Banija Men's National Basketball TeamAs presented by the Olympic Committee of BanijaInformationCountry code: BNJ
Denonym: Banijan
Nickname: The Lions
Head Coach: Isaiah Lavaga
Assistant Head Coach: Oscar Laboto
Captain: Amadou Secka
Jerseys designed gratefully by Filindostan!
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Starting LineupPG #2 Amadou Secka. 6'3. 33 years old. Can create his own shot, very quick. Almost automatic from the free throw line. Star player for the Summerside Jets in the Donnacona Basketball Association. Has lost a step physically, but still the team's fearless leader.
Captain.SG #5 Saihou Uster. 6'4. 30 years old. Runs around like crazy, relentless motor. Team's best perimeter defender, team's best spot up shooter. Is a poor isolation player and struggles to create his own shot.
SF #23 Wassa Itraba. 6'6. 34 years old. A poor outside shooter, but quality rebounder, ball handler, and very skilled at taking the ball to the rim. With his age, his offensive abilities have taken a step back but his defensive have taken a step forward, as many say he's essentially the "quarterback" of the Banijan defense.
PF #4 Labanzi Nabongo. 6'7. 29 years old. Third IBC appearance, first as starter. Starred for the Manchester Tigers in the Donnaconna Basketball Association, finishing First-Team All-League, averaging a stunning 35 points per night. Taking over as the team's primary scorer.
C #10 Sadio Bartaba. 6'11. 28 years old. Third IBC appearance, second as a starter. The team's best rebounder and most physical player- the emotional heart of this team.
BenchPG #3 Ibezimako Akabueze. 6'1. 25 years old. Team's 6th man. Second IBC appearance. Led University of Moravica to appearance in NSCAA 10 Championship Game. Known for quick transition plays. Plays for the Outreomt Étoiles in the Donnacona Basketball Association.
C #13 Azmera Gulema. 7'1. 23 years old. Rookie in Banija's professional basketball league. Big rebounder, physical rim protector.
PG/SG #12 Janko Jawo. 6'5. 31 years old. Third IBC appearance. Highly energetic, quality perimeter defender. An offensive liability.
SF #14 Ezekiel Bullo. 6'7, 22 years old. Strong small forward capable of getting to the rim almost at will. He's a crazy good athlete, but he's on the bench because he has poor shot selection, often far too willing to jack up bad shots early in the shot clock. Still young, however, and the heir apparent to starting at the 3.
PF/C #9 Antouman Ceesay. 6'11. 22 years old. Star player for Kizza I College in NSCAA 11. First IBC appearance.
SG #7 Ebrahima Faye. 6'5. 19 years old. Banija's highest rated basketball recruit coming out of high school. Star player for University of Moravica in NSCAA 11. First IBC appearance.
The Closeout lineup is the same as the starting lineup.
Notes: - We almost always play a 1-3-1 zone defense. It works well with this team, which has lots of size, and is getting faster, especially at guard.
- This team is built very different from past teams. They space the floor much better, and though Itraba is a ball stopper, they have spread the floor with a lot of players who can hit jumpers, especially three pointers. They also like to play fast.
- This team will run at almost any chance they get. While rebounding, especially on defense, is the team's weakest link, when they do get a rebound, they are able to push the ball, and so quickly.
- For the group stages, this team's rotation runs 10-12 deep, as they will almost certainly shorten the rotation to 8 players come the knockout stages. But for now, he wants to get everybody playing time, and give the starters rest for the later stages of this tournament.
Recent HistoryThe recent history of the national basketball team, or the Lions, has to start with Banija’s return to the international fray in the 24th IBCs- when they first made a name for themselves on the international stage. With Alonzo Busk hired as the head coach, and their play centered around their star front court players, the pair of 7’2 foot twin brothers, this was a team that won with a front court based game. The two were quality free throw shooters for their size, of course, and they stunned everyone in the IBCs by even getting out of their group, finishing with a 7-3 record in IBC 24 after starting 0-2.
They then made a deep run into the tournament, until they ran into the buzzsaw of St.Kanye- who beat them in the semifinals en route to their third IBC championship in a row. Running into one of the sport’s all-time great teams, things seemed to be looking up for the Lions. And then, came IBC 25- the first time they truly faced disappointment. On home soil, in a tournament co-hosted with Filindostan, they went 10-0 In the group stages, emerging as a favorite to cut down the nets in Filindostan. However, for them, they ran into Drawkland, who stunned Banijan fans by pasting the Lions by 20 on their home floor, en route to winning the tournament themselves.
After that, the team got their first major trophy- winning the Gold medal at the Commonwealth Games for the men. That gave them hope flying into IBC 26, and they did well in that tournament, winning their group for the second straight tournament, this time from Pot 2, and getting into the knockouts. They ran into the defending champs, Drawkland, in the quarterfinals, and that was the end of the run for the Lions.
Three IBCs, three knockout stage appearances, three knockout victories- not a bad run for Alonzo Busk. But it was all a disaster at the Olympics. They went 3-3 in the group stages at the Republica Olympiad, the Savaneh twins swan song with the Lions. And that was it for that iteration of the squad. The Savaneh twins retired, and Alonzo Busk, the head coach, resigned after the Olympiad, saying that it was time for a new era of Banijan basketball to commence.
And IBC 27 was the beginning of the new era. With a new head coach in Isaiah Lavaga, they run a different kind of offense entirely- the team running through a pair of quick, quality guards. They shoot a ton of 3s, and try to stretch the floor- almost the opposite of teams past. And with their #4 ranking in the IBC standings, the expectations for this team are extremely high- with even Lavaga himself saying that anything less than a quarterfinal appearance, with the talent on this team, would be ‘a failure’. This team, though almost getting eliminated in the Round of 16, won four in a row over Valanora and the Royal Kingdom of Quebec(respectively), to run into the Vannish buzzsaw in the semifinals.
The IBC 27 Semifinals, going into which Banija had so much hope, was humbling. Vangaziland is clearly a cut above the rest of the multiverse in terms of basketball skill, and they will be the measuring stick, as the Lions hope to do what the national soccer team did to Vilita- prevent them from winning a third consecutive championship. IBC 28 was another strong start for the Banijans in what was a surprisingly short tournament- just 3 group stage games. They won all their group stage games, and their Round of 16 game to boot, before being upset by the Free Republics in the Quarterfinals.
The team's expectation, of course, is the semifinals. Many think they're kidding themselves- their lost in the IBC 28 Quarters to the Free Republics was humbling, and their group at this tournament is absolutely brutal. However, Lavaga still has high standards for himself and the squad. Can they reach them?
Group E ScheduleMD1: Banija @ Donnacona(UR)
MD2: Banija v. Southwest Eastnorth(UR) @ The Kabaka's Court, in Busukuma, National Capitol Region(capacity of 12,000)
MD3: Banija @ Delaclava(UR)
MD4: Banija @ Valladares(34)
MD5: Banija v. Equestria(11) @ Caribou Arena in Istria, Moravica(capacity of 19,700)
MD6: Banija v. Donnacona(UR) @ Joseph Wilson Arena in Hoima, Ankole(capacity of 19,700)
MD7: Banija @ Southwest Eastnorth(UR)
MD8: Banija v. Delaclava(UR) @ The Aissa Fieldhouse in Aissa, Hangaza(capacity of 11,848)
MD9: Banija v. Valladares(34) @ North Park Arena in Herzegovina City, Moravica(capacity of 14,500)
MD10: Banija @ Equestria(11)