International Basketball Championships 23 (IC Thread)

by **Newmanistan** » Sun Apr 02, 2017 2:52 pm

(OOC: Once again, the recap being written poorly and uninspired is intentional)

THE ROCKET REPORT

FIRST WIN FOR THE ROCKETS

by Rachel Davis,

After losing their first game of qualifying and enjoying a bye day, Newmanistan knocked off Natanists and Nosts by the score of 96-74. The team was much more efficient from behind the three point line in this game, allowing them to play their preferred style. It was a consistent effort, as Newmanistan led 49-38 at the half, and won by a similar margin the second half. Quinton Fayne led the way with 35 points, and Travis Brown brought down 25 rebounds, and also blocked 9 shots, six of which came in the first half.

The win puts Newmanistan at 1-1 and their next game will be against the nation of Ethane.

- - - - - -

(Rachel Davis and Taylor Larson accidentally come together in the break room)

Larson: Hi!

(Davis does not respond)

Larson: Hello, Rachel!

Davis: Who are you? This is the employee break room.

Larson: (taken aback but trying to be polite): I’m Taylor, the college (gets interrupted)

Davis: Oh yeah, you’re the intern. Didn’t recognize you with clothes on. You call me Mrs. Davis, not Rachel, also.

Larson: Uhm, excuse me? I was wearing a bikini, why are you so rude?

Davis: Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to replace the coffee cup lids? There are none left, and you’re supposed to be doing this. Get me a lid.

Larson: (in a frustrated manner, she retrieves the lid and hands it to her, while saying): Have you read any of my articles? What do you think?

Davis: No. (Takes the lid in a disinterested manner)

Larson: Uhmm. Isn’t it cool that we’re playing Ethane in both the World Baseball Classic playoffs and in the International Basketball Championships that you are reporting. Big head to heads in both sports. I know I would be all over that!

Davis: Who cares what you would be all over, you intern. It’s unacceptable that I came in here and the coffee cup lids were not stocked. (Walks out)

(Larson simply stares in shock over the way she was treated).

by **Saint Kanye** » Sun Apr 02, 2017 5:02 pm

Around the IBC

by the Kibitzer Research Department

GROUP A: ABAJA 94, NEW LUSITANIA AND THE ALGARVES 86

The co-hosts Abaja Lions record their first win, while New Lusitania and the Algarves drops to 1-2.

GROUP B: COSUMAR 81, PANDACLAWS 76

The Stallions match the Surge's 2-0 record and push PandaClaws down to 0-3.

GROUP C: FLARDANIA 91, A COUPLE OF PEOPLE 82

The Lightspeed improve to 2-1 and make it back-to-back losses for ACoP (0-2).

GROUP D: VETTRERA 79, PURPLE RABBITS 77

Vettrera (2-0) remains undefeated, winning by a single-basket margin over Purple Rabbits (1-2).

GROUP E: VANGAZILAND 94, NUEVA ANDALUSIA 59

Vangaziland crushes another foe, this time Nueva Andalusia, by 35 for its second win in as many games. Nueva Andalusia, meanwhile, is still winless in three starts.

GROUP F: EMPIRE OF CATS 80, WEST PHOENICIA 64

Patrick Morris scores 38 points to help the Felines dispose of the Scorpions and catch up to idle Abanhfleft at 2-0.

GROUP G: NEWMANISTAN 96, NATANIANS AND NOSTS 74

The Rockets go up to 1-1, and hand N&N their first loss after two wins.

GROUP H: QASDEN 100, JECKLAND 67

The Vans join Valladares at 2-0 by wrecking still-winless Jeckland (0-3).

Game Schedule - Group B

Surge Record So Far: 2-0

Matchday 1: W 106-88 vs. PandaClaws (UR*)
Matchday 2: W 96-64 vs. Free Republics (59)
Matchday 3: BREAK
Matchday 4: Purple Jerseys vs. Nueva Celta (UR)
Matchday 5: White Jerseys vs. Cosumar (15)
BREAK
Matchday 6: White Jerseys vs. PandaClaws (UR)
Matchday 7: Purple Jerseys vs. Free Republics (59)
Matchday 8: BREAK
Matchday 9: White Jerseys vs. Nueva Celta (UR)
Matchday 10: Purple Jerseys vs. Cosumar (15)
BREAK
Playoffs

*Unranked.

All games televised live through SKYNET (Saint KanYe NETwork) Sports Channel 12 and streamed on ibc-tv.stk.

by **The Iron Syndicate** » Sun Apr 02, 2017 5:58 pm

Enigma

Chapter Three

It was late at night, but the offices of Syndicate Basketball were still busy as staff members and data analysts arrived and logged onto the computer systems to go over what had been gathered in the first game, which had been against Purple Rabbits. They had won, obviously, but they were less interested in the performance of the entire team and more interested in how one player had performed… The player that was leading the entire team, Sol Star. They pulled up his numbers in specific, and found that so far, he was performing even better than they had expected.

“At this rate, Project Enigma is running ahead of schedule,” said the technician who was standing at the main computer screen while the rest of the group gathered behind him. “The telemetry confirms our thoughts from watching the first game… Sol is outperforming everyone else on the team and his data from that game exceeds some of the best games from the other players during the last domestic season, and he's covering far more ground than the others and making the most of his minutes. His averages indicate that he's doing more with the playing time he has than anyone else on this team, and he's also creating an insane amount of chances for his teammates. As far as creating chances go, he's one of the top guards in the entire tournament after one game.”

“And what are his other numbers looking like?” asked the man standing behind him with a tablet, marking down some of the numbers that were coming up on the computer. “Not the stats, but the other things such as distance run, vertical jump, top speed, that kind of thing… Can you pull that part of the menu up?”

The technician clicked through a few pages to arrive at the page with the more raw statistics, and the man behind him started to tap away at his tablet to note those numbers. “Impressive, these are the kind of numbers that superstars have. Not rising stars, but established pros that have been doing this for years. It's only one game, but it aligns with what we've seen in the testing phase of this project,” the man stated. “There's also a growth curve with that, as we've expected, and I believe the project calls for further growth in the future.”

“Correct,” said the woman standing next to him. “You aren't seeing the final form of Enigma right now. You're seeing part of the project, such as the physical side, but the new mentals still haven't developed completely. What I'm saying is that as great as Sol has been, he still hasn't grown into his mind. His reaction times are set to improve, his vision will get even better, and his understanding of space will make him an even more dangerous threat.”

“And what is the rate of growth believed to be, from the research we've done in the early stages? Do we have an estimate of how often the growth has been happening?”

“Our previous analysis said that the project was meant to happen over the course of years, but obviously, our projections were wrong and we have seen that the project is advancing much faster than we ever predicted. The result is that our old analysis is all untrustworthy, and we don't have a time frame for the predicted growth yet. We’ll have to recalculate after seeing what happens in future games.”

“Alright, then, we’ll see what happens as time goes by. I have to say, the ones paying for this will all be happy with the results so far… You see how things are going with basketball, obviously, but the quicker than normal development time looks good for the other applications of the project. But I'm getting ahead of myself. We have a matchup coming against a legit team, Valanora. Let's see how the Arrows do against them, or how Sol does against them, and we’ll know if this is something real or if the first game was a fluke. Only a fool judges a player on one game, after all.”

~

78-80. That was the score line as the Black Arrows of the Iron Syndicate took on the elves of Valanora, a team that was far more famous and far more successful. But past wins didn't help one in the heat of the moment, and fame wasn't the same as current skill. Being the more famous team wouldn't help a squad escape from the raucous Ceres Motors Arena with a win when the crowd was at its rowdiest and the players were trying their hardest to knock off the bigger team that was coming to town for their first ever international home game.

There was less than a minute left, and it was looking like they would pull off the upset. Sol Star had twenty nine points and ten assists, and Javon Butler was having a good day of his own with twenty five points. Mara Horacek had come off of the bench and had picked up eighteen points that were all scored in the post, and Gabriel Galic had been hitting corner threes all game to force the Vanorian defense to stretch itself out to defend him. Their offense was rolling, and they weren't even having their best day. They hadn't executed perfectly, but they had executed well enough that they were keeping the higher ranked team from running away with it. And then, in the second half, they had cut the lead even further and in the fourth quarter they had cut down on their errors to bring the game to a very close margin.

“Defense! Defense!” the thirty thousand fans in the arena chanted, as the elves came down the court with the ball and dribbled the clock out. Robin Hechevaria had opted to not foul, instead allowing the opponents to run the clock low because he knew that his team would be able to work with little time left on the clock when it came to chasing the lead. As the clock grew low, the point guard tried to drive inside before having a floating shot blocked towards the wing by Gabriel Galic. Rubi Isla knocked the deflected ball towards Sol, who recovered it and then passed it to Javon Butler before running down the court and setting up to attack.

While the others came back up the court, he called for the pass from Butler before driving hard towards the inside and causing the defense to collapse on him, and then passing to Dustin Durant in the corner. The defense converged on Durant instead while he contemplated a three point shot, and then Sol dropped back behind the three point line at the top of the key and called for the pass, which was given to him. The defense had to cover too much ground, and he was able to shoot spot up with that weird shooting form of his, that didn't look good but was definitely effective.

And nobody would be complaining about his shooting form after he sunk the shot that gave them the lead for the first time against the sixth ranked team in the world. He wasn't usually the type to celebrate, but this time, he slapped his chest and pointed up as he ran back, shouting to his teammates as he did. “I told you we would win this game! Show more faith in me next time!”

Valanora would get the ball back, but they wouldn't be able to make their desperation three pointer that came with the clock running low, and Sol would add more points to his total after being fouled on a shot from three point range at the end of the game, when there were no other options but to foul and hope for a miracle after the clock stopped. So far, he was having a pretty good career. His second game would finish with him scoring thirty four and assisting teammates ten times, and it had come against one of the giants of the game. As it turned out, rugby wasn't the only sport that the Syndicate could get upset wins in.

If only things could keep going this well for him...

by **Qasden** » Sun Apr 02, 2017 7:06 pm

This is your fourth CUTOFF in the Abajan side. Time to wave your flag into battle, because from this point on, factions and kingpins will begin to form.

Group A

Abaja 87-68 Soltsteed
Drawkland 79-54 New Lusitania and the Algarves

Group A                            Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
1 Drawkland                            3    3   0   226  191  +35     9
2 Abaja                                3    2   1   239  215  +24      6
3 Nova Anglicana                       3    2   1   242  222  +20     6
4 New Lusitania and the Algarves       4    1   3   293  337  −44     3
5 Soltsteed                            3    0   3   225  256  -31     0

Group B

Free Republics 91-86 Cosumar
Saint Kanye 94-62 Nueva Celta

Group B                            Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
1 Saint Kanye                          3    3   0   296  214  +82   9
2 Cosumar                              3    2   1   263  260  +3    6
3 Free Republics                       3    2   1   243  250  −7   6
4 Nueva Celta                          4    1   3   302  347  −45   3
5 PandaClaws                           3    0   3   223  266  −43   0

Group C

A Couple of People 66-72 Ceni
West Saintland 92-86 Flardania

Group C                            Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
1 West Saintland                       3    3   0   256  222  +34     9
2 Ceni                                 3    3   0   268  239  +29     9
3 Flardania                            4    2   2   348  335  +13     6
4 A Couple of People                   3    0   3   220  241  −21     0
5 Corcra and Tir Trodaithe             3    0   3   214  263  −49     0

Group D

Vettrera 75-79 The Iron Syndicate
Kecrazia 67-80 Purple Rabbits

Group D                            Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
1 The Iron Syndicate                   3    3   0   247   233  +14   9
2 Vettrera                             3    2   1   235   222  +13   6
3 Purple Rabbits                       4    2   2   315  304   +11    6
4 Valanora                             3    1   2   246  240   +6    3
5 Kecrazia                             3    0   3   209  253   −44   0

by **Abaja** » Sun Apr 02, 2017 8:08 pm

MATCHDAY 4 CUT-OFF
Qasdonian Side

Clap Your hands, show them what ya got. Time for MD 4

Group E
Musterfield 61–84 Vangaziland
Greater Churchill 71–73 Frenline Delpha

Group E
                        Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts                                
1 Vangaziland             3    3   0   304  172 +132     9    
2 Frenline Delpha         4    3   1   275  330  −55     9  
3 Greater Churchill       3    2   1   243  242   +1     6    
4 Musterfield             3    0   3   199  237  −38     0    
5 Nueva Andalusia         3    0   3   223  263  −40     0

Group F
United States of Devonta 83–79 Empire of Cats
Abanhfleft 94–74 Adab

Group F
                            Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts                                
1 Abanhfleft                  3    3   0   276  191  +85     9   
2 Empire of Cats              3    2   1   231  215  +16     6     
3 United States of Devonta    3    2   1   227  245  −18     6    
4 West Phoenicia              3    1   2   201  232  −31     3    
5 Adab                        4    0   4   278  330  −52     0

Group G
Ethane 78–62 Newmanistan
Foodporn 66–85 Unified Sunrise Islands

Group G
                           Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts                                
1 Ethane                     3    3   0   222  183  +39     9  
2 Unified Sunrise Islands    4    2   2   291  282   +9     6     
3 Natanians and Nosts        3    2   1   222  231   −9     6      
4 Newmanistan                3    1   2   225  224   +1     3    
5 Foodporn                   3    0   3   188  228  −40     0

Group H
Qasden 77–73 Valladares
Spaam 97–71 Jeckland

Group H
                        Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts                                
1 Qasden                  3    3   0   265  204  +61     9   
2 Valladares              3    2   1   251  226  +25     6    
3 Spaam                   3    2   1   244  240   +4     6    
4 Addled Braintopia       3    1   2   241  239   +2     3     
5 Jeckland                4    0   4   288  380  −92     0

by **Empire of Cats** » Mon Apr 03, 2017 4:46 am

Ouch, We Felt That: Empire of Cats Records its First Loss

Catstantinople - Well, it was bound to happen sometime, but perhaps we were overconfident. The Felines took their first loss of the IBC, leaving Abanhfleft as the only remaining undefeated nation in Group F. At least, all things considered, it was a defeat by a ranked team and a loss only inflicted upon us by four points, but that's what makes it so heartbreaking. Furthermore, our edge in the group has been eroded slightly as Devontia slides up the rankings to tie us up. Nevertheless, every cloud has a silver lining, and here are some of the highlights of the game.

