International Basketball Championship 41 - Everything Thread

[Quebec and Shingoryeo]

Quebec and Shingoryeo Men's and Women's National Basketball Teams - IBC 41

The Basketball Quebec, in continuation of its practice also shared by Royal Quebecois Volleyball Federation (RQVF) and Royal Quebecois Football Association (RQFA), is proud to continue its practice of sending mixed teams with expanded rosters to international competitions, even as the QBL and the QWBL gender-separated. In regards to their opponents' preferences to play the men, women or mixed teams will remain flexible in advanced consultation with their opponents (OOC: please read my team information right below).

Team Jerseys

Quebecois Basketball In Nutshell

Considered to be one of the 'Big 3' of indoor sports played in Quebecois winters (Basketball, Hockey and Volleyball, while Handball is a summer sport here), basketball is an extremely popular, well-loved sport in Quebec. With massive attention given to both teams, and all levels of basketball being watched from high school to the international stage, the Quebecois are expected to bring fire and fury to their cheering and jeering game.

After looking at the roster, you may have noticed that the Quebecois national teams are...slightly bigger than usual, with Quebecois women being taller than average and men shorter, even though neither are really Drawkians to start with. There is nothing to deny about how the talent disparity exists between the Quebecois women, one of the best (if not the best) program in Multiverse right now, and the men, who would be at their best in the top 12-13, and that's the way of life.

That said, for where they lack in particular height, the Grim Reapers make up for it with tactical versatility, power and strength, not to mention their ability to maximise rotations. The previously-mentioned disparity of talent between the Quebecois men and the women, as well as the international basketball scene's tendency to have predominant number of national teams be mostly male, had influenced the Quebecois brand of double-squading their tournaments with 16-18 players selected from the 30-player preliminary list to represent Quebec every international window. This is particularly evident in the group stage, where the Quebecois have almost always experimented with any format, and often key starters are rested whenever possible. Once the Quebecois national team enters the elimination round (or in the case of IBC 31 and 35, second group stage), the rotation tends to shrink to around 11 or 12.

For clearer sense of an international window and scheduling, lease see here for domestic-international calendar.

Home Venue: Not needed, as all matches will be played in Ranoria anyways.

Position          Team/Program     Name                     Age STATUS    Affiliation

Program Director  Men              Franck Briere-Bourque     47 RETURN    Basketball Quebec (BQ)
Program Director  Women            Elle Allen-Conroy         43    NEW    Basketball Quebec (BQ)
Head Coach        Senior-M         Ben Rawlyk                43    NEW    Montevicio Lakers (QBL)
Head Coach        Senior-W         Johanna Youngblood-Parker 41 PROMOTED  Queen's College at Cornwall (QIS)
Assistant Coach   Senior-M         Joel Tsukamoto-Lightbody  44    NEW    Saint Benedict's College (QIS)
Assistant Coach   Senior-W         Nam Ji-Woo                69    NEW    Myeongju Lynx (QWBL)
Analyst           Joint            Joh Soo-Yeong             36    NEW    Twin Cities Celtics (QBL)
Trainer           Joint            Jean-Victor Colonna       46 RETURN    Univ. of Prince Raoul Islands (QIS)
Doctor            Joint            Kim Bessette-Wolf         66 RETURN    Montreal Koreana (QBL/QWBL)

Grim Reapers' head Coaches Ben Rawlyk and Johanna Youngblood-Parker have announced the Quebecois national team for the 2070 International Basketball Championships 40, which will fully take place in the Sonnelite nation of Ranoria.

It is needless to say that the last four IBCs have been outstanding, as the Grim Reapers would not only end their fifty years of waiting for their first title, but would win two straight and make the fourth consecutive finals that would run just short of the historical effort.

