After the regular season, the standings stood thus, with all teams finishing at .500 or above making it to the playoffs:
Yesopalitha Basketball League Pld W L PF PA PDEight teams make it to the playoffs, but it's the Templars and Knights that lead the field once more. Freedom's Altar actually won the fourth edition of the IUBC, and is riding the wave of success. The Templars' title defense starts with a series against the Beavers from Raxton, who finished just barely at .500.
1 Freedom's Altar Holy Templars 90 69 21 7322 6346 +976 Playoffs IUBC
2 New Hazingafar Knights 90 68 22 7278 6350 +928 Playoffs IUBC
3 Wolvesbane Dragoons 90 63 27 7153 6255 +898 Playoffs IUBC
4 Kingston Lynx 90 61 29 6850 6520 +330 Playoffs
5 North Hampton Grizzlies 90 59 31 7213 6614 +599 Playoffs IUBC
6 Lenox Mean Green 90 51 39 6921 6753 +168 Playoffs
7 Hansbrough Turtles 90 48 42 6871 6755 +116 Playoffs
8 Raxton Beavers 90 45 45 6805 6789 +16 Playoffs
9 South Hampton Lions 90 43 47 6795 6857 −62
10 Xavier Hammerheads 90 40 50 6620 6752 −132
11 Worthington Cougars 90 38 52 6569 6891 −322
12 Tarahal Lake Glaciers 90 31 59 6577 7144 −567
13 Yeharu Penguins 90 30 60 6523 7180 −657
14 Irkan City Swarm 90 28 62 6504 7146 −642
15 Etoile Stars 90 23 67 6363 7063 −700
16 New Denal-Ithorn Warriors 90 23 67 6206 7155 −949
Playoffs
Quarterfinals
1 Freedom's Altar Holy Templars vs. 8 Raxton Beavers
Freedom's Altar Holy Templars 91–78 Raxton Beavers
Freedom's Altar Holy Templars 100–64 Raxton Beavers
Raxton Beavers 58–67 Freedom's Altar Holy Templars
Raxton Beavers 79–92 Freedom's Altar Holy Templars 1 Freedom's Altar Holy Templars win series 4-0.
The Beavers have to be happy that they made it this far. They ran into the machine that is the Freedom's Altar Holy Templars, and their Cinderella run ended before it began, being shut out, 4-0. The closest game was a nine-point win in Game 3, with all the other games being decided by more than ten points. Isaac Redman, Jr., Bethany Dickinson, and Jimmy Rocksworth are the core of this team that won the fourth IUBC and seem to have nothing to do except win. If they don't win the Championship yet again, it will be a disgrace.
4 Kingston Lynx vs. 5 North Hampton Grizzlies
Kingston Lynx 74–90 North Hampton Grizzlies
Kingston Lynx 74–76 North Hampton Grizzlies
North Hampton Grizzlies 81–76 Kingston Lynx
North Hampton Grizzlies 71–67 Kingston Lynx 5 North Hampton Grizzlies win series 4-0.
Though the scorecard said that the Lynx were ranked higher than the Grizzlies, but the truth is that the Grizzlies are a far more experienced squad who have been to the IUBC numerous times. The inexperience of Kingston showed in this series. Three out of four games were close, but when push came to shove, Jesica Hickson, David Thomure, and Luisa Beloin led this squad to clutch shooting that saw them win, and punch yet another ticket to the IUBC. In Game 2, it was the Center, David Thomure, who rejected Lynx SG John Melan as time expired to preserve the win; in Game 3, a deep three from Bryan Dautel, the Shooting Guard, put the game out of reach with just over a half a minute left; to close it out, in Game 4, PG Jessica Hickson stole the ball mid-court and raced it down for a layup with twenty seconds left that pushed the lead to five. All this clutch experience is preparing the Grizzlies for yet another showdown against the seemingly immortal Templars.