Empire of Cats 79 - 83 United States of Devontia

Star Patrick Morris had yet another stellar night, sinking eight three-pointers and helping to keep the game close. The other two Musketeers, Teresa Rolde and William Tull, had a combined total of 35 points, both with and without assists. In the end, however, Devontia was too good an the Feral Felines were overpowered in the last seconds of the game with a 8-4 run to seal out any hopes of a miracle comeback.

Local broadcasting station RXEY Empire of Cats in Catstantinople has offered a series of prizes to its listeners during this game, including the chance to win free Xboxes and even a private jet. Hundreds, if not thousands, of callers responded, and the rapid dissimilation of such expensive wares to basketball fans has led to the Catstantinople Police opening a case file into where the goods may have come from.

The series is far from over, but the Felines should be careful: any more such mistakes and yet another international team will be headed home without making the playoffs. - Excerpted from the Catstantinople Dispatch, Edward Reed reporting.

by **Spaam** » Mon Apr 03, 2017 6:25 am

Basketball News

The Spaamanian National team scored their second win of the tournament with a convincing 97-71 thrashing of the winless Jeckland. The Dollies were finally able to show their superior teamwork, their passing game setting up the giant Justen Hocks Eight a game-high 30 points, while Justen Hocks Four scored five straight three-pointers to end up with 24 for the match. Meanwhile, their defensive game was enough to interrupt Jeckland's flow, as the team was able to co-ordinate their two-man defence with uncanny accuracy. The first quarter was tight, with the teams tied at 19 all at the first break, but Spaam pulled ahead with some late three-pointers to lead the first half by five. The third quarter was where the most damage was done, with the Dollies outscoring Jeckland two-to-one with a massive 32 point quarter. Going into the final turn, Spaam was leading 74 to 53, and from there they cruised home to record their biggest international score yet.

Spaam will face equal-second placed Valladares in their next match, in what will be their most crucial game this tournament. A win will see them have a chance to progress past the group stage, while a loss will make it almost impossible for them to overcome their more fancied seeded opponents.

by **Saint Kanye** » Mon Apr 03, 2017 9:04 am

IBC 23: SURGE ROLL OVER NUEVA CELTA 94-62
St. Kanye stays atop Group B as Cosumar falls to Free Republics

by Kelsey Ratzenberger

ABAJA CITY - Victor McLain scored 20 points, including five three-pointers, dished out five assists and stole the ball three times to help the St. Kanye Surge win big against Nueva Celta, 94-62, in front of a crowd that included 3,043 Kanyeans at Wallis Center in this Abajan city. The Kanyeans get the top spot in the 23rd International Basketball Championships Group B all to themselves after world #15, the Cosumar Stallions, get upset by #59 Free Republics 91-86 earlier in the day. The purple and lime of St. Kanye (3-0) face the blue and gray of Cosumar (2-1) tomorrow, before all teams take a break in the middle of the group stages. After the break, Groups B and D will swap arenas, with Group D heading to Wallis Center and Group B moving to ZorgadiAir Arena in Abaja's capital Olulawi.

Nueva Celta (1-3) struck first, 3-0 with their point guard's three, but fell early. The Kanyeans tied almost immediately, led by five a minute later, ten after three minutes, and seventeen, 31-14, at the end of the first quarter. With 7:05 remaining in the second quarter, Nueva Celta got to within twelve, 40-28, and could have trimmed the lead to single digits, but Surge small forward and captain, Josh Jackson, swatted his rival SF's three, then chased down the ball for a fast break, starting a 10-to-nothing run. A single free throw then stopped the drought for Nueva Celta, and the two teams exchanged baskets until the halftime buzzer. The Surge were on top by nineteen, 54-35.

Assistant coach Bernard Foley of the Surge switched into a more defensive mode in the third quarter, bringing in the defense-minded Zack Coyle at shooting guard and the pass interceptor Johnathan Schneider at the three spot. They were able to hold their opponents to just ten points in this quarter, ending it 74-45. The bombs were switched on again in the fourth, with St. Kanye's head coach Anton Spoletto bringing in Jayvon Duff at SG (McLain moved to PG) and scoring PF Dave Samson for more firepower and an eventual 32-point triumph capped by a rim-rattling dunk by starting center Joel Pond.

Pond, who finished with nine points, 13 rebounds and three blocks, said in an interview, "We really had to show Cosumar a message for tomorrow, that we can catch up with them with high-octane offense, and also show them how solid their defense is. They're sure to be our toughest opponents in the group stages. We didn't expect that they'd lose to a lower team earlier. Tomorrow they're the lower team to us, and they're likely to take out their frustrations on us, so we're doing all we can to prevent an upset." The Surge will be in their white home uniforms for tomorrow's game against the Stallions.

Scores:

ST. KANYE 94 - McLain 20, Jackson 14, Dotson 12, Pond 9, Duff 7, Samson 7, Porter 6, Schneider 5, Coyle 4, Levy 4, Norris 4, Walker 2.

NUEVA CELTA 62 - Individual scores not available.

Quarters: 31-14, 54-35, 74-45, 94-62.

Around the IBC

by the Kibitzer Research Department

Victor McLain of the Surge has this story to share to us: "Yesterday night, during our [Matchday 3] break, Brock [Dotson] and I went to Olulawi for some drinks. In the bar we saw some other players from other teams, including Boris Barry and George K[atatonoios] of Abanhfleft and William Tull, Patrick Morris and the cute (I admit) Teresa Rolde of the Empire of Cats. And there was this dude, I forgot from which team, who was very arrogant and kept bragging about how good he was at chess, and kept challenging us all for a game. So Patrick bit, and he schooled the arrogant dude, and you should have seen the look on the dude's face when he lost in front of other countries' players. Should have seen Brock too, he was so sure that Mr. Better Than Thou would win that he even made a bet with me. I won 50 Coinyes (about NS$100)."

GROUP A: ABAJA 87, SOLTSTEED 68

After dropping the opener to the Drawkland Net Corp, the Abaja Lions (2-1) cruise to back-to-back wins and leave Soltsteed (0-3) still hungry for their first win of IBC 23.

GROUP B: FREE REPUBLICS 91, COSUMAR 86

This five-point upset win by Free Republics kept them on pace with their victims, the Cosumar Stallions, at 2-1.

GROUP C: WEST SAINTLAND 92, FLARDANIA 86

The new-look, all-female West Sanctii team jump to 3-0 by surviving against the Flardania Lightspeed (2-2).

GROUP D: THE IRON SYNDICATE 79, VETTRERA 75

Sol Star and company are still undefeated as the Black Arrows (3-0) break a deadlock for the top spot with a close win against Vettrera, who get bumped down to 2-1.

GROUP E: FRENLINE DELPHA 73, GREATER CHURCHILL 71

Frenline Delpha is now 3-1, but the aftermath of Vangaziland's Matchday 1 outburst still remains as Frenline Delpha's points differential is at -55. Greater Churchill absorbs its first loss and goes 2-1.

GROUP F: ABANHFLEFT 94, ADAB 74

The Rebs are still perfect at 3-0 after their 20-point burying of Adab, who are yet to taste victory at 0-4.

GROUP G: ETHANE 78, NEWMANISTAN 62

The Newmanistan Rockets lose anew, dropping to 1-2, while the Ethanese team keep their record clean at 3-0.

GROUP H: SPAAM 97, JECKLAND 71

Justen Hocks Eight led the Dollies (2-1) with 30 points against Jeckland, who sink to 0-4.

Game Schedule - Group B

Surge Record So Far: 3-0

Matchday 1: W 106-88 vs. PandaClaws (UR*)
Matchday 2: W 96-64 vs. Free Republics (59)
Matchday 3: BREAK
Matchday 4: W 94-62 vs. Nueva Celta (UR)
Matchday 5: White Jerseys vs. Cosumar (15)
BREAK
Matchday 6: White Jerseys vs. PandaClaws (UR)
Matchday 7: Purple Jerseys vs. Free Republics (59)
Matchday 8: BREAK
Matchday 9: White Jerseys vs. Nueva Celta (UR)
Matchday 10: Purple Jerseys vs. Cosumar (15)
BREAK
Playoffs

*Unranked.

All games televised live through SKYNET (Saint KanYe NETwork) Sports Channel 12 and streamed on ibc-tv.stk.

by **Frenline Delpha** » Mon Apr 03, 2017 11:00 am

Frenline Delpha Anacondas

Coach: Tamithy Greenroll
Assistant Coach: Henry Traver

Starting Line-Up

C  #8  Freddy Alberts          6' 9"
PF #13 George Horwelt          7' 2"
SF #1  Jamie Smitley           6' 7"
SG #27 Kacey Lopez             6' 11"
PG #3  David Parks-Germain     7' 3"

Bench

Center  #9  Wesley Prescot     7' 2"
Center  #22 Lyle Marsten       6' 11"
Forward #16 Barnaby Trilling   6' 6"
Forward #5  Adam Salts         6' 8"
Guard   #18 Markus Grizzles    7' 0"
Guard   #2  David Porcune      6' 5"
Guard   #15 Stacey Herbert     6' 10"

by **The Iron Syndicate** » Mon Apr 03, 2017 2:00 pm

Enigma

Chapter Four

“I'm just going to be honest and come out and say it. I really like spending time with you, Diamond, and even though we haven't known each other for long, and even though there's plenty of other women that I could be with now that I'm known by just about everyone in the country, I really like you and I want to keep spending time with you,” said Sol Star, as he and his training partner walked into the gym that was built into the basketball training facility. Of course, Diamond Heart was a tennis player, and quite a good one, but her skill at conditioning was why she was a good training partner for a basketball player. “I want to spend time with you as more than a friend. And, I really hope that you feel the same way about me.”

“Well, I do think that you're a cool guy, and while I wasn't expecting this from you, I'm flattered,” Diamond said, flicking the lights on in the gym room. “I don't know about this, though. Actually, I'm not going to act like I have no idea what to think, because that would be unfair to you. I'm just going to say that I have some… Apprehensions, because even though I think you're cool and you're fun to roll with and train with, you're too damn mysterious for me. I can't bring myself to date someone that won't even tell me where they're from, really, or who their family is, or what brought them to where they are now, or anything else I want to know.”

“Why does all of that matter? If you like spending time with me and I feel the same way about you, what's the problem? Does where I come from impact my personality or my sense of humor or my insightfulness or anything else you like about me?” Sol asked. “I already told you I was from Metrus, is there really anything else that you need to know so bad that we can't date?”

“It's not that it changes things, but I just have a hard time connecting with someone that I don't really know,” sighed Diamond, as Sol went over to the treadmill and turned the TV on before getting on and turning the speed up. “Who are you, Sol, really? That's what I've been asking you since I met you, because even though you're a great player and you have a nice personality off of the court, I feel like we still don't know each other. I'm not talking about knowing your name and your hometown and a few other facts, I'm talking about really knowing each other. I feel like I just know the version of you that's made for the press, not the real you. And obviously, the secrecy isn't a plus.”

“You don't believe me when I say that more will become clear in the future? It's just for now that there's a lot of secrecy, and you'll see why in the future. But still, all of that doesn't affect us right now. Our relationship isn't any worse because you don't know every single detail about me, just like I don't like you any less because of not knowing everything about you-”

“The problem is that I feel like I know nothing about you, honestly. I hate to have to say it, but that's the truth. It's fine for us to be friends, but for us to be anything more… I just need to be able to know who you really are.”

“Alright,” said Sol, and then he went quiet as he ran on the treadmill and watched the TV, which was turned to the sports station that was previewing the next day’s matchup. “Maybe you'll change your mind in the future, when it's more clear what's happening,” he said, but the rest of that workout session would be spent in awkward silence, with nobody feeling like talking after the even more awkward exchange that had just happened between them. There was a definite friction now, and though they both didn't want to admit it, things would be awkward between them for the foreseeable future.

As it turned out, Sol could do whatever he wanted on the court, but off of it, he was having more troubles. On the court, he was prepared for just about anything that happened, but dealing with human emotions and building relationships… That was something that was much harder. And it was the one thing that he didn't have experience with yet, despite being a superstar player who was leading his team in the IBC and drawing interest from the biggest club teams in the country. Maybe, instead of spending so much time training for the games, he thought, he should spend some more time practicing on the human side of things. After all, that was what he was lacking in, not basketball skills.

~

They had gained a reputation as party crashers, and that reputation continued when they faced the number ten ranked team in the world, Vettrera, 79-75. Opposing teams were learning to double team Sol and to scheme for him specifically, and so this time, the number ten team had assumed that blanketing him at every possible chance would result in quieting the offense of the Black Arrows, but it had instead resulted in Sol finishing with ‘only’ twenty one points and seventeen assists as he made plays to the open attackers around him and set his team up for plenty of three point shots.

Javon Butler and Gabriel Galic both hit threes from the corner and the key during all four quarters, and sometimes when a taller player was matched up against Sol to try to prevent him from passing over the defense, he would pass to Dustin Durant or DeJohn Bold in the post for a one on one matchup that the Syndicate players won more often than not. They had found themselves down late in the game, but Sol had split a double team and driven to the rim to dunk the ball with the shot clock running low, and he had given them a tie. Behind Dustin Durant’s clutch shooting and his pick and roll game, they had been able to take the lead with less than a minute to go and hold onto it for the rest of the game.

But while the others had been happy with the win and had been showing off throughout the game with enthusiastic celebrations and plenty of flair in their playing style, Sol had acted as the same cold leader that he had been before. He actually took it even further in the last game, and could only be described as moody. Not smiling, not laughing with his teammates, not celebrating his scores or his assists. They'd tried to celebrate with him a few times, and he had passed them up each time in favor of keeping that cold as ice expression on his face that he had when he was extremely focused, pissed off, or both. In this case, it was probably because of both reasons.

“Don't worry, man, you don't even need Diamond,” Dustin told him as they put some shots up in the gym in the early morning of the next day. Sol had told him what had happened the day before the game, and he had said that it was stupid for Sol to get upset over it. “You can get almost any other girl that you feel like, and I don't just mean gold diggers and groupies, either. The rest of us, we have to stick with those and work hard to find relationships that mean anything. But you, you've transcended being a basketball star and become a face that's recognized nation wide. You can attract more than just gold diggers that want to date a baller, unlike us, who have name recognition mainly for fans of our own sport.”