The first championship team that would win it all in Poafmersia was made possible on the commitment of running back their entire national team, one that both team coaches Allison Dubois and Mirko Lazetic had pledged the sixteen players to sign following their difficult quarterfinal loss to Nova Anglicana in Hannasea. It is true that most of the Silver Generation of talents involving men and women's players - which would include legends Moustapha Niang, Franck Briere-Bourque and Noh Seung-Hoon on men, Heo Myeong-Yoon, Hazel Hanson-Conavacio, and Yim Se-Ryeong on women - have moved on. But the group of players who had come after them, who have watched them and maybe the tail end of the Golden Generation of players grow up, and it would be this group of players, led by hall-of-fame centre Noh Seung-Hoon and dynamic forward Jin Chang-Sook, who would peak right on time to win it in Poafmersia.

Having achieved the success the first time, the Reapers' journey to their second consecutive title was a bit more challenging one. Both team captains Noh S.H. and Jin C.S. may have retired off their high just two years prior, but the core would just shift as well with the legion of swingmen backing up the unusual twin tower of traditionally-minded Austin Muhumuza and fluid, 220cm behemoth Horace Karugunda on the men's side. More gunslinging women would retain a triangular backcourt armed by the fiery ace June Chavez Mayberry, stable point guard Joh Soo-Yeong and stable contributor in Jocelyn Morse, while Taylor Anne Rowsell's last IBC as the Reaper would be nothing out of ordinary. Their second championship run, one that would see them drop into the lower bracket final before winning it against their historical rival Banija, and then Valentine Z in two-game Finals, had come under more dramatic circumstances, but one that also saw them earning greater respect from the community than before.

As has been seen by the Quebecois women's success in the Olympics, and not to mention the Quebecois clubs' general success in the IUBC, there is no doubt that iron sharpens iron, and targeted investment leads to success. Hockey, formerly the leader among winter sports in this northern Anaian nation, has been faltering in popularity and general attention due to extensive years of player-federation disputes and inconsistent international performance, allowing volleyball and basketball to take a greater chunk of popularity among the younger sports fans in past years. There is no doubt basketball has a consistent slate of superstars and international talent to promote - as seen in the QWBL where Xenia Dall'Antonia, the 2050 Bunjil Games' MVP, and a trio of stars from the underheralded 2056 silver medalists of Brookstation were signed to major deals - and the Montevicio Lakers may be the most followed team in Banija with Isaiah Lavaga as coach and Oluwasegun Tionge as their starting centre. Whether a more international league would translate to better results for the national team is another story, but then there appears to be a lot less pressure than in the past years with a threepeat run, and a fourth consecutive finals appearance the cycle after, giving plenty of room to manouevre for the current coaching staff under their first cycle.