2 New Hazingafar Knights vs. 7 Hansbrough Turtles
New Hazingafar Knights 87–78 Hansbrough Turtles
New Hazingafar Knights 83–58 Hansbrough Turtles
Hansbrough Turtles 80–70 New Hazingafar Knights
Hansbrough Turtles 64–64 New Hazingafar Knights (73–74 OT)
New Hazingafar Knights 85–92 Hansbrough Turtles
Hansbrough Turtles 66–81 New Hazingafar Knights 2 New Hazingafar Knights win series 4-2.
In the only series that went to more than four games, the Knights had a bit of a problem handling the feisty Turtles and their star forward, Lukas Autry. The Knights went ahead in Games 1 and 2, led by Nevin Williams, Jr., the purest scoring center in the league, who scored twenty-two points and twenty-five points respectfully in those two games. Then, Hansbrough surprised everyone by taking Game 3 behind a breakout game by Autry, who scored thirty-five, grabbed twenty-one boards, and dished out eleven assists. Autry was hot again in Game 4, scoring over thirty again, but it was the Knights' PF Fanny Devore who sunk the three as time expired to give the Knights a 3-1 lead. Although Autry and the Turtles were able to get one more win in Game 5, the Knights pulled away in the third quarter of Game 6 to return to a very familiar spot - the Yesopalithan Basketball Semifinals.
3 Wolvesbane Dragoons vs. 6 Lenox Mean Green
Wolvesbane Dragoons 87–70 Lenox Mean Green
Wolvesbane Dragoons 91–91 Lenox Mean Green (102–97 OT)
Lenox Mean Green 66–81 Wolvesbane Dragoons
Lenox Mean Green 74–82 Wolvesbane Dragoons 3 Wolvesbane Dragoons win series 4-0.
Mean Green fans were hoping that it was about time that the basketball team broke out. Tell that to the Dragoons. The defending runners-up wasted no time destroying the Mean Green, who didn't have a prayer except in Game 2. However, Kevin Yeshuan, Ethan Newman, and Joshua Victor gathered the troops in overtime of Game 2 to take the game. After that, the Mean Green just looked dead, with their star forwards Tim Higgins and Mathieu Loiseau going through cold spells and their center, Emily Verville, not being able to block anything in the defensive side. The Dragoons will look for another Finals berth, and perhaps revenge on the Holy Templars.
Semifinals
1 Freedom's Altar Holy Templars vs. 5 North Hampton Grizzlies
Freedom's Altar Holy Templars 66–72 North Hampton Grizzlies
Freedom's Altar Holy Templars 83–71 North Hampton Grizzlies
North Hampton Grizzlies 73–85 Freedom's Altar Holy Templars
North Hampton Grizzlies 70–74 Freedom's Altar Holy Templars
Freedom's Altar Holy Templars 79–79 North Hampton Grizzlies (91–87 OT) 1 Freedom's Altar Holy Templars win series 4-1.
The Holy Templars may have been on cruise control as they spent little energy taking down the Beavers of Raxton. The Grizzlies and Hickson woke them up. In a re-match of last year's semifinals, it was the Templars who came back from the initial loss to win four in a row and punch a ticket to their fourth straight title. Hickson scored twenty, Thomure eighteen, and Luisa Beloin had twelve assists on the Game 1 win for the Grizzlies, but that was where the fairy tale ended. Isaac Redman, Jr., and Bethany Dickinson started to turn in performances that show why they are on one of the best basketball teams of the world, and the Grizzlies just couldn't keep up. Just when the Grizzlies seemed to have caught up, Dickinson buried a three with twenty-one seconds left in Game 4 to put them out of reach. Game 5 was a very tight affair, with Hickson actually scoring the tying bucket at the buzzer off of a twenty-foot shot. In overtime, though, it was Dickinson who buried yet another three to put the Templars out of reach and win the series. A four-peat is in sight.