“Yeah, I know, but it still hurts to hear that she thinks she doesn't really know me. It's not even her turning me down that bothers me a lot. It's the reason behind it, and how that reason is probably going to hurt me in any other relationship, too-”

“If someone needs to know every detail about your life and doesn't think that enjoying your company and having good chemistry with you is enough of a reason to date you, then maybe you need to have better taste in partners,” shrugged Dustin. “I can't say how good of a fit you guys are, but she doesn't seem like the type that would stay with you for a long time anyway. She sounds like she cares more about status than what's real… She's asking about your past because she wants to make sure that you come from a rich family that has experience in business, and grew up in a good neighborhood, and she was probably going to turn you down if you didn't. I mean, I haven't met her, but I do watch tennis and I've seen how she acts. She's always very… Proper, and she wants a traditional upper class boyfriend from a country club type of family.”

“And I'm not that type of guy, that's what you're trying to say?”

“Nah, man, I can't speak on that because I don't know anything more about you than she does. But there's a risk that you aren't, and that's why she turned you down despite liking being around you and basically admitting that she at least likes you a bit. Her priorities are wack, and that's why I say you're better off without her. You always have been a little different from the others, and she passed up on you because of that. I don't think it's a bad thing, though.”

Sol put up a three point shot that hit nothing but net, and stopped as they finished shooting the rack of balls. “You know, maybe I'm not supposed to say this, but you are right when you say I'm a little different. I'm more than a little different, even if I don't show it, and sometimes I wonder what it's going to take to get my skills off of the court to the same level that they're on when I'm on it. Seriously, what do I have to do to not feel so awkward around others? It's not even because I'm shy. I think it's the opposite, I come off as too confident and too cold and then others get intimidated, not the other way around. And obviously, some people stay away from me because of feeling like they don't know me.”

Dustin moved to start refilling the rack, and gave another shrug. “Come to Luxus? Me and Rubi are both there, and while it's not as famous as Portus, it's one of the best cities you'll ever find. The massive gambling industry means there's always plenty of tourism and attractions for those tourists, the downtown area is huge and almost as big as some of the more famous cities, people love the sports teams and always show up to the games, and if it's romance or just pleasure that you're looking for, Luxus is even better than Portus. It's the best for pleasure, really, because of the crowd that hangs out around the casinos and the downtown area where those types of businesses are. Let's just say that if you wanted to get laid with someone different after every game of the season, you would have no problems with that in Luxus. I know that's true for every big city team, but it's one hundred percent more true with this city, because of the casinos and resorts. Whatever happens, being here will help you make friends and get to know a lot of people, since it's a huge and dense city.”

“Sounds like a fun place,” Sol said, shooting another three point shot that went off of the rim this time. “I still don't know where I'm going to end up after the IBC, I'll have to talk to my camp about that. Thanks for the offer, though… I'll tell you what, when we have a break in the games, I'll come visit the place and see what it's all about. I'm keeping my options open, but the truth is, I don't know how long this is going to last and I'm trying to make the most of it while I'm on the top… Luxus sounds just like the kind of place where it's easy to do that.”

by **Abaja** » Mon Apr 03, 2017 4:36 pm

International Basketball Championships XXIII

Welch's big night leads Abaja to 2nd straight win

- By Joseph O'yuri

@ Eyeugbé Arena

Kingston, Abaja

ABAJA

SOLTSTEED

87 - 68

"Hell yeah!" Said many. After their second straight win, the Abaja Lions fans celebrated on the streets and at their homes. After dropping their first game against Drawkland, the Abaja Lions turned things around almost completely with a convincing 87-68 victory over unranked Soltsteed. The dreams of making the next round in their own country are still alive. Though they won this game comfortably, head coach Yuhan Anekwe was not so amused. He basically went on a rant for not being 3-0 right now. A reporter asked if he thought his team played well this game. He responded with, "Okay. We won this game, but their are many more games to be played. We dropped our first game against Drawkland and we are only 2-1 so far. There is much more work to be done and we will not stop working until we top Drawkland and secure that number one spot in Group A. I wouldn't give a shit if we won five games in a row. If we cannot take first spot, I will not be satisfied. Look at what Saint Kanye is doing. Look at what Vangaziland is doing. They are both shitting on their opponents with ease and you're telling me that we can't beat Drawkland? Our ANBL stars cannot beat Drawkland?" An interviewer interrupted and said, "But, uh, coach. We are talking about this game, not the first." Coach Anekwe responded and said "Yes. I have talked about that already. What I am talking about now is that we must secure that first spot. That should be our FIRST goal. Hey man, my job is on the line and I'm not gonna lose it, especially in front of my home crowd, in front of my brothers and sisters. Ain't happening. We are going to show the world what we are capable of and I am NOT going to take embarrassment from soft play. Every game we must play hard. If you aren't willing to bring it, then you don't deserve to be on the court. But to answer your question, yes, I do believe we played pretty well for THIS game, but we must continue pushing.

A reporter then asked the leading scorer of the game, Armani Welch, how he think he played. Welch responded with "Um, I guess I played pretty well. Missed more shots than usual, but that happens. My turnovers have been way down this IBC compared to the other IBC's I've been in. I'm just glad that the people from not just Kingston, but also Olulawi, Abaja City, and even way down in Jabola came and supported us for all three games that we've played and I hope for more encouragement from the crowd. That's what builds a teams confidence, you know? Loud cheers and happy fans." He then joked around and said "Heh, maybe if I keep playing like this, I could replace Jacob as team captain before I retire." In the background, Jacob Nessal shouted "You don't have many years left, Armani!"

A huge crowd flooded the seats of over sixteen thousand people in the warm city of Kingston. The players stepped on the court, the threw the ball up, and Joseph Olu won the tip over Soltsteed. The ball went to Armani Welch, who went up court with the ball. Already he heard a cry from small forward Pápá Mouyre yelling "Pass!" He kicked it to him. Mouyre works his way inside. The Soltsteedish players came inside. Mouyre passes it back out to Jacob Nessal at the three. Nessal shoots and scores the first basket of the game. A few plays later, Armani Welch gets his first steal after disrupting a pass from a Solststeedish player. Armani Welch sped up the court and hit a right handed rim grazer. Another steal was made by Welch and this one resulted in a 3-on-1 fast break. Armani Welch, Alanye R'Andi, and Jacob Nessal were running it up the court. Welch bounce passes to R'Andi and he slips by a defender for an easy 2. It seemed as if everything was going right for the Abajans early on, as they rushed to a 22-5 lead near the end of the first quarter. With 12 seconds left in the first quarter, a Solsteedish player pulled up a three. It was off, but the center slammed it back in after a rebound over Joseph Olu. Three seconds left. Joseph Olu passes it in to Armani Welch and he throws up a shot from beyond half court as the buzzer goes off. It was off, but the Lions still had a 22-7 lead. In the second quarter, Head coach Yuhan Anekwe decided to mix it up, putting in Michael Dísung (SF), Jola Nicholson (PF), and Mbade Grette (C) and taking out Pápá Mouyre (SF), Alanye R'Andi (PF) and Joseph Olu (C). Welch and Nessal stayed as guards. As the second quarter began, Soltsteed was catching up, but just a little bit. After a turnover from Jacob Nessal, A Solsteedish player ran up the court in a hurry and layed it up off the glass. Then, after Michael Dísung misses a three, Soltsteed takes it back up the court. The point guard is in front of the three point line. Armani Welch is on him, looking back to see if anyone will come to set a screen. After standing and dribbling for 10 seconds, the point guard makes a move and drives to the hoop. Armani Welch tries to stay with him, but cannot keep up. Jola Nicholson then comes out of his box to help. The guard bumps into Joseph Olu, lays it up, the whistle blows, and the shot goes in off the glass! And-one opportunity now for Soltsteed. You could hear head coach Yuhan Anekwe shouting "Foul him hard, damn it!" The point guard made the and-one opportunity, and suddenly Solsteed was down by just 8, with Abaja in the led 27-19. Jola Nicholson responded though, with a big rebound over a Soltsteed center, snatching up Armani Welch's miss and slamming it home for two . Then, Soltsteed would carry it up the court. The point guard would pass to the shooting guard. The shooting guard would pump fake, dribble forward, stop, pop and drop it into the basket. With a minute left in the first half, Anekwe Would make more adjustments. Calvin Anelé (SG) would replace Jacob Nessal (SG), and Joseph Olu (C) will come back in for Mbade Grette. Abaja now has ball. Olu passes it in to Armani Welch. Welch passes to Calvin Anelé. Anelé shoots the three and scores! Soltsteed inbounds. The point guard immediately gets stripped again by Armani Welch, who lobs it to Joseph Olu for the vicious slam dunk. As the half ended, cheers filled the arena. Abaja was in the lead by a dozen, being in front 41-29 at the half.

The second half was basically more of the same from both teams, and Abaja lead the whole time 'round. For the third quarter, the Abajan lineup looked like this - PG- Stephen Érénshé, SG- Jacob Nessal, SF-Mathew Ojeije, PF-Alanye R'Andi, C-Joseph Olu. As Soltsteed dribbled the ball up court, the defensive Stephen Érénshé pressed the Soltsteedish point guard. He couldn't get a steal, but did enough to make the player lose balance and force to pass it to another player. That player would pass it up court to the power forward. Now the forward was against Alanye R'Andi. The forward backed him down, saw the guard coming down the court. Bounced passes to him, and the guard, who had a total of 24 points in the game, scored another two points off the layup. Abaja wasn't having it though, after back-to-back threes from Jacob Nessal, the Lions built their lead back to double digits. Soltsteed would then commit another turnover, with Mathew Ojeije getting the steal and slam dunk off the fast break. Soltsteed still wouldn't give up. After a shooting guard swiped a pass intended to Jacob Nessal, the guard was off to the races, going for the basket. But he didn't see Jacob Nessal coming from behind, flying to reach the shot, and blocking it. The Queens Bullet made noise to the arena, slapping the ball from the guards hand to the backboard. The ball flew past both players, and another Soltsteed player grabbed it, took it in, and slammed t with two hands. "Where's the help?!" Nessal shouted. Abaja would respond, again with a euro step from Stephen Érénshé to create a shot and lay it in. A couple plays later, he would shoot a mid-range jump shot, and drain it. With 25 seconds left in the third quarter, Solsteed responds with a three from the corner. After the end of three, Abaja holds a lead of 64-48. In the fourth quarter, it was all about Welch. Armani Welch was subbed back in, along with Anele and Mouyre. The three of them caused much trouble to the Soltsteed defense. Over and over again Armani Welch would slice the defense through pick and roll. With a few minutes left in the game, Armani Welch made a last OMG-moment play, when he scored a three pointer from 28 feet out, while being fouled. The crowed lost their shit as that brought Abaja up by 21 points, leading 84-63 with 2:11 left in the game. Papa Mouyre closed it out in style with a step back three pointer. After the buzzer sounded, the court was filled with fans, asking to get the autographs of the Abajan athletes. One of them were lucky enough to receive Jacob Nessal's shoes. The Lions' next game is against Nova Anglicana, ranked 30. With this win, they will be 1 game above Nova Anglicana at the halfway mark. After the break, they will head east to Queens, and Jacob Nessal will play in the Crown Center, a place where he is well known.

WHO'S NEXT?

NOVA ANGLICANA

ABAJA

vs

NOTE: The Comment Section in "Abaja News Today" will return after the break!

by **Empire of Cats** » Mon Apr 03, 2017 6:14 pm

Police Find No Evidence of Wrongdoing In RXEY Scheme

Catstantinople (AP) - Catstantionple Police have found no evidence of any monetary or financial scheme or wrongdoing in a now-viral scheme by local radio station RXEY to boost listening numbers during the Empire of Catsian Feral Feline's game at the United States of Devontia in the International Basketball Classic by offering free Xboxes and even a private jet to lucky winners in a lottery pool. The case, opened this morning, was aimed at determining any suspicious activity enacted by the radio station's management. The only thing found of any substantial notice was the fact that RXEY had held an April Fool's prank in the office of the leader of the Empire of Cats, Cat Emperor, when he was not in and was touring the poorer parts of the city; however, this was resolved when the Emperor had approved such a party in order to allow people to know that he is available at most times to meet with even the poorest citizen.

The radio station has lodged a formal complaint with the police department for bringing in "unsuitable heavy paramilitary equipment" into their opening investigation in the RXEY studio earlier that morning. Among the complaints were the usage of a FREC-60 main battle tank to spearhead the column of police vehicles sent to investigate the possibility of any underhand dealings. (OOC: I received an issue earlier today about whether the usage of such equipment was a good or bad idea; I decided to incorporate it into my story)

The scheme being under police investigation did not affect its quick takeoff in viral popularity, clips of the scheme reaching nearly 100 million international views on video-sharing sites by the evening. The Feral Felines fell to Devontia 83-79. They are currently in second place in their group. For further coverage of this, please turn to the Sports page on 1F. -Excerpt from the Catstantinople Dispatch regarding a basketball-related scheme to increase radio listeners. Sandy Liu reporting.

by **Empire of Cats** » Mon Apr 03, 2017 7:02 pm

The Adventures of the Musketeers: Basketballing

Olulawi - Patrick Morris lay face up on one of the many pieces of equipment scattered in the team's exercise gym, his thoughts and his attention elsewhere even as he lifted a large weight above him. The lingering sting of defeat - and a close one at that - had helped to remind him that he was playing on a world stage and that no game would be a given. He had to keep his head in the game if he was to do his best for his team.

Heck, it wasn't even the loss that bothered him. Devontia was a good team. No, what bothered him was far more personal. He had noticed that he was growing a little more...distracted lately. Perhaps it was the fact he was abroad, but perhaps it was also because he was noticing that he had been overconfident lately. Overconfidence was not a good thing to have. You should never underestimate your opponent - nor overestimate them. There was an art to the game. It was more than just make a layup- jump- shoot - repeat. You had to have the feel of the court and the basketball. You were as much an artist on the court as a painter with his canvas. Plus, being overconfident could lead to you turning into a jerk, and that'd be no fun for anybody. The last thing he wanted was to end up like that guy in the bar who he had played chess with.