-#    PO  Name            Surname                 Ht.  Age    Status Debut  College/Jr Club            Team            Current Rating
01     C  Horace          Karugunda               2.20  26  RETURNEE    38  Manitoba Kings (Jrs)       Levis Athletic               ★★★★★
03    PG  Hector          Marimuthu  'C'          1.90  26  RETURNEE    40  Yoseo-Montevicio (QIS)     Kingston Raptors             ★★★★
06     F  Yoo-Hyeon       Oh                      2.08  20    ROOKIE    41  UPRI (QIS)                 Saguenay Orions              ★★★
10     C  Byron           McNairn-Dubuisson       2.12  22    ROOKIE    41  Hanbat State (QIS)         CSKA Quebec                  ★★★
11    SG  Diderot         Yeo-Muenkat             1.93  25    ROOKIE    41  Mount Ester (QIS)          Twin Cities Celtics          ★★★★
13    SF  Presnel         Ogulu                   2.00  27  RETURNEE    40  Saint-Benedict's (QIS)     St. John's Arsenal           ★★★☆
15    SF  Woo-Yong        Kweon                   2.05  23    ROOKIE    41  Montreal Koreana (Jrs)     Montevicio Lakers            ★★★☆
25    PF  Cyril           Wertz-Barkholdt         2.08  28  RETURNEE    40  Nideyinan (QIS)            Hanbat Thunder               ★★★★
26    PG  Jorge           Maffia                  1.88  26  RETURNEE    39  Montreal Koreana (Jrs)     Montreal Koreana             ★★★★☆
51    SG  Gang-Whoe       Kang                    1.93  21    ROOKIE    41  Mount Ester (QIS)          Mount Ester University (QIS) ★★★☆
---
02    PG  Marija          Saric                   1.77  19    ROOKIE    41  Keewatinook (QIS)          Keewatinook University (QIS) ★★★★
04    SG  Krista          Christopoulos  'C'      1.84  27  RETURNEE    38  UC-Jolbonopolis (QIS)      South Bend Sakers            ★★★★☆
05    SF  Julianne        Ottavino                1.85  23    ROOKIE    41  Coloratura State (QIS)     Nunavut North Stars          ★★★★☆
07     G  Nadine          Hahm                    1.77  25    ROOKIE    41  Queen's College (QIS)      Zenit Attawapiskat           ★★★
08    SF  Diane           Poesy                   1.83  29  RETURNEE    39  Saguenay (QIS)             Jolbonopolis Winterhawks     ★★★★
14    PF  Gloria          Akpannah                1.86  33  RETURNEE    36  Coloratura State (QIS)     Myeongju Lynx                ★★★★
19     C  Yoon-Joo        Noh                     1.93  28  RETURNEE    40  Farrer (QIS)               Mipojoseon BC                ★★★☆
21    PG  Maybritt        Igbinosun               1.85  21    ROOKIE    41  Huronia Tech (QIS)         Fort Lowe Rattlers           ★★★☆
33     C  Kelsey          Boulouque Lautner       1.96  25  RETURNEE    40  Saguenay (QIS)             CSKA Quebec                  ★★★★★
34    PF  Soo-Jeong       Yeom                    1.88  29  RETURNEE    38  Northwestern (QIS)         Halifax Sun                  ★★★☆
OVR. MEN: 38 - AVG: 3.8 - WOMEN: 39.5 - AVG: 3.95

Feel free to check my newswire or ask me on Discord how these players are like.

Style Modifier (for IC purposes): -4

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my scorers:Y
Godmod scoring events/Assign other stats: Y, but please TG or PM me before you RP this. Make sure to read my roster information, to avoid any confusion.
RP injuries to my players: Y
Godmod Injuries to my players:N. I shall decide the severity
Suspend my players:Y
Godmod suspension events: N
Godmod other events: Y, but TG or PM are a must if you are trying to get something rolling

[New Umoja]

RP Permissions
Choose my scorers, assign stats, RP injuries: Yes, if your team is an adult, international standard team with an average height of >~2.00 m
Otherwise: I guess you can, too, but I'll probably ignore it

Style modifier: √-1

New Umoja Scary Face Bilbos

Head coach: DeAndre Tate
Assistant coaches: Kareem Wallace, D.J. Freeman

 4 Trevon Jamison	G	25	6'4"	Warriors	Off-the-ball guard.	+ 3-point shooting, + slashing, - defense
 5 Malikon Rhodes	F	27	6'8"	Lions		Versatile scorer.	+ mid-range shooting, + rebounding, - shot selection
 6 Kentrell Blackwell	C	28	7'0"	Phoenix		Defensive stalwart.	+ rim protection, + rebounding, - shooting range
 7 Makalo Thandeka (C)	F-C	30	6'11"	Suns		Versatile big man.	+ post moves, + paint defense, - fouls
 8 JaQuavion Fields	G	24	6'5"	Titans		Playmaking guard.	+ court vision, + basketball IQ, - shooting consistency
 9 JaShawn Ebanks	G-F	26	6'5"	Vultures	3&D wing.		+ wing defense, + 3-point shooting, - ball handling
10 Amir Khalid Adesina	F	29	6'10"	Falcons		Slashing forward.	+ drawing fouls, - 3-point shooting, - gambles on defense	
11 Rashonte Drayton	G	23	6'2"	Titans		Scoring combo guard	+ iso shooting, + ball handling, - defense
12 Onyx Foster		F	31	6'9"	Phoenix		Rebounder.		+ rebounding, - speed, - pick-and-roll defense
13 Omari Ndiaye		C	28	7'4"	Riptide		Defensive specialist.	+ shot blocking, - literally everything else
14 Akeem Byers		G	25	6'6"	Lions		Defensive guard.	+ perimeter defense, + catch-and-shoot, - ball handling
15 Langston Hale	F	27	6'8"	Tigers		All-rounder.		+ rebounding, + perimeter defense, - passive on offense

