive of Yulssen, relationship included.

"Our point guard shows up to play, every game. If anyone needs to take the blame for a loss, it's me", said Coach Tomasson. "And yes, my wife does distract me from time to time." The reporters chuckled at the coach's quip.

Vangaziland's poor defensive performance was most likely the reason for the loss. The team never established their hold on the court like they have in past games. There were holes in the D. It was a fairly ugly game for Vangaziland, although they did have a few runs.

The media had different things to question the coach about. Basically, they wanted to know if resting the players might not backfire severely. Vangaziland was now in a three-way tie for first in their group.

"We can't rest players like we did early in the season", said Coach Tomasson. "They got their rest, now we might need them to make a big push, late in the season."

Christopher Ironwrought also had a fairly decent game. He scored 16 to go along with 7 rebounds and 4 assists. He played middle-man well, setting screens and moving the ball.

Lonnie Knucks had a poor performance. He scored 8 points, but had 4 turnovers and 5 fouls. "Players are going to have games like that", Lonnie said. "But it was terrible to have that kind of game on the night when I needed to step up the most. I won't be sleeping well tonight."

But Kate Foyelson found a silver cloud.

"Sometimes we need a game like this or the one against Abaja to motivate players to the next level. We can't coast. Either this team will step up, or we'll face missing the playoffs. That would have significant consequences for our rankings. I don't think our team will let that happen. So look at this game as the turning point for the future."

Of course, there was no guarantee the Royals would turn things around. Jon Jennsen summed it up best.

"We just can't let this turn into a slide", said Jennsen, the power forward.

[United Vietussia]

The Vietussian Inquisitor

Vietussia pulls surprising U-turn in IBC 21 performance

A surprise 78-77 win over Nova Anglicana has put United Vietussia a game back of Anglatia with 3 games left in pool play setting up an oppourtunity for United Vietussia to attempt and make the round of sixteen as group runner-up.

Vietussia will not be able to win the group, as Ko-oren are undefeated in pool play, creating an impossible 4 game gap between the two countries.

United Vietussia will have a direct game with #1 ranked Ko-oren in the next matchday, a game where Vietussia at least hopes to stir up some trouble for the team in order to earn some momentum into a MD9 game with 4-3 Anglatia, currently unranked.

Vietussia will also play eliminated Nuevo Caracas in the final matchday, hoping to earn a free win.

The scenarios for clinch are still complicated for Group D, but here they are:

Anglatia (4-3, UR)

Win 2 of 3 games AND have Vietussia and Nova Anglicana loss
OR
Beat Nova Anglicana AND Kirisaki AND Vietussia loss
OR
Beat Vietussia AND Kirisaki AND Nova Anglicana loss
OR
Beat Vietussia AND Nova Anglicana

Nova Anglicana (3-4, 11)

Win out

United Vietussia (3-4)

Win out

That's it from us. This is Jeb Ports.

[Vettrera]

Rachel left content that she had done the right thing. Or at the very least, had done the best thing for herself. She knew her chances at holding the presidency of the VCSA would be slim, and therefore she’d be fighting an uphill battle even if Donald was removed. The simple fact that Basketball and Football were the two biggest money makers for the VCSA. Even though Volleyball came in third, it’s a significant dropoff from the first two. When possible, the VCSA prefers someone well-known, or at least from a well-known sport, university, or era to headline the VCSA. Basketball and Football were male-only sports in Vettrera, and Volleyball was women only, so it meant that the road that Rachel was traveling on would be filled with obstacles.

Obviously it made sense to Rachel to simply have Donald’s back one more time, but what it truly the right thing for her to do. The thought lingered in the back of her mind as she searched to think of even one moment where Donald had thought of her first. Rachel had put her heart and soul into her work, and risked everything to always make sure Donald came out on top. Would he ever be willing to do the same for her? As her heels clicked on every floor tile, the only thing she could hear in her mind was “No, no, no, no, no, no, no” Donald had never had her best interests at heart. And it wasn’t that he was a bad person, or even an ambivalent person, he just wasn’t aware.

Rachel began to envision herself in the position of VCSA President. She would be the highest ranking woman in sports since Beatrice Parker led the PUSH initiative of the VSA during Vettrera’s World Cup campaigns decades ago. She would be an icon, etched in history, and the driving force behind Vettrera’s Olympic campaign. She had the chance to do something big...all she had to do was take the helm from Hudson.

Rachel turned around just shy of reaching the elevator’s doors. She walked back the same route she followed leaving Rowan’s office. As her heels clicked onto the tile all she could hear in the back of her mind was “Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.”