William had it right. He looked over to his companion in the weight room. He had been making the quick, last-second plays and fighting to put up points even in the last seconds of the game and had not been cowed by the fact that they had had the ball down by four with only three seconds left. What was that that he had said when he had been told to accept that they'd lost the game? "Out of greater challenges have greater accomplishments been made than this." He nodded slightly. He'd have to remember that saying; it was a good one. He grunted as he put the weight down and sat up. Something had occurred to him.

"Hey William!"
"What's up, Patrick?"
"You seen Teresa recently?"

William sat up, looking over at De'Shawn Young, a young guard on the team who was exercising while listening to his music and paying no mind.

"I haven't since breakfast this morning."
"Strange....she's usually around."
"I know, right? She's been acting strange ever since that bar incident." William's brows furrowed together. Patrick briefly wondered why William was taking such an interest in Teresa, but paid it no mind. He was taking an interest in her right now, too.

The weight room's door opened and Teresa walked through, her face crowned with a smile. "Hey, guys!" she exclaimed. De'Shawn gave her a quick wave and then went back to his weightlifting.
"Ah, there you are, Teresa. We were just wondering where you were." William blushed. He tended to do that a lot, noticed Patrick.
"Oh, I was just.....taking a break," she said, sighing contentedly.

William and Patrick looked at each other. She was much too happy, even for her usual self. But Abaja was hardly known for its drug recreation, so what, then, was the cause?

"And what break would that have been?"
"Wouldn't you like to know!" she teased, still smiling. "You'll find out soon enough." With that, she left the weight room, leaving William and Patrick as confused as they had been when they had first noticed her absence.

- To Be Continued -

by **Qasden** » Mon Apr 03, 2017 7:30 pm

Comgrats, everyone's time in the group stage is a day older. With age comes wisdom, and with wisdom comes your fifth CUTOFF for the Abajan side. meow meow memes meow meow.

Group A

Soltsteed 74-94 Drawkland
Nova Anglicana 72-80 Abaja

Group A                            Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
1 Drawkland                            4    4   0   320  265  +55     12
2 Abaja                                4    3   1   319  287  +32      9
3 Nova Anglicana                       4    2   2   314  302  +12     6
4 New Lusitania and the Algarves       4    1   3   293  337  −44     3
5 Soltsteed                            4    0   4   299  350  -51     0

Group B

Cosumar 95-105 Saint Kanye
PandaClaws 77-80 Free Republics

Group B                            Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
1 Saint Kanye                          4    4   0   401  309  +92   12
2 Free Republics                       4    3   1   323  327  −4   9
3 Cosumar                              4    2   2   358  365  -7    6
4 Nueva Celta                          4    1   3   302  347  −45   3
5 PandaClaws                           4    0   4   300  346  −46   0

Group C

Ceni 84-76 West Saintland
Corcra and Tir Trodaithe 91-89 A Couple of People

Group C                            Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
1 Ceni                                 4    4   0   352  315  +37     12
2 West Saintland                       4    3   1   332  306  +26     9
3 Flardania                            4    2   2   348  335  +13     6
4 Corcra and Tir Trodaithe             4    1   3   305  352  −47     3
5 A Couple of People                   4    0   4   309  332  −23     0

Group D

The Iron Syndicate 80-65 Kecrazia
Valanora 75-71 Vettrera

Group D                            Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
1 The Iron Syndicate                   4    4   0   327   298  +29   12
2 Purple Rabbits                       4    2   2   315  304   +11    6
3 Valanora                             4    2   2   321  311   +10    6
4 Vettrera                             4    2   2   306   297  +9   6
5 Kecrazia                             4    0   4   274  333   −59   0

by **Natanians and Nosts** » Mon Apr 03, 2017 7:36 pm

In a surprise,Natanians and Nosts can advance the group stage at this IBC.But my basketball fan,it'l be near impossible since we'll need to defeat Ethane to do so.
It'll be a hard task for our players,since Ethane is the group leader and is undefeated.The players are less confeident since the loss to Newmanistan,but the USI already played all their games,so we just need to win to advance rather than cheer for a results combination.

by **Abaja** » Mon Apr 03, 2017 8:15 pm

MATCHDAY 5 CUT-OFF
Qasdonian Side

Making it rain here is Qasden. We are halfway there guys! MD 5.

Group E
Vangaziland 74–65 Greater Churchill
Nueva Andalusia 75–76 Musterfield

Group E
                        Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts                                
1 Vangaziland             4    4   0   378  237 +141    12    
2 Frenline Delpha         4    3   1   275  330  −55     9    
3 Greater Churchill       4    2   2   308  316   −8     6   
4 Musterfield             4    1   3   275  312  −37     3    
5 Nueva Andalusia         4    0   4   298  339  −41     0

Group F
Empire of Cats 66–75 Abanhfleft
West Phoenicia 71–76 United States of Devonta

Group F
                            Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts                                
1 Abanhfleft                  4    4   0   351  257  +94    12  
2 United States of Devonta    4    3   1   303  316  −13     9    
3 Empire of Cats              4    2   2   297  290   +7     6   
4 West Phoenicia              4    1   3   272  308  −36     3     
5 Adab                        4    0   4   278  330  −52     0

Group G
Newmanistan 93–74 Foodporn
Natanians and Nosts 56–65 Ethane

Group G
                           Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts                                
1 Ethane                     4    4   0   287  239  +48    12  
2 Newmanistan                4    2   2   318  298  +20     6    
3 Unified Sunrise Islands    4    2   2   291  282   +9     6   
4 Natanians and Nosts        4    2   2   278  296  −18     6    
5 Foodporn                   4    0   4   262  321  −59     0

Group H
Valladares 81–70 Spaam
Addled Braintopia 47–78 Qasden

Group H
                        Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts                                
1 Qasden                  4    4   0   343  251  +92    12    
2 Valladares              4    3   1   332  296  +36     9  
3 Spaam                   4    1   3   314  321   −7     4  
4 Addled Braintopia       4    1   3   288  317  −29     4   
5 Jeckland                4    0   4   288  380  −92     0

by **Empire of Cats** » Tue Apr 04, 2017 5:29 am

Mistakes, Mistakes, Mistakes: Empire of Cats Goes 0-2 in Last Two Games

Catstantinople - Two games ago, the Felines were part of the elite class of Group F. They were one of only two undefeated teams and it looked to even the most pessimistic fan that it might be smooth sailing the rest of the way and into the playoffs. Alas, it was not to be. The United States of Devontia and Abanhfleft lowered the boom on the Feral Felines and sent them reeling into the third spot in the group and one place out of playoff contention. If they expect to make the playoffs, they need to get their act together and fast.

Empire of Cats 66 - 75 Abanhfelft

The game against No. 2 seeded Abanhfleft was expected to be a tough one, and nobody was really expecting the Felines to topple the Rebs from their perch and add a 1 to their loss column. However, coming on the heels of a nail-biting loss against the U.S.D., the Felines needed something to get their game back together and recover from the loss. Abanhfleft was less than eager to comply and instead handed the Felines their first losing streak of the tourney in a nine-point win over the Empire of Cats.

Patrick Morris, William Tull, and Teresa Rolde of the Felines, or "the Musketeers" as the press has dubbed them, put up a combined total of 42 points in the loss. The highlight of the game for the Felines was a brief, thirty-second lead over Abanhfleft in the first quarter, 21-20, but this was but a fleeting moment as the Rebs more than recovered their balance and worked their magic like they usually do to ensure that they escaped any potential embarrassing or humiliating loss to the unranked Feral Felines. That said, the loss of two fairly close games isn't cause for concern. Firstly, the Felines didn't come here expecting to win, they came here to "Learn to Play, and Play to Learn", as their official motto of this year's IBC says on their jerseys. Two wins in the tourney is two wins better than not winning a game at all. Second, the fact that the Felines hung with the best of the group and lost by only a combined total of thirteen points is not a bad thing. Mistakes were made, but they are mistakes that can be learned from, most certainly.

This tourney isn't over yet, and the Felines haven't finished their performance. -Excerpted from the Catstantinople Dispatch, Edward Reed reporting.

by **Saint Kanye** » Tue Apr 04, 2017 8:14 am

IBC 23: SURGE OUTLAST STALLIONS, GO 4-0
Free Republics edge PandaClaws to usurp second in Group B

by Dante Dinkley

ABAJA CITY - The #1 St. Kanye Surge scored eight unanswered points in less than a minute to survive a late run by the #15 Cosumar Stallions, 105-95, and assure themselves of the top spot in Group B at the midway point of the 23rd International Basketball Championships group stages here. Two Kanyean players ended up with double-doubles in this game: Brock Dotson, the leading scorer with 17 points and 11 rebounds; and Michael Porter, who had ten each of points and assists. Power forward Severin Soholt led the Cosumarites in a losing effort with 21 points and six rebounds.

The blue-clad Stallions won the jump ball, and drew first blood with a layup by 7'2" starting center Tozin Summata. Surge captain Josh Jackson responded with a quick mid-range jumper off a feed by Porter. The two teams, who also faced each other in the IBC 20 Round of 16 series (which the Surge's original lineup won two games to nothing), traded baskets and were neck and neck with two minutes remaining in the first quarter, 16-all. But Stallions small forward Judas Stanton was fouled while taking a three, and while he didn't make the free throw for a four-point play, Summata got the rebound and slammed the ball home for a 21-16 Cosumarite lead. The quarter would be the first in IBC 23 that the Surge would end up trailing, 23-18 in favor of the Stallions.

The Stallions, a known offensive team, would continue to run in the second, even leading by nine, 33-24 off a jumper by Soholt with 6:25 remaining in the first half. The Surge would not have any of this, and they would slowly catch up, making threes for every two-pointer the Stallions made, and forcing defensive stops. A corner three from long-range specialist Victor McLain gave the lead back to the white-clad Kanyeans with two seconds remaining in the half, ending it 46-44.

Cosumar got the chance to retake the lead, with Kanyean center Joel Pond sending shooting guard Tarran Skannendev to the line for three free throws. But Skannendev only made the first two for a 46-all tie, and the Stallions would never lead in the third, chipping away at the Surge's lead but only going as far as six points behind, 75-69 Surge after thirty minutes of play. A putback by Soholt put Cosumar back in the driver seat, 79-78, with 8:12 to go in the fourth, and after Norman "The Fly" Walker's tomahawk dunk that made it 80-79 for St. Kanye, the two teams traded baskets and the lead again.

Fast forward to 1:34 remaining in the game. Point guard Warren Cross of the Stallions made a long shot that was initially ruled a three, but changed to a two after officials saw his left foot past the three-point line. That still gave them the lead, 95-94. On the next play, Surge PG Porter seemed to go all the way and take it to the hole for a one-point lead, but he saw his path blocked by two defenders. So he threw the ball out to the side, where Jackson caught it and launched a three. It was good, and the Kanyeans now held a 97-95 advantage with only 1:21 to go. Timeout, Cosumar.

Reserve SF Alvin Kuhn inbounded the ball for the Stallions, and they basically milked the clock before attempting a shot with Soholt with only five on the shot clock. His Kanyean counterpart Dotson put a hand up to make Soholt change his shot, which missed, and Dotson took the rebound. Timeout, St. Kanye, 1:00 to go.

Jackson inbounded to Porter, who ran and passed the ball to McLain. Back to Jackson. 15 to shoot. Back to McLain, who got ready for the three as Skannendev jumped up to guard him. But it was a fake. McLain bounced to Dotson on the inside. 10 to shoot. Dotson put up the shot, and it's good. Timeout, Cosumar, 0:50 to go. Score is St. Kanye 99, Cosumar 95.

Kuhn inbounded again, looking for Cross. But out of nowhere came Porter, who stole the ball and ran with it. Skannendev tried to foul Porter intentionally, but Porter let the ball fly. It bounced out, and Dotson got the rebound for a fresh shot clock. 0:32 to go. Summata now tried to swipe at Dotson, but he already threw to a wide-open McLain at the three-point line. McLain made the three. 0:29 to go. St. Kanye 102, Cosumar 95. The Stallions burned their last timeout.

Stanton came back in for Kuhn, and inbounded. They had to get a shot off quickly. With 0:25 to go, Cross fed the ball to Soholt on the outside. Soholt launched the three. No good. 0:23. Summata rebounded and threw the ball back to Cross on the outside. Intercepted by McLain with 0:21 to go. He ran all the way back to the Kanyeans' side of the court. 0:16 remaining. McLain passed to Porter. Cross tried to foul Porter, but he no longer has the ball. It's back with McLain. Tried for another shot, but Stanton correctly guessed it was a fake. McLain did fake, but to the left, not the right. The ball is with Porter, 0:10 to go. Cross knocked the ball away from him, but McLain got to it first. 0:07. McLain drove to the hoop, with Stanton in pursuit. 0:03 to go. McLain threw back outside, to Jackson. 0:02. Jackson fired. Three is good; St. Kanye 105, Cosumar 95. 0:00 to go.

The crowd at Wallis Center went wild. 3,188 were Kanyeans. The Surge and Stallions, including respective head coaches Anton Spoletto and Douglas Breckenridge, shook hands. It was just the fourth game for both in the group stages, but "the two teams played their hearts out in an exciting finish", according to Spoletto. The Kanyeans thus survive an upset and head into the second half of the group stages with a 4-0 slate, while the Stallions drop to third at 2-2, behind the Surge and a Free Republics team who later in the day nosed out PandaClaws 80-77 to go 3-1.

Tomorrow means a break from competition for all forty teams, both in Abaja and Qasden., playing in IBC 23. The Surge will go to practice in the morning, and sightseeing in the afternoon, then move with the rest of Group B to ZorgadiAir Arena in Olulawi for the next four games of the group stages. Group D - Valanora, Vettrera, Purple Rabbits, the Iron Syndicate and Kecrazia - move to Wallis Center here. Groups A and C also swap arenas with the former going from Eyeugbe Arena in Kingston to Corwn Center in Queens, and the latter doing the reverse. Groups E to H in Qasden stay in the same arenas throughout the end of the stage. The Surge's next opponents are winless PandaClaws, who they already beat 106-88 back in Matchday 1, but they will wear white this time instead of purple.

Scores:

ST. KANYE 105 - Dotson 17, Jackson 14, McLain 13, Porter 10, Schneider 10, Pond 9, Duff 8, Levy 5, Norris 5, Samson 5, Walker 5, Coyle 4.

COSUMAR 95 - Soholt 21, Stanton 15, Summata 12, Cross 10, Skannendev 10, Na'Zupito 9, Scanlon 7, Na'Rel 4, Rudnevs 4, Kuhn 3, Na'Gono 0, Va'Devu 0.

Quarters: 18-23, 46-44, 75-69, 105-95.

Around the IBC

by the Kibitzer Research Department

GROUP A: DRAWKLAND 94, SOLTSTEED 74

The big Drawks win big as the Net Corp remain unbeaten at 4-0, while Soltsteed remains winless at 0-4.

GROUP B: FREE REPUBLICS 80, PANDACLAWS 77

World #59 Free Republics get the surprise second spot in the group with a three-point escape over group cellar-dwellers, 0-4 PandaClaws.

GROUP C: CENI 84, WEST SAINTLAND 76

The Snakes, ranked eighth in the world, go 4-0 and grab solo first in Group C from the West Sanctii, who drop to 3-1.

GROUP D: THE IRON SYNDICATE 80, KECRAZIA 65

The Black Arrows dominate Kecrazia, as the former go 4-0 and top of the group while the latter go 0-4 and the bottom, separated with three teams with identical 2-2 records.

GROUP E: VANGAZILAND 74, GREATER CHURCHILL 65

The Royals (4-0) keep their point differential the highest among all IBC 23 teams at +141, despite winning by just eleven over Greater Churchill (2-2).

GROUP F: ABANHFLEFT 75, EMPIRE OF CATS 66

EoC's "Three Musketeers" (Patrick Morris, William Tull, Teresa Rolde) combine for 42 points, but Abanhfleft still comes out on top. The Rebs are thus Group F's 4-0 team, while the Felines tumble to 2-2.

GROUP G: NEWMANISTAN 93, FOODPORN 74

The Rockets (2-2) blast Foodporn, who are still starving to get into the win column at 0-4.

GROUP H: QASDEN 78, ADDLED BRAINTOPIA 47

The Vans (4-0) scored a decent 78 points, but it was their defense that did the talking as they held the 1-3 Brainotopes to just 47 points in this game.

Game Schedule - Group B

Surge Record So Far: 4-0

Matchday 1: W 106-88 vs. PandaClaws (UR*)
Matchday 2: W 96-64 vs. Free Republics (59)
Matchday 3: BREAK
Matchday 4: W 94-62 vs. Nueva Celta (UR)
Matchday 5: W 105-95 vs. Cosumar (15)
BREAK
Matchday 6: White Jerseys vs. PandaClaws (UR)
Matchday 7: Purple Jerseys vs. Free Republics (59)
Matchday 8: BREAK
Matchday 9: White Jerseys vs. Nueva Celta (UR)
Matchday 10: Purple Jerseys vs. Cosumar (15)
BREAK
Playoffs

*Unranked.

All games televised live through SKYNET (Saint KanYe NETwork) Sports Channel 12 and streamed on ibc-tv.stk.

by **Vangaziland** » Tue Apr 04, 2017 9:27 am

After an early exit in IBC 21, Coach Tim Tomasson promised major changes. The Vangaziland Royals looked flat that year, averaging less than 80 points per game. They were a major defensive team that still found themselves fighting for control of the offensive tempo.

IBC 22 was a different animal. The Royals made a strong showing in the group stage, looking much more confident and balanced. Shots were falling. The plays seemed more natural. Many thought roster changes would have been more extreme. Instead, the Royals worked to improve their execution.

The Royals managed to finish in the top 4, going deep into the playoffs. On paper it looked like good basketball. Vannish sports media saw something different. The game shifted towards more of a fundamental focus. There was less isolation, less crossovers. Less style. Less Vangaziland.

In Game One of IBC 23, the Vangaziland Royals showed what they could do.

"We wanted to set a tone with the first game", said Coach Tim Tomasson. "Frenline Delpha is the toughest opponent in our group. The plan was to build a lead in the aggregate score."

"Our hope is to make the playoffs again", said starting PG Hectare Yulssen before game one. "If we go 1-1 with Frenline and have the same record, we want to be the ones to advance."

The game finished with a score of 126-52.

Vangaziland went down by 6 to start. Tomasson called a time out and told his team to dig in and fight. On the next play, the opposing PG gave Yulssen a little space. He brought the ball up the floor and stopped for the deep pull up three-pointer. It landed in the back of the rim with a thud, not a swish. It was a line drive that fell flat into the rim.

A tough defensive play gave Vangaziland two possessions in a row. The ball moved around the Royals' half until finding Julius Handsen in the corner. It soon became clear that Yulssen was hot. He was putting up shots as if he was daring himself. The opposing PG was giving him just a bit too much space.

As a result Frenline's defense had to double or move to intercept. They would have to take their attention away from their defender to accomplish this. If any space was left over for Yulssen, he would look for a shot. The thing is, he was being tricky. He would head fake a shooting form, just to pop back and forth with a crossover. That would lead to space, then a double team. And that is where the points started to really fall.

Yulssen noticed Chris Ironwrought, his SF, was being left open. Yulssen started rocketing the passes inside to him. They were simple buckets at first. Late in the second quarter, the Royals made the first run that took the game out of control.

By now, Yulssen had 5 assists and 8 points. Ironwrought had 9 points and 3 rebounds. It was clear that these two players were linking up. They were controlling the perimeter from up top while the SG ran from different positions. Handsen might catch and kick back up top. He started dishing to Ironwrought behind the arc.

The crowd was surprised when Ironwrought hit the first three so confidently off the pass. He'd made a few threes before. But his form looked improved. He never looked comfortable from distance. A few plays later, the ball was kicked back out to him. He hit the second three.

At this point, both people playing at the top of the key had a slight mismatch against their defenders. This really spread the floor. The centers were posting up. Yulssen could pass into Knucks at center through.

By the third quarter, Vangaziland had found her form. As Yulssen and Ironwrought took their rest, the bench kept things just as hot from behind the arc. Besides the offensive game, the Royals kept a tough defensive presence.

One of the biggest differences for IBC 23 was the retirement of Frank Hurcle. He's been replaced by Chris Parkssen. He is a younger, more aggressive player. He isn't as much of a rebounder. But he is the top shot blocker in the Vannish pros. He picked up 3 blocks in this game. At times, it seemed he may have affected the opponent's game plan.

The end result was the best performance the Vangaziland Royals have ever showcased in the IBC.

Ironwrought finished with 50 points. No Vangaziland Royal has ever scored that much in international competition. He also had 7 rebounds and a steal. He was all over the court. Besides that, he was on fire from behind the arc. He went 8 for 11 for three.

"I really worked on my form during the offseason. I worked with Handsen and Tullet. It probably won't be like this every game", Ironwrought said chuckling. "But it was a good result."

Yulssen also finished with 15 assists. Many of them were to a cutting Yulssen, a posting Knucks or Handsen behind the arc.

Since game one, things have cooled down a bit for Vangaziland. They are keeping the defensive effort up. They have had solid victories. But Game One was a special occasion where things clicked in a way that every fan who was there will never forget. The Royals hope to make a run deep into the playoffs once again.

by **Valladares** » Tue Apr 04, 2017 2:14 pm

The Valladar National Basketball Team Roster

Coach: Daniel Toro (Age: 50)
Assistant Coach: Anthony Romero (Age: 49)

STARTERS:

PG: Marco Riva (32, 6'6'') - Eterna Galaxy
SG: Cássio Freire (29, 6'9'') - Carloburgo Knights
SF: George Russell (28, 7'1'') - Victoria Royals
PF: Freddy Pelletier (30, 6'8'') - Metropolis Eagles
C: Santiago Mina (29, 6'7'') - Arrieros de Antioquia

BENCH:

G: Bryan Peláez (31, 6'8'') - Lanceros de Colón
G: Gerard Lussac (29, 6'7'') - Lions de Bezieres
G: Carlos Cabrera (27, 6'6'') - Carloburgo Knights
F: Jonathan Botero (28, 6'9'') - Lanceros de Colón
F: Martín Driussi (30, 6'7'') - Metropolis Eagles
C: Matheus Pereira (27, 6'10'') - Tigres de Chiquito

RP Permissions: No serious injuries. No more than 1 technical foul a game. Be as realistic as possible.

by **Saint Kanye** » Wed Apr 05, 2017 3:25 am

IBC 23 MID-STAGE REPORT

Which teams made the most out of their four games, and which ones struggled?

by the Kibitzer Research Department

The first five days and four games of the 23rd International Basketball Championships in Abaja and Qasden are over, and so now we take a look back at the teams we spotlighted at the start of the tournament. Did the powerhouses really show their power? Were the contenders really on their way to contend? Did the newbies really do anything of note? Let's find out.

The Powerhouses

#1 ST. KANYE
Mid-Stage Record: 4-0

That's us, again! The boys in purple and lime have scored the most out of all the IBC teams so far, at 401. However, they also gave up 309, which wile not the most out of all the 40 teams, were the second-most among the eight unbeaten ones. So what we have to say is that the Surge should continue their great offensive play, but they could stand to tighten up more on defense, to better prevent upsets. Nobody wants a repeat of what Pittopi did last season at the end of eliminations.

#2 ABANHFLEFT
Mid-Stage Record: 4-0

This season's Rebolusyonaryos are composed of a dangerous bunch: IBC 21's championship team and IBC 22's new-look team who were able to hold their own, only lost twice, and came up third. They have a +94 point differential, second overall and slightly higher than St. Kanye's (and Qasden's) +92. Well, we know how good the blue, orange and green always are in the group stages. The question, then, remains if they will go far like IBC 21, or add another season to their list of "almosts".

#3 ETHANE
Mid-Stage Record: 4-0

The Ethanese scored only 287 in four games, fewer than not only the other unbeaten teams but also some of the others (including the winless ones). But they gave up the second-least, at 239. But that's because that tough D is what they do best, unlike other, more balanced teams like St. Kanye themselves. If they continue to play like this, maybe they could succeed Ko-oren, who's not in IBC 23, as the next big thing in defense.

#4 VANGAZILAND
Mid-Stage Record: 4-0

Everyone still keeps talking about the whipping they dealt Frenline Delpha at the start of the tournament. 126 to 52. The lead was bigger than their opponents' score. Is it no surprise that they have a jaw-dropping +141 point differential? That offense is only one side of the coin, though. Their 237 points allowed were the least of any team, 4-0 or not. What does this mean? Barring a meltdown in the last four games, the Royals can take one of the top half, or even quarter, of the playoff seedings.

#6 VALANORA
Mid-Stage Record: 2-2

We honestly didn't expect the elves to not top their group. They were upset-prone, getting a six-point loss to 69th-ranked Purple Rabbits and a four-point defeat to the unranked Iron Syndicate. IBC 23's oldest team should step up on both ends of the court and assert their dominance as the world's number six squad, or more upsets could mean an early exit for them.

The Contenders

#11 ABAJA
Mid-Stage Record: 3-1

The Lions immediately missed out on the top spot in Group A with a loss to Drawkland in Matchday 1. Despite this, the black and green stayed strong and followed things up with three straight wins in front of their fans. Coach Yuhan Anekwe said that his team must keep pushing - despite all the wins, they are not in the top spot, Drawkland is. And he wants it to be them, but how? Well, we think that both Coach A's tough routine and the support of the home crowd will play a factor.

#13 WEST SAINTLAND
Mid-Stage Record: 3-1

We were wrong when we said that Prince Ioannes must carry his aging crew of players on his back to go far in IBC 23. Why? Because the Prince is not playing, and so are all the Prince's men. Instead we have a team of all women, trying to show the world that they can play ball just as good as men can. Who knows, maybe these gals can bring back glory to the land of the red and white, winner of three straight back when the "West" was not in their name.

#15 COSUMAR
Mid-Stage Record: 2-2

Before the games started, the Stallions' new head coach, Douglas Breckenridge, talked about the team's goal being a second IBC, after 18. They started out strong, winning their first two games, before an upset by #59 Free Republics and a loss courtesy of the Kanyeans. As Breckenridge said that they must bounce back after a string of early playoffs exits, so must they bounce back after their successive losses.The blue and gray must take that explosive offense (358 points scored, third among all), and hope they don't crumble on D.

#16 QASDEN
Mid-Stage Record: 4-0

The Vans also banked on home country support and did one better than their co-hosts, treating the fans of the blue and red to four straight wins and the third-highest point differential (+92, tied with the Surge) to start the competition. The Qads now hope that this is just a taste of things to come, and that the Vans will soon develop into a household name in the sport.

#17 DRAWKLAND
Mid-Stage Record: 4-0

It appears as if the Net Corp are using their size to good use at 4-0 and a +55 point differential. Drawks are huge (pun intended) hoops fans like the Abajans, the biggest threat to the black and red for the top spot in their group, so get ready for an epic battle once these two teams duke it out to decide which one gets higher seeding over the other once they enter the Round of 16.

The Notable Newbies

IRON SYNDICATE
Mid-Stage Record: 4-0

Now here's a surprising 4-0 team, the first-timer Black Arrows. The Iron Syndicate didn't go wrong when they selected Sol Star to the national team - after all, the whole world knows his name with his videos showcasing his basketball skills. Shining as a newbie already? We may have just found this IBC's breakout team.

EMPIRE OF CATS
Mid-Stage Record: 2-2

The Felines and their determined crew are 2-2, but don't count them out. They actually started 2-0, but then collapsed twice in close games. Just might be the pressure getting to them. Hopefully they learned their lesson from those losses and give formidable Abanhfleft a run for their money as we enter the second half of the group stages.

SPAAM
Mid-Stage Record: 2-2

The Justen Hocks ten won some, and they lost some. Besides their reliance on the wonders of modern science, the Dollies must also utilize the old and tested method of cooperation and teamwork. That, and maybe they can stand to distinguish their appearances more from each other, and from the real Justen Hocks.

NEWMANISTAN
Mid-Stage Record: 2-2

The former two-time champs are swamped in the middle of Group G with two other teams at 0.500. The Rockets' advantage right now is point differential, so they must keep this at a healthy level if they want to put themselves back on the international basketball map after eighteen seasons of absence.

Game Schedule - Group B

Surge Record So Far: 4-0

Matchday 1: W 106-88 vs. PandaClaws (UR*)
Matchday 2: W 96-64 vs. Free Republics (59)
Matchday 3: BREAK
Matchday 4: W 94-62 vs. Nueva Celta (UR)
Matchday 5: W 105-95 vs. Cosumar (15)
BREAK
Matchday 6: White Jerseys vs. PandaClaws (UR)
Matchday 7: Purple Jerseys vs. Free Republics (59)
Matchday 8: BREAK
Matchday 9: White Jerseys vs. Nueva Celta (UR)
Matchday 10: Purple Jerseys vs. Cosumar (15)
BREAK
Playoffs

*Unranked.

All games televised live through SKYNET (Saint KanYe NETwork) Sports Channel 12 and streamed on ibc-tv.stk.

works? · by **Abanhfleft** » Wed Apr 05, 2017 8:18 am

Matchday 3 of the 23rd International Basketball Championships
Olulawi, Abaja

“Wake up, sleepy-head.”

Jazz Higgs groaned and shoved his head underneath his pillow. It seemed as if he had just fallen asleep before he was being shaken awake again. He knew that there could only be two people in the world who could be trying to wake him at this late hour: his roommates, fellow centers of Abanhfleft Dylan Kapowski and George Katatonoios. There was no reason for any of them to be awake following the ordeals they had just gone through, and yet here they were, attempting to wake young Jazz up.

One could say that their performance in the 23rd International Basketball Championships so far had been just as people had hoped and expected. First a 32-point victory over West Phoenicia (87-55 to those who are interested) and then a 33-point victory over the United States of Devonta (95-62, again to those who are interested). Leonidas “Leo” Baxter, as always, led the team in points scored in those two games. 38 points against Phoenicia and 48 points against Devonta was all in a day’s work for a player of his calibre, but for Jazz, who had been around world-class players ever since he was 17 years old and received that Fleftic passport which made him eligible for the Abanhfleft national team, he was still in awe of the capacity with which Leo could score double digits almost at will.

Not that Jazz himself wasn’t a slouch in putting up the points and padding his stats. He’d posted 12 points and 10 rebounds against Phoenicia and 14 points and 11 rebounds against Devonta. Double-doubles did seem to be Jazz’s thing whenever he came on for the Rebolusyonaryos. Hell, he’d almost had a triple-double against Devonta with his nine assists in that particular game. His time in IBC 22 had taught him the value of distributing the ball among his teammates. Mama did always tell me that life is one long school days with classes and lessons all throughout, Jazz thought. Sometimes it’s just a matter of recognizing those lessons when they come along.

But nothing that his mother or his father had ever told him would prepare Jazz Higgs for what was coming next.

The pillow over his head was ripped away and the lights of the Olulawi hotel room where he and the rest of the Fleftic national team were staying shone down on his eyelids. “Come on, man, I’m trying to sleep here!” he cried out.

“No time to sleep now, Jazzy boy,” Dylan Kapowski said. “We can all sleep later. But right now there’s no time to waste! We’ve got to take advantage of the situation and by God, that’s what we’re going to do tonight!”

“Dude, what are you talking about?” Jazz asked, genuinely not knowing what the hell is going on.

“Do you know what day it is?” George Katatonoios asked.

“Tuesday,” Jazz replied groggily.

“And do you know what’s in store for us today?”

“Honestly, man, I don’t know, really. Don’t we have a break day for today?”

“Exactly, my man,” George replied. “And that’s why, as of tonight, the basketball chapter of the Tuesday Club is back in business!”

Jazz groaned and covered his eyes with his arms. The Tuesday Club was the last thing that he wanted to do right here and right now. All he wanted to do right here and right now was to sleep, sleep, and sleep some more. Abanhfleft may have blown West Phoenicia and Devonta out of the water but that didn’t mean that they didn’t break a sweat doing it. But when he felt Dylan and George tugging at his legs and feet to get him to wake up, Jazz just knew that he was not going to get any sleep tonight.

Jazz Higgs was introduced to the Tuesday Club by Leo Baxter a few months ago, during the 2020 FBA All-Star Weekend in Porcusces, Ceneisis. It was a sign of how basketball was still more popular than soccer-football in the Democratic Republic when the Fleftic Premier League and the Ladies’ Premier League played their matches in the middle of the week instead of the weekend so that they wouldn’t clash with the All-Star Weekend and steal some of its viewers. A lot of athletes and celebrities had made their way to Porcusces to watch the All-Star Weekend and to also be seen there. Going to the All-Star Weekend as a celebrity or athlete and being seen there was almost a status symbol among them, a sign that they had finally made it into the big time.

Jazz had come to the All-Star Weekend as part of both the Rising Stars Skills Challenge and the All-Star Game. In the Rising Stars Skills Challenge, Jazz beat the likes of Bartholomew “Bart” Higum (of Thereisnogodistan Community College and now the Mereilles Meerkats), Napoleon Celis (of Releinthi National and State College and now the Markovsky Tsars), Morris Felton (of the University of Santa Magdalena and now the Wanda Island Magic), Ruben Zafra Vasquez (of Ceneisis Naval Academy and now the Porcusces Port Boys) and Yuhym Koszakov (also of TCC and now the Port Thimpodopoulos Seabees) among others on his way to winning the title. To celebrate the occasion, Leo had led Jazz to a bar in Porcusces where, to his great surprise, Jazz saw the rest of the Mythical Five of Riuwiee State’s basketball team along with the other Mythical Five of Riuwiee State’s women’s soccer team (Chelsea Stuart, Alexandra Rousseau, Allison Torres, Lillian Prescott, and Adelaide Singh). And just like that, Jazz Higgs came to know the Tuesday Club.

The Tuesday Club, Jazz was told, started as a way for the Riuwiee State alumni to get together on their free days after they all graduated and went pro (actually, it was the girls who thought up of the idea first and then they called the boys to join them almost as an afterthought). It started as just ten members (Chelsea, Alex, Sonny, Lilly, Addie, Leo, Newt, Jan, Boris, and Dylan) and then after a few months, the girls began inviting their fellow teammates with the Fleftic women’s national soccer team. The boys took this as a sign that they could invite their teammates from the Fleftic national basketball team into the club as well. Soon the Tuesday Club as it became known (due to the fact that their first meetings took place almost always on a Tuesday) had established a rough set of rules with regards of eligibility for membership: first, only a member of the Tuesday Club could invite a person into the club. Second, the invitee must be or have been part of a Fleftic national team in any sport before they could be considered for invitation into the Tuesday Club. Third and finally, the other members of the Tuesday Club had the right to accept or reject the invitee as a member. Sometimes, though, the girls bent the rules with regards to Rule Two and invited foreigners into the Tuesday Club on the reasoning that these invitees were or had been part of their respective nations’ national teams.

When Jazz first encountered the Tuesday Club under Leo Baxter’s guidance, he was immediately met by what Jazz initially thought of as George Katatonoios and his twin. And then Jazz remembered that George Katatonoios didn’t have a twin, and the “twin” subsequently introduced himself as Ibrahim Ahmadinejad of the Abanhfleft Revolution and the Verbergerkinnh Cubs. They really did have an uncanny resemblance to each other, Jazz thought to himself. He’d seen all the memes and the gossip sites saying so but hadn’t really believed them until he had seen the proof for himself. Then along came Cecilia Johnson and her namesake and self-declared “twinnie” Cecilia Cuvimi of the national women’s lacrosse team. Seeing all those doppelgangers of famous people in just a few minutes was more than enough to overwhelm poor little Jazz Higgs.

It seemed like the entire Tuesday Club was in attendance in that little bar in Porcusces. Jazz saw almost everyone in the national basketball team, the women’s national soccer team, and even a few players from other sports that Jazz had heard of but didn’t really know very well, like the aforementioned Ibrahim Ahmadinejad and Cecilia Cuvimi. But there were also a fair few foreigners in the mix, players from Pridnestrovia, Oontaz, Copper Cuprum, and the Fhulghamous Peninsula (which has its own national soccer team, by the way). But the person which really attracted Jazz’s attention was young Alisandra Vacek, then still of Sporting Club de Ceneisis Women. The attraction wasn’t any sort of infatuation or anything like it; rather, Jazz had heard about Allie’s situation in Throckmorton Bridge and was curious to know what was going on. But before he could get any further with asking any questions, Sonny Torres gently laid a hand on Jazz’s shoulder and persuaded him not to talk anything about football and sports around Allie tonight. It had been a difficult week in Mereilles; Ceneisis Women had lost to Rosenpfelblatz City Ladies 3-2 despite two goals from Allie and manager Tullio Zorzalo finally giving her the freedom to do what she wanted both on and off the pitch. Allie had had a spectacular meltdown after the game and verbally berated every staff member of the club within range. It was actually a miracle that Allie had been convinced to come down to Porcusces for the All-Star Weekend with the rest of the Tuesday Club.

After the All-Star Weekend had ended and Jazz Higgs had been formally inducted into the Tuesday Club, Jazz wondered where things had gone wrong with Allie and Ceneisis. Being a basketball fan from Fleftic Antarctica, Uranium City in particular, Jazz had a somewhat unbiased view of Allie Vacek’s departure from Ceneisis. If the Internet was to be believed (and Jazz had learned early on from both Leo Baxter and Newt Isaacs that not everything on the Internet was the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth) Allie Vacek was a player who thrived on being allowed to do her own thing. She had gone to Abanhfleft in the hopes that such a move would boost her career as well as give her a nice fat paycheck but when she arrived here, she was surprised to be treated as just another cog, another component in a massive team, and her performance duly suffered from it. It was the “special” (or in any case “regular”) treatment of her which had apparently forced her on another move away from the country.

All Jazz could think about the whole thing was that he was glad he wasn’t Allie Vacek. Sure, it would have been good to have the kind of talent that she had which was honestly once in a generation, but Jazz found it personally hard to do what he was instructed to do by the team plays with his own comparably average talent. He had led the Uranium City Nukes to their first ever FBA championship, sure, but he wasn’t sure he could have done it if he had just been told to do whatever he liked. Maybe that was the difference between people like Jazz and people like Allie. People like Jazz needed the structures of team play to fall back on when the going got tough, but people like Allie need to be left to do as they please if they wanted to thrive.

Back in the present day, Jazz Higgs had reluctantly taken a warm shower just for the sake of Dylan Kapowski and George Katatonoios, who wouldn’t stop badgering him to get awake and join the Tuesday Club already. Jazz then threw on a Rebolusyonaryos team hoodie over his street clothes and then he joined Dylan and George out of the room and into the hotel lobby, where the rest of the Tuesday Club who were also with the current national team (Leo Baxter, Jan Harris, Boris Barry, and Newt Isaacs) were waiting for them. “So, boys, what do you say we hit the first place we see and then crawl from one place to the next after that?” Leo asked.

“Sounds like a very shit, aka good, plan,” Newt, Leo’s second-in-command-in-all-but-name, replied.

“That settles it, then. Let’s go, boys!”

We must look like we came out of an early millennium music video, Jazz thought as he joined the rest of the Tuesday Club boys out of the hotel and into the street. An early millennium boy band music video, to be exact. There was just something funny in the way the others walked and strutted their stuff down this Olulawi street as they went in search of their first bar to hit that Jazz found it almost surreal. The boys had a right to show their swag on this street. They were, after all, world-famous basketball players and, as of two years ago, world champions of basketball. Jazz felt both elated and still surprised to be in their presence, their company.

“This looks like a good place, guys,” George Katatonoios said as they pulled level to a small but friendly-looking bar. “Shall we?” he asked, extending his hand from his waist like a posh place’s doorman.

The boys entered the Tuesday Club and immediately took in the atmosphere. It was the sort of place where people could drink and have a good time, and for tonight, it was a good starting place for the Tuesday Club’s pub crawl. Newt Isaacs immediately ordered beers for the boys as they settled themselves in front of the bar and set to watching the highlights from what was now basically last night as it was now past midnight in this part of the country. Jazz was treated to a repeat of his spectacular alley-oop from Newt Isaacs for Abanhfleft on their way to a 95-62 demolishing of the United States of Devonta. “That’s a proper mad slam dunk if I ever saw one,” Newt said as they absorbed the highlights.

“Yo, Jazz!” a voice suddenly cried out behind him. Jazz turned around in surprise and saw two people wearing the purple and lime jackets of the Saint Kanye Surge walking up towards him. “Am I supposed to know you guys?” Jazz asked with what he hoped was hesitation and uncertainty rather than arrogance.

“Look, Jazz, man, relax, we’re not here for anything other than a couple of drinks with some friends,” one of the Surge players said. He then held out his hand and introduced himself. “Victor McLain, brother man,” he said. “And this here is Brock Dotson. Let me just say that it is an honor to finally meet another championship-winning Yeezie even though I have to admit that you’re not really playing for the right colors.”

“Aw, man, I don’t know what to say, really,” Jazz said, his mind working on overdrive to come up with words that would make him sound as pleasant as possible without insulting anyone’s sensibilities. “I would have played for the Surge if they asked me, I really would. But Abanhfleft came calling for me first, and Abanhfleft is also where I learned to play the game. I just want to repay what they gave me.”

“Well, if you say it like that, no one can really argue with you about it, can we?” McLain asked with a jovial laugh. “Well, it’s been nice meeting you guys. I really look forward to the time when we’ll get to play each other again.”

“May it happen in the final of the IBC,” Leo Baxter said as he, Jazz, and the rest of the Tuesday Club shook hands with the visiting Surge players. “Well, that was nice,” he said as the Kanyeans departed. “Looks like the rivalry between us and Saint Kanye has finally turned civil. You better not mess this up again, Newt,” he said.

“It was just one tweet, man!” Newt said back with exaggerated movements of his body. “How was I to know that one tweet I made in what I admit to be the heat of the moment would spark a firestorm and a very big rivalry?”

“Well, the fact remains that dehado pa rin tayo laban sa kanila,” Boris Barry said. “We’ve still got a piss-poor record against Saint Kanye. Some people still say that the only reason we won IBC 21 was because the Yeezies had a monumental collapse at the group stage and that’s how we were able to make it to the final.”