2 New Hazingafar Knights vs. 3 Wolvesbane Dragoons
New Hazingafar Knights 82–96 Wolvesbane Dragoons
New Hazingafar Knights 64–98 Wolvesbane Dragoons
Wolvesbane Dragoons 72–72 New Hazingafar Knights (90–85 OT)
Wolvesbane Dragoons 78–61 New Hazingafar Knights 3 Wolvesbane Dragoons win series 4-0.
Another rematch of last year's semifinal, with the seeds reversed. Again, same result. The Dragoons ran away in the third quarter in Game 1, outscoring the Knights 30-15 that left the game safely in their hands. Newman, Victor, and Yeshuan kept the pressure up in Game 2, which was over after two and a half quarters. Just when the Knights started to respond back, the Dragoons handled the tight Game, Game 3, well, even though the game went into overtime after the Knights' Fanny Devore sunk two free throws with zero point three seconds left. In a high-scoring overtime period, Point Guard Micha Brasseur took over for the Dragoons, scoring ten points and assisting on two other buckets that saw the Dragoons through to a 3-0 lead. With a chance to close it out, the Dragoons again won the middle quarters, 40-24, to put the series away in the bag. For the third straight season, it will be Freedom's Altar vs. Wolvesbane.
Yesopalitha Basketball League Season 4 Championship Series
1 Freedom's Altar Holy Templars vs. 3 Wolvesbane Dragoons
Freedom's Altar Holy Templars 95–62 Wolvesbane Dragoons
Freedom's Altar Holy Templars 60–85 Wolvesbane Dragoons
Wolvesbane Dragoons 69–75 Freedom's Altar Holy Templars
Wolvesbane Dragoons 66–57 Freedom's Altar Holy Templars
Freedom's Altar Holy Templars 80–87 Wolvesbane Dragoons
Wolvesbane Dragoons 90–81 Freedom's Altar Holy Templars 3 Wolvesbane Dragoons win series 4-2.
After all those games, the two heavyweights, Wolvesbane Dragoons and Freedom's Altar Holy Templars, went at it again. Game 1 saw the Templars handle the Dragoons just like they were used to, with Dickinson scoring twenty-four, Redman, Jr. dishing out assists, and Rocksworth grabbing boards. Game 2 was in the bag for the Templars until midway through the third, when Redman, Jr. went down with a sprained ankle injury. With their field general out, the Templars became a lost bunch, and the Dragoons ran away with a 85-60 drubbing. Redman, Jr. returned for Game 3, a six-point win brought on by Dickinson's three three-pointers in the last two minutes. Then, disaster really struck for the Templars as Redman, Jr.'s injury became serious. Dickinson started to play point, and actually helped the team hang around in Game 4, but she got in foul trouble midway through the fourth quarter. Without their two superstars, the Templars became just another bunch of ordinary players, and Kevin Yeshuan was able to lead the Dragoons to a Game 4 win that tied the series up. Game 6 saw much of the same story, with Dickinson getting into foul trouble, having to miss a few crucial minutes, and Yeshuan, Newman, and the Dragoons taking advantage of it. Isaac did return for Game 6 with the Holy Templars on the brink of losing the title that they had had for the last three years, but it made no difference. The momentum that the Dragoons had was too much to be overcome, and after a twenty to eight run in the middle of the fourth quarter put the Dragoons up by fifteen, the Freedom's Altar dynasty ended a season after the Templars won both the Yesopalithan League and the IUBC. The Dragoons won the title in their third try, and the rivalry between these two sides just became even more crazy. Kevin Yeshuan was the finals MVP.
Yesopalitha's Entrants to IUBC V
1. Wolvesbane Dragoons (Yesopalitha Basketball League Championships Season Four Champions)
2. Freedom's Altar Holy Templars (Yesopalitha Basketball League Championships Season Four Runners-Up)
3. New Hazingafar Knights (Yesopalitha Basketball League Championships Season Four Semifinalist, 2nd Seed)
4. North Hampton Grizzlies (Yesopalitha Basketball League Championships Season Four Semifinalist, 5th Seed)
Final Bracket