[New Rotterdam City]

The Zegers-Wamerdam Joint-Stock Dry Goods Trading Co.™ graciously presents New Rotterdam's inaugural international competitive basketbal team
in timely preparation for the 41st International Basketball Championship

ROSTER BASKETBALLEN

CENTER
<sub>[1] Maarten MAAS (c) ... 28 ... 6'10" ... Rebounder; refined; leader; playmaker
[6] Thomas TEN BERGE ... 21 ... 7'0" ... Defender; developmental; wingspan
[9] Pieter THIJSSEN ... 26 ... 6'9" ... Defender; versatile; foul-happy; mobile

FORWARD
[10] Otto VAN DER CAMMEN ... 33 ... 6'6" ... Paint threat; polished; slow; game IQ
[4] Wim ZOMER ... 29 ... 6'8" ... Perimeter threat; talented shooter; quick; poor decision-maker
[2] WEQUATUCKET ... 24 ... 6'9" ... Slasher; raw; foul-drawer; ball skills
[11] Karl HOFMAN ... 23 ... 6'8" ... Rebounder; gritty; play through injury; travel-prone
[19] PECASSOMICK ... 25 ... 6'10" ... Big man; contact-deliverer; injury-prone; slow

GUARD
[7] Lars DINKER ... 25 ... 6'3" ... Wing; wing defense; blocker; slow down the court
[9] Pieter THIJSSEN ... 26 ... 6'9" ... Defender; versatile; foul-happy; mobile
[5] Geert ZWARTHOED ... 24 ... 5'11" ... Shooter; undersized; quick; ball handling
[0] SECCAPET ... 22 ... 6'5" ... Distributor; talented; unpolished; layup creator
[15] Peet VAN VEEN ... 23 ... 6'2" ... Outside shooter; developmental; backup; foul-drawer</sub>

---

_{[H. COACH] Linus BELLEGHEM ... 54 ... Guru; game-planner; soft-spoken; analytical; merciless bencher}

[Ranoria]

CUTOFF for MD1! What better way to kick this off than with one of the best calls in sports history?

Group 1: Apollotown
Foden 65–75 Panay Islands and Guimaras
Ralsalin 92–95 Of the Golden Harp
North Oharan Valley Union 83–75 Maraonia
Abanhfleft 90–66 Banija

   Group 1: Apollotown           Pld   W  L   PF  PA  PD 
 1 Abanhfleft                      1   1  0   90  66 +24
 2 Panay Islands and Guimaras      1   1  0   75  65 +10
 3 North Oharan Valley Union       1   1  0   83  75  +8
 4 Of the Golden Harp              1   1  0   95  92  +3
 5 Ralsalin                        1   0  1   92  95  −3
 6 Maraonia                        1   0  1   75  83  −8
 7 Foden                           1   0  1   65  75 −10
 8 Banija                          1   0  1   66  90 −24

Group 2: Ranoria City
Vaishnavaria 64–86 Sarzonia
Delaclava 67–76 Valentine Z
Natkr 83–93 New Rotterdam City
The 189 72–93 Southwest Eastnorth

   Group 2: Ranoria City         Pld   W  L   PF  PA  PD 
 1 Sarzonia                        1   1  0   86  64 +22
 2 Southwest Eastnorth             1   1  0   93  72 +21
 3 New Rotterdam City              1   1  0   93  83 +10
 4 Valentine Z                     1   1  0   76  67  +9
 5 Delaclava                       1   0  1   67  76  −9
 6 Natkr                           1   0  1   83  93 −10
 7 The 189                         1   0  1   72  93 −21
 8 Vaishnavaria                    1   0  1   64  86 −22

Group 3: Memphis
Dacarbatia 68–111 Equestria
New Umoja 88–58 Nightralia
Cardenao 89–80 Jeckland
Valanora 94–66 Lisander

   Group 3: Memphis              Pld   W  L   PF  PA  PD 
 1 Equestria                       1   1  0  111  68 +43
 2 New Umoja                       1   1  0   88  58 +30
 3 Valanora                        1   1  0   94  66 +28
 4 Cardenao                        1   1  0   89  80  +9
 5 Jeckland                        1   0  1   80  89  −9
 6 Lisander                        1   0  1   66  94 −28
 7 Nightralia                      1   0  1   58  88 −30
 8 Dacarbatia                      1   0  1   68 111 −43

Group 4: New Quebec
Quebec and Shingoryeo 92–72 Ko-oren
All-American Confederacy 62–93 Delitai
Zuwabia 67–66 Gatchingerrak Union
Crpostran 64–93 Aurevbush

   Group 4: New Quebec           Pld   W  L   PF  PA  PD 
 1 Delitai                         1   1  0   93  62 +31
 2 Aurevbush                       1   1  0   93  64 +29
 3 Quebec and Shingoryeo           1   1  0   92  72 +20
 4 Zuwabia                         1   1  0   67  66  +1
 5 Gatchingerrak Union             1   0  1   66  67  −1
 6 Ko-oren                         1   0  1   72  92 −20
 7 Crpostran                       1   0  1   64  93 −29
 8 All-American Confederacy        1   0  1   62  93 −31

Group 5: Fiston
East Lithiana 80–67 Delata
TJUN-ia 71–73 Drawkland
Britonisea 75–64 Safiloa
Kamijiro 76–76 Kronbia (98–92 OT)

   Group 5: Fiston               Pld   W  L   PF  PA  PD 
 1 East Lithiana                   1   1  0   80  67 +13
 2 Britonisea                      1   1  0   75  64 +11
 3 Kamijiro                        1   1  0   98  92  +6
 4 Drawkland                       1   1  0   73  71  +2
 5 TJUN-ia                         1   0  1   71  73  −2
 6 Kronbia                         1   0  1   92  98  −6
 7 Safiloa                         1   0  1   64  75 −11
 8 Delata                          1   0  1   67  80 −13

[Panay Islands and Guimaras]

---

WITHOUT A COACH, THE PANAYENSES STANDS ALONE AGAINST FODEN
Apollotown, Ranoria

The national team hasn't get a new coach, so the captain, Edgar Andolong steps in as the interim coach. Even though the fans are desperately wanted a new coach, the Panayenses knew that it was a sure victory for them. In the first half, power forward Vergara, fresh from the Terense leagues, gave an opening to the first half with a three-pointer that made the Panayenses go wild. Even though the boys from Foden responded with a fastbreak layup of theirs, the Island 5 have dominated the whole half. Getting closer for a win, Andolong devised a new tactic that gave them the victory. It started to the substitute Salvador Álvarez, passes it to Sergio Vergara to the captain and passes it again to Yoon for a fake layup with a dunk by Mejía, who came after spending some North Oharan nights. Then they changed positions one to another to take out the Fodenian defense, and finally happened, the first win for the Panayenses in their IBC history. Final score is 75-65 in favor of the Island 5 by 10 points. "I didn't know that my so-called 'coaching' actually worked!", says Andolong. "I have no experience at coaching, sorry to my loyal Panayenses. But I didn't expect that I got the team on track!" "Never knew Andolong can be an actual player-coach without some 'coaching lessons' experience.", says Mejía, the star of the match. "If he was really good at leading the team, then he can actually coach!" The hopeful Island 5 will face against Ralsalin in the same arena. Will the inexperienced player-coach captain Andolong lead to a great run for the boys in Blue and White?

[New Umoja]

New Umoja got off to a strong start in their opening qualifying game for the International Basketball Championship, but a long schedule lies ahead of them. After navigating their way through a crowd of men waving sticks with fishes dangling from them in what is believed to be some sort of primitive Ranorian mating ritual, the Scary Face Bilbos made their debut at the Silberkraft Arena in the first of 8 games there, taking on the Nightralia national team. Their opponents were clearly at something of a disadvantage by having to play an early game (in order to squeeze in all four games of the quadruple-header) and the flashing lights of the Jumbotron that blared out whenever the Scary Face Bilbos made a basket, and the 30-point margin of victory didn’t reflect the true gap between the teams.

Nonetheless, New Umoja’s win was a comforting start. JaShawn Ebanks led the scoring, coming off the bench, with 14 points, 5 assists, and 4 steals, and five players registered double figures, including Kentrell Blackwell, who also came off the bench to pull down a double-double with 11 rebounds, putting in a good audition for starting center minutes as Omari Ndiaye had relatively little impact in his 20 minutes, with just 6 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 block. Ndiaye looked slow and lacking in athleticism on transition, and didn’t have much of a defensive impact. Three-point shooting isn’t as big a factor in New Umoja as in international basketball and there were worries the team would have difficulty adjusting to IBC play, but the team shot an impressive 9 of 20 from behind the arc, with Ebanks and JaQuavion Fields both making 3 apiece. Good play on the boards also made a key difference, with the Scary Face Bilbos grabbing 17 offensive rebounds.

[Kamijiro]

The High Life

Thirteen of Narakugai's brightest young stars came together to form the Narakugai Night Roses. Now, they've been flown by the Kamijiroan Government to Ranoria. They're staying in one of the nicest resorts in the country, playing basketball and representing their country on the international stage. Except, living the high life has most of them feeling uncomfortable.

Takuya sits and stares out of the window in his hotel room. The streets below, whitened from an ongoing snowstorm, glow under the lights.
Muttering to himself, he takes a long drag on a joint and tries to calm himself. But it's to no avail. It's... too quiet here. No loud jazz permeating through the floorboards, no arguments outside, no sprays of a modified Sweeper (type of submachine gun that had essentially been dumped by the hundreds at army surplus stores following the Civil War) that Narakugai had become infamous for. Whenever the streets back home went quiet, it meant one of two things, neither good.

One, it could mean that there's a big storm coming. Not a rainstorm, at least not one from the sky. No, this was the type of storm that was targeted - all you can do is hope that it's not your name on the hit list.

Or two, it meant the storm had just passed. Which, of course, meant that there was the aftermath to deal with. Usually, the hits are precise and deadly. But sometimes you'd find out that the neighbor girl got hit. Or that old lady from across the street. Or the kids up a couple floors from you. Takuya had grown used to that sort of thing. Back home, quiet meant death's gloved hand was ready to place a rose onto another casket. The numbers don't lie, either. Death lurks over Miraisaki like a black shroud. Blame whatever you want - the war, Misaki Sugawara, the curfew and alcohol bans... it's all the same.

Miraisaki's Homicide Rate Per 100,000. The Civil War ended midway through 1583.

Across the hotel, two of the younger members of the team, Kanata and Natsuki, drink some top-shelf whiskey. They'd combined to blow through their first day of per diem trying to get it. And despite being underage, their combination of size and intimidation prevented the guy behind the counter from really doing anything about it.

Natsuki sips away, the taste burning his nostrils slightly.
"Hey, Kanata. You still doin' that modelling shit? I heard you get paiiiiiiid."

Setting down his glass, Kanata replies:
"Yeah. Did you really think our per diem combined covered this? I blew through an extra 500 Jiroes to get this, on top of our per diems. You'd better savor that shit."

Natsuki suddenly stops sipping as quickly, placing his glass down next to Kanata's, laughing slightly.
"So, you blew through your own money for me?"
"Don't make thi-"
"Ha, gayyyyyyyyyyyyy!"
"Goddamn it. You're such a bitch." Kanata chuckles slightly as he raises his glass to his lips again.

The next morning...

"Gameday! Wake the hell up!" Takuya goes door to door. As the team captain, it was his job to make sure everybody's up and around for pre-game shootaround.