“Yeah, whatever, man.” The Tuesday Club then slid off of their stools and began wandering around the bar. Eventually they found a set of pool tables, some of which were occupied and others which were just playing for someone to play on them. “Who’s up for a round of 9-ball?” Leo asked the crowd gathered around the pool tables. One guy out of an identical-looking group of five stepped forward from his group. He was wearing a white, grey, and black jacket with a sheep logo on the left breast. “Sure, I’ll play you,” he said.

“All right, man, challenge accepted,” Leo said. “I have to warn you, though, I’m a little bit rusty, so I might have to get used to this all over again.”

“I’ll bite. Game on.” The Spaamian player and Leo took out two cue balls and then pushed them with their sticks as hard as they could. The Spaamian player’s cue got back to him first so he had the first turn. He laid out the faux-ivory balls on the table, put them in the triangle thing and shaped them into a diamond formation, and then he lined up both the cue and the balls with his stick and then made the break. The one-ball (the yellow one) and the six-ball (the green one) fell into the pockets and the Spaamian immediately sought the two-ball and lined up for the shot. His shot had been ambitious, though, because the cue ball was so far from the two-ball as to be almost on two separate continents. The cue hit the two-ball, sure, but not with enough force to send it into the right corner pocket.

“My turn,” Leo said, and then he sunk the two-ball with ease. He then did the same with the three- and four-balls, and then he executed a fancy trick shot to send the five-ball into the left side pocket. As he was doing this, George Katatonoios was taking bets from the other people in their small group watching the pool game. As he did that, the group separated a little to admit three new members.

Jazz had to admit that he hadn’t seen these people before. They seemed familiar and yet he couldn’t immediately put a finger on where he had seen them before. He looked at their jackets and saw an unfamiliar blue flag on their chests. One of the trio happened to be a woman and Jazz found himself waving a hand at her. She waved back coyly and then the trio settled into watching the game of pool. Jazz also turned his attention back to the game. It so happened that both Leo and the Spaamian player was having difficulty in shooting the eight-ball as it had ended up in one of the most inopportune places that a pool player could possibly have, right on the side of the table. Attempts by both Leo and the Spaamian had so far proved fruitless in either dislodging the eight-ball or getting the cue into a more usable position. Eventually though, Leo got the lucky break and shot the eight-ball straight into the corner pocket, and after that it was a simple job of sending the nine-ball into another corner pocket for Leo to win the game. There was some applause as Leo gratefully received the winnings from George and handed them out to those who had bet on him to win. “Two out of three,” the Spaamian player offered.

“Sure, if you say so,” Leo agreed even as he was already setting up the table once again. And then from the other side of the pool room, someone said to someone else, “Care for a game of chess?” Jazz’s attention was immediately taken to the other side where one of the newcomers in the jackets with the blue flags was talking to someone who was wearing what looked like an officially issued team jacket as well, although Jazz couldn’t see from which country this other guy belonged.

“I’m sorry, what?” the guy in the blue jacket asked in a state of confusion.

“Chess, you know,” the man repeated. “What you mentioned in your post-game interview.”

“Ooh, looks like we’ve got something better going on here,” Leo muttered to the rest of the Tuesday Club.

“Let’s see how this plays out,” Jan Harris said in agreement. One of the blue-jacketed players, whom Jazz belatedly recognized as being from that new nation called the Empire of Cats (and the player in question was a guy named Patrick Morris) had sat down across a table with a chess set from the guy who had made the challenge. “A hundred bucks says that guy can cash the checks his mouth writes him,” Jan told Newt Isaacs.

“Call,” Newt said. “Make it two hundred bucks for me and the Catsian guy will sweep the floor with this guy with the hurricane-force winds coming out of his trap.”

“Shall I collect the bets again?” George Katatonoios asked. Abanhfleft had its own currency, the new penenk, and while it had a somewhat favourable exchange rate with the NS dollar (currently pegged at 3.50 penenks for 1 NSD) the NS dollar was rapidly becoming the second-most-used currency in the Democratic Republic, practically legal tender alongside the new penenk.

Jazz knew about chess and had played a few games himself but he wouldn’t consider himself an average chess player, and certainly he knew that he was far from being able to even think about considering himself a chess master, but even he knew that the way that Patrick Morris was playing had set him up for a very hard loss. He had only a few pieces left while his opponent had lost about all of his pawns and little else. “Want to concede?” the opponent asked.

“You know,” Patrick Morris said, “at times like this I’m inclined to remember Julius Caesar.”

“I’m sorry, what?” It was obvious by the look on the opponent’s face that he had no clue what Patrick Morris was talking about. This statement resulted in some quiet laughter from the rest of the crowd but there were a few faces who were similarly unknowing of Patrick Morris’ words as the opponent, including one of the guys from Saint Kanye.

“You know Caesar, right?” Patrick Morris asked.

“Yes, of course I do,” the opponent replied. “Why?”

“Because I came…” Patrick Morris positioned his rook so that he was now checking the opponent’s king. “I saw… And I conquered.” Patrick Morris placed his remaining knight down. “Checkmate.”

“Holy shit,” Leo Baxter muttered. “That was absolutely wicked, if I may say so.”

“How… how did you do that?” the opponent asked in mixed rage and disbelief. “You were losing!”

“It is best if you let your opponent think he has an advantage,” Patrick Morris said nonchalantly. “It makes him overconfident. You may have had the training but not the foresight to see three moves ahead. Now, can I buy you all beers?” he asked the crowd.

“Damn right you will!” Leo Baxter cried out, to the pleased surprise of the crowd. “I’ll be damned if I haven’t seen anything quite like that before! You, sir, are a grandmaster if I ever saw one!”

As the group dispersed and the Tuesday Club were able to confer with each other once again, Leo said, “Looks like we’re going up against a chess master.”

“Whatcha mean by that, brother?” Newt Isaacs asked him.

“Patrick Morris from the Empire of Cats is a chess master,” Leo clarified. “Or at least he thinks like a chess master. I’ve always been told that chess masters like to think at least three moves ahead, and he already said so himself that that’s what he does. We have to be careful when it comes to the Empire of Cats, if I may say so. Not only do they have the determination to make something out of this campaign but it looks like they’ve got someone with the equipment to make it happen.”

“How do you suggest we make it happen, Leo?” Dylan Kapowski asked.

“I’ve never really been that much into chess myself,” Leo admitted. “But there are only two ways to deal with those who think ahead: either we think further than they do or we don’t actually think about what’s next at all. It’s not guaranteed to work, I have to tell you, but I’m just setting out options for us to do when we finally face them.”

“Not much of a plan,” Newt Isaacs admitted. “I still like it. I think we can do it.”

by **The Iron Syndicate** » Wed Apr 05, 2017 9:01 am

Enigma

Chapter Five

The city of Luxus was something else. Even though all of the islands in the Syndicate had megacities, it wasn't often that you would see one that was as bright and alive as the casino capital of the islands, the city that had flashing signs and crisp and clear electronic billboards on every building and at every corner. If sensory overload could be personified as a city, this was what it would look like. As the hovercraft that Sol Star was taking into the city neared the landing pad at the IronSoft Building, they got closer and closer to the massive buildings, and Sol was able to see just how alive this city was compared to somewhere like Portus, which was still a massive metropolis, but was less in your face about it.

They passed a billboard going into the city that looked like it was the size of a mountain, advertising some TV company and bragging about the new deal that they were offering to new customers. On the other side of them, there was a slightly smaller but still huge billboard that was for IronSoft, the company that had chose this place as the odd capital of a technology empire. It was advertising their phones, and reminding customers of the new operating system that was launching in a few weeks. As they went through this valley and passed both of those billboards, the downtown area got closer and closer and Sol was able to see the casinos that dominated the skyline and were iconic in their own right.

Those buildings were just as big as the ones that could be found in the Portus financial district, but just like everything else in Luxus, they were far more overstated. They weren't just there, but they seemed to scream for you to come to them, with flashing displays and neon lights and 4K advertising boards that displayed numbers telling anyone who looked at them how much money had been won today. There were also the resorts, which were always bunched together with the casinos, and they too were in the business of using bright lights to get the attention of potential customers. But when everyone had bright lights, you needed more to really stand out. The architecture was what many of these buildings used to be noteworthy, with one resort being shaped like a rose and the casino next to it modeling itself after a towering spire.

All the while, there were still pedestrians on the streets that looked like ants from up in the sky, but even though they were small, it was easy to tell how busy the main roads in this city were. Finally, though, they descended closer to the ground and landed on the landing pad that was built into the side of the IronSoft Building, and when the engine of the hovercraft ceased and the doors opened, there was a welcoming party waiting outside for them. “Welcome to Luxus,” said the woman who was at the front of that welcoming party. “My name is Sara, and I'm going to be your guide while you stay here. If you have any questions about the city, or about the Luxus Dolphins, feel free to ask them.”

“I was told that Quinn Kelly would be meeting me?” Sol asked, referring to the CEO that owned this building and the Luxus Dolphins basketball team. He also looked over Sara, noticing how she was dressed up in provocative fashion with a very short black dress that showed skin that was artificially smooth. So maybe it was true, what they said about girls in Luxus and how the city was a good place for a star athlete who had no family commitment.

Sara smiled, and nodded as she waved Sol to follow her and the rest of the group inside. “Yes, Mr. Kelly is waiting in the garage for you. I'm sure he’ll be very happy that you've arrived on time, he's a very precise type of person.”

There was something odd about her, even though she was definitely beautiful and one of the better looking women that Sol had come across. Still, he followed her, and the others, as they went through a massive pair of sliding doors and then walked down a hallway and into an elevator. They went down to a few floors off of ground level, and then made their way down yet another hallway to another large door that had the word ‘GARAGE’ written on it. Sara scanned an ID card to open it, and stepped inside along with the others. The place was impressive, even for someone who had seen plenty of nice cars.

The cars were organized into rows based on type, and there were plenty of them in total. Every kind was present, from muscle cars to sports cars to luxury trucks to cheaper looking sedans, and a few older models were mixed in for added measure. There was actually one stock car there, too, as well as another racing car that looked like it had been stolen from Formula S. And walking the rows and admiring his own collection was Quinn Kelly, the one who owned everything here and seemingly owned everyone, too. “Sol! It's nice to see you here. I see Dustin did his job and convinced you to consider this team,” he said, a grin spreading on his face when he noticed the newcomers. “I could've just done what every team would do when recruiting you, and take you to the arena and have the staff and players give you some spiel on why we’re the best, but I've never been about that. I figured you'd want to see first hand what the city is like, and you have to leave the arena to do that. They all look the same on the inside, you know.”

He paused, turning to the rest of the group. “Wait a minute,” he added, and then he approached Sara and the others with a curious look in his eye. “Enter hibernation,” he commanded, and everyone in the group except for him and Sol froze in place, standing perfectly still as if time had just stopped. Some were frozen in mid movement, others had been standing still, but none of them would be moving now. For a minute, Sol thought that this man had frozen time.

“What just happened?”

“Before you ask, I don't have time powers, but I do have some power over my creations,” chuckled Quinn, looking over the group of people that was now standing perfectly still and not moving or breathing at all. “What did you think of Sara and company? I'm always interested in knowing where I have to improve things.”

“Uh, she seems nice, she's obviously very beautiful too, but something seemed off about her that I couldn't put my finger on. In hindsight, I think it might have been her movements, they just seemed a little bit rigid,” Sol stated. “But if you're telling me that she's not human, than that would make sense. Is she some kind of new android model that looks like a human?”

“You've got it. The tech’s been around forever, but this is the first time really that it's been advanced enough that we can make an android that can do anything a human can without being recognized as, well, not being human,” explained Quinn. “Sara here is really impressive, actually, because she's operating with a newer model of a robot brain that's based on a mapped out version of a human one, but with more connections and more density. In other words, she thinks like a human, but faster. We're still working on some things, though, like making the movement more natural and human like. That's one of the things that others have complained about, but we’ll have that fixed soon enough. Sara, wake up.”

The android moved out of her frozen state, though she didn't seem to notice that she had been in one in the first place. “She’ll be coming with us on our little ride around town,” Quinn said, as he started walking to one of his SUVs that was parked near the end of the garage. “Like her enough, and you can take her back on your national team travels, that works out fine for me because I'm still trying to diagnose problems with these androids before the tech goes public. But I'm going to be honest, android technology is not the reason why I called you here. Basketball is part of the reason, but not the entire one. I'll explain while we're driving… Come on, it's time to go for a ride.”

by **Empire of Cats** » Wed Apr 05, 2017 9:23 am

The Adventures of the Musketeers: More Than Just A Layup

Olulawi (Day 5, OFF) - William Tull was worried. Of course, anybody who knew William could tell you that he was always worried: about games he played, about opponents, about whether he was doing something worthwhile with his life, about what women thought of him...the list was long and it was evident to most that he just was like that. It didn't seem to affect his life or the way he played, in fact, he was one of the most steady shots on the court.

But this time, he was truly worried, and it wasn't just him. Patrick Morris, his teammate, was also worried, but the word he used was "concerned". In other words, he was worried but he just hadn't admitted that he was yet. So was Ray'Shaun Young, and Coach Bell. Heck, the whole team was "concerned". And it wasn't just because they were slipping in the standings.

The problem was Teresa Rolde.

Technically, nothing was actually wrong with her. She was still making big plays and poured her heart into games. She put in work and was always there for practice. But lately, she had been acting strangely. She never seemed to be around and was always late for meals. She said she got caught up with things: sleeping in late or reading the Kardashia Kibitzer and forgetting the time, and the like. In short, she was becoming secretive and she was not a secretive person.

William stood in a corridor across from Teresa's room, arms crossed and leaning against the wall. Patrick sat nearby, waiting with William for Teresa to appear. This business needed to be clarified and they intended to do just that.

With a start, William looked up as Teresa walked out of her room. She wasn't facing him and was on her phone.

"....Yeah, that might work. Yep. I'll see what I can do! Talk to you later. Bye."

As she got off her phone, William spoke up. "What do you need to see to?"

Teresa jumped as high as if she was about to perform one of her slam dunks and wheeled towards William. "Ohmygod! William! You scared me!" She leaned against the wall, catching her breath. Patrick walked up beside William. Teresa looked at them with an arched eyebrow.

"Okay, boys, what's up?"

"We'd like to know why you've been acting like...this," guestured William. "You're suddenly all secretive and sneaky. When we were training, the only time you'd stay away is if we had a game the next day. You being this secretive is not who you are."

"I'm not sure I understand..."

"Oh, come on, Teresa. We're teammates. We know each other. Even when we play against each other back home, we know what most players are like. This isn't you. We're concerned for you, Teresa," interjected Patrick. "If there's something wrong, you can trust us to be here for you. We're in this together, Res," he continued in a soft voice, using Teresa's nickname. "We're only as strong as our weakest link. C'mon."

"That's really sweet, Patrick." Teresa said with a smile.

William picked up from there. "With that in mind, is there something you want to tell us?"

"I should report you two for harassment!" teased Teresa, shaking her head. "Alright, fine, you win. But if I agree to tell you you need to keep it under your caps, 'K?"

The other two Musketeers nodded.

"Remember that accidental bar meeting we had with all those players when we were out on the town that one night?"

"Yes," said William slowly.

"Well, after the game of chess you played, Patrick, I got acquainted with some of the players from other nations. And so I decided to...procure some of their...contact information."

"You got their phone numbers?" Patrick whistled. "Res, you are bold."

"I have a right to appreciate fine-looking men from any nation," she replied with a grin and an eye roll.

"All for the spirit of international brotherhood, I'm sure." William felt a tinge of...of....well, anyway, something wasn't sitting well with him about that for some reason. But if Res wanted to meet some other men, who was he to stop her?

"So who've you been talking to?"

"Jazz Higgs from Abanhfleft and McLain from Saint Kanye. They're really nice guys."

"As your captain," grinned Patrick while drawing himself to his full height, "I need to establish some ground rules."

"What, for me?" She blinked innocently.

"First, no drinking. Second, no staying up past eight - we need you well rested. Third, no leading anybody on. The last thing we need is you dropping games because you're focused on Hunky Hotstuff instead of the game. And finally, be nice to them. Don't play "which one should I choose" with them. They deserve better than that," he said while pacing around like a military captain. "You understand?"

Teresa saluted him, keeping in line with the military theme. "Yes SIR! I aim to comply with stated orders, SIR!" She couldn't keep from laughing, though. William, however, had no doubt that she would do as Patrick had said. "Don't worry, Patrick. We're all just friends. I won't ruin my reputation by acting like a - you know," she rolled her eyes again. "Because I'm not that kind of woman. But if they want to flirt, who am I to not allow them their own dreams besides world championships?"

Patrick dropped the air with a smile, but his face became dead serious. "I like Jazz and Victor. They're good men and I have no objections about your talking with them. But don't let it become an obsession. We need you HERE, and if it does become an issue you'll need to put your team first. Understand?"

Teresa nodded. "My team and my country will come first. I promise. This won't distract me from our job to do." William could see in her face that she was dead serious as well. He admired her ability to separate her career from her personal life.

"All right then, shall we get a bit to eat? You can tell us all about your friends..."

"You know what? That sounds great. I hear that O'Reilley's has some good fare for lunch..."

by **Drawkland** » Wed Apr 05, 2017 4:50 pm

NET CORPS UNDEFEATED AT HALFWAY
Written By: Cole Bretts and Amos Peterson

RECENT RESULTS
FROM GROUP A:
Drawkland 86-79 Nova Anglicana
New Lusitania and the Algarves 90-84 Soltsteed
Nova Anglicana 84–63 New Lusitania and the Algarves
Abaja 58–61 Drawkland
New Lusitania and the Algarves 86-94 Abaja
Soltsteed 73-79 Nova Anglicana
Abaja 87-68 Soltsteed
Drawkland 79-54 New Lusitania and the Algarves
Soltsteed 74-94 Drawkland
Nova Anglicana 72-80 Abaja
Group A                              Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
1 Drawkland                            4    4   0   320  265  +55    12
2 Abaja                                4    3   1   319  287  +32     9
3 Nova Anglicana                       4    2   2   314  302  +12     6
4 New Lusitania and the Algarves       4    1   3   293  337  −44     3
5 Soltsteed                            4    0   4   299  350  -51     0

"oh god, what's that? The IBC group stage is halfway over already? It actually started? Shit, I guess we have to put out an article. Who in their right mind would schedule the IBC to run concurrently with the NSCAA? Who's in charge of that whack-ass organization anyway?

Oh, somebody from DISC? Makes complete sense. The fuckers."

IBC 23
That's right Net Corps fans, the Drawkian National Basketball Team is back at it again in International Basketball Championships 23, dual-hosted by Abaja and Qasden! WOOT!
"They finally got to host an event? About time. They certainly both deserve it."
In this edition, Drawkland is looking to finally not only have a group stage finish which will allow them to make it to the playoffs without a last-matchday miracle, but actually make it past the Round of 16. You'd think that'd be an easy task, but they're not ranked 17th for nothing. We ask you to flashback a moment. IBC 19, in Valladares. Drawkland didn't get out of the group stage, shockingly, their first time out. They pretty much only had 2 wins. Not a great start, amirite?

Well, let's then think about next time, IBC 20, in Ceni. That was crazy. With only one matchday to go in the group, Drawkland was sitting in 4th with a 2-2 record. To face last they had Valanora, sitting at 3-1 in 2nd. And they barely, barely managed to beat out the elves (a mere 30 points haha amirite), and Kaboomlandia (the other 2-2 team), lost to the Unranked Bendicion by 4 points to launch Drawkland into their first playoffs in the IBC. They were the worst team in the playoffs by record, and got swept in the Round of 16 by the top-performing Royal Kingdom of Quebec. Whoops.

IBC 21 wasn't as bad. With home court advantage, they went through the group stage easily, getting 2nd place with an 8-2 record. Awesome! The Net Corps was finally showing a glimmer of skill and proficiency on the court. And with home advantage, who could stop them? Hell, they stomped the famed Vangaziland in the first match of the Round of 16. Let's go Net Corps! Title contenders! Oh wait, let's lose 2 in a row by about 20 points each in the heart of Drawkland.

Whatever. We're so much better now! We can totally do good in IBC 22! That's what everyone was thinking, of course. They ended up barely getting in, thanks to a last-matchday win which allowed them to break the 3-way tie for first and qualify for the playoffs. That's fine. We were even in first place in the group! Who cares if we have the worst first-place record, we'll probably face some chumps like ... like Abaja! Yeah, we can beat those Lions. Who even are they? Noobs, that's what they are. We'll beat them easily and- oh, it's single elimination? Oh, we lost by a buzzer-beating 3-pointer? 76-74? Oh, okay, that's fine. Whatever. See if we care.

So you know what, this time, IBC 23, we'll truly prove ourselves. Let's break into the Top 10 rankings! Hell yeah! We're gonna go out and- oh, we have to play in Abaja? Oh, Abaja is in our group?

Shit. Let's see how this goes. Oh wait, you read the article title. This is going great!!
"No, Amos, I literally don't care if the opening section is just me unprofessionally ranting. What are they gonna do? Fire me? I'll just pull a Rachel Davis on them. Yeah, I have connections in Newmanistan, why do you ask? Yes, that's MUCH more important than paying attention to the IBC. Actually, literally get out of here. I'll find some other co-writer next article if this is such a big deal to you!"

vs NOVA ANGLICANA
"Alright, sweet, first match was against Nova Anglicana. This should be a breeze. Just gonna check for the roste- wait, where's their roster? Yes, I checked the roster page. There's no roster for Nova. Yeah, I checked it twice. Dude, I swear I did. I read through the entire press page and there's not- yes, I told you, it's not there. That makes no sense. I thought of all the teams in the groups, NOVA would have posted a roster. Now what? No, I'm not going to rewatch the game film and read the back of their shirts. You can do that. What, you don't want to? That's what I thought. Should I just make it up based on last edition's roster? What do you mean that's unprofessional? God, you're a prick.

Nova Anglicana, despite being ranked 30th in the IBC, were not a team to underestimated. They've done well in previous editions and all. But lately they've fallen to the wayside. And the Net Corps took advantage of this, pulling 7 points over them by the end, a solid 86-79 showing. The player of the game was undoubtedly Gerald Madison, who put in some mighty fine points from the paint, and was great at driving into the basket against the Anglicananannanianaans. Cody Morgan, the Net Corps coach, was quite pleased with the game the team put up, saying that it boded well for the rest of the group stage. Judging by these results, we agree.

vs ABAJA
Now, nobody would expect the most crucial game of the tournament to be on Matchday 2 of the group stage. But for thousands of Drawkian fans at home and on the road, the match against hosts Abaja was undoubtedly the most important. Out in Kingston, Abaja, in Eyeugbé Arena, the crowd was absolutely berserk. A grudge match for the ages, the confident side from Drawkland returning after a buzzer-beater embarrassment from IBC 22. Time to avenge the Round of 16 loss. And boy did they do just that.

The player of the game was Darren Roser, who is one of the two Drawkian players who play their regular seasons in Abaja (the other being Alan Dunbar, who isn't a member of the Net Corps). Playing for the Jabola Boom (who are honestly quite shit), Roser is definitely used to playing against Abajans, recognizing the playing style of not only individual players, but the overall style of the team. Despite Gerald Madison being the de facto captain of the Corps, Roser took control for this match, directing the team to play effectively against the defensive Abaja tactics. The final scoreline, 58-61, was close, and the 3-point gap was really not representative of the game, which featured massive back-and-forth action, each team getting a sizeable lead on the other (7 by Drawkland at one point and 8 by Abaja at another). It wasn't until the final few seconds that Drawkland pulled away. Tied at 58-58, the Net Corps was going in to score while sucking up as much time as possible. With 10 seconds left, Roser went up to make a layup shot, and was fouled by Joseph Olu going up to the basket. The ball, however, still went in, giving him the And-1, and the crowd going wild. He easily drained the free throw, and the Lions just couldn't mount an effective offense, Jacob Nessal bouncing a 3-point shot which was rebounded by the Net Corps to end the game. Drawkians everywhere were ecstatic, not only at the payback match, but at the second straight win of the group stage.

vs NEW LUSITANIA and THE ALGARVES
Oh, not this name again. These guys are everywhere now. Why is their name so long? And why haven't they submitted a roster? Christ, this makes me want to die.

After a Matchday 3 bye, Drawkland came back in Matchday 4 to face New Lucid Dreams and All the Gravies. Silly name, I know. These newbies to the international scene (everywhere, not just basketball) were not as impressive as some of their colleges who've pulled fluke wins against Drawkian colleges. I know this because Drawkland pulled 25 points, their largest margin of IBC 23, on those poor tropical (we think) players. It's hard to talk about specific player-to-player matchups when the other team's players are unknown, but hey. We do know that our players were very effective at the passing game, and that Taveon Holland had a field day, draining 3s alongside Autumn Trallen and playing really good blocking defense.

"God, I hate this. I feel like I'm writing like Rachel Davis. Okay, yeah, I know you don't know who she is. Maybe next time at the International Journalists Convention I could introduce you two.
She seems like your type. Boring and 'professional.' You know who'd make a fantastic Drawkian journalist? Taylor Larsen. Too bad she lives in Newmanistan. Did you see her bikini pictures? I should get her number. You're right, I should also finish this article. Oh wait, another roster-free team. Kill me now."

vs SOLTSTEED
Predictably, another unranked unknown team was crushed by the Drawkian machine which apparently exists now. A 20-point margin, with Drawkland's best offensive showing of this tournament (94 points), was quite exciting for the fans. I'll take this opportunity to suggest that you go and take a weekend vacation to Abaja, and cheer on the Net Corps for a little bit! Abaja is only in the West Pacific, which isn't far at all from- wait, where the hell is The West Pacific? Wait, weren't Abaja in United Valhaven like a couple months ago? What the hell? I dunno, just get tickets to Abaja at the airport or spaceport and hope you get there eventually.

PREDICTIONS, OTHER GROUPS
So, with this currently undefeated showing of the Net Corps, we think they'll probably win the group, if not sweep it entirely (with Abaja likely getting 2nd place). And then, with a top seed, they'll be able to avoid Saint Kanye as long as possible, hopefully able to fluke past them into the Final.

Hah, fat chance. They'll probably make it past the Round of 16 this time.

Pff, who are we kidding? Let's take some more L's, boys and girls. What's happening in the other groups?

Group B contains Saint Kanye. They will win the group. Free Republics and Cosumar are both doing mediocre in the group, and we imagine one of them (probably Cosumar) will pull it out and slide into second place.
Group C features Ceni on top, undefeated, with West Saintland and Flardania close on their heels. Ceni will definitely make it through, and it won't be too hard to guess that West Saintland will advance, probably.
Group D, the last of the Abajan groups, has undefeated newbies The Iron Syndicate doing quite well for some reason. That's intimidating. I read their blurb on Google. Apparently they think they have the largest space empire, which is wrong. Drawkland has the largest space empire. Drawkland is stronk. Drawkland will whoop their asses. But nobody else in Group D will. Between Purple Rabbits, Valanora, and Vettrera (the latter 2 which Drawkland have rawrcrushed in past group stages), we think Valanora's elves will pull into second place.
Group E, the first of the Qad groups, features Vangaziland in first. Somehow. They're definitely going to make it through the group stage. In second right now is Frenline Delpa, who is the favorite to advance in the second place talk. We are not legally allowed to speak of the nation in fourth place, who we around here like to call "Mustard Meadow."
Group F pits former champions Abanhfleft against several mediocre teams. The new Empire of Cats are looking neat so far, and if they have a good second leg we hope they can get through. West Phoencia deserves death for beating us in the WBC, and will not advance.
Group G has the nations of Newmanistan and Ethane dominating it, and we expect that will continue. Natanians and Nosts as well as Unified Sunrise Islands theoretically have a chance, but we expect that won't last long. The former champs and the current well-doers are our picks to make it through, but necessarily in any order.
Group H, finally, contains hosts Qasden as well as ex-hosts Valladares (remember them? That tournament was fire). They're definitely the favorites to advance. While Spaam seems to have something going for them, their 1-3 record doesn't really reflect that. Maybe on the second leg they can come back and make it through, but we doubt it.

Thanks for reading our round-up! Don't expect much else. Good luck to the Net Corps, maybe they'll make it past the Round of 16!

One can dream, right?

International Basketball Championships 23 (IC Thread)

Net Corps Undefeated at Halfway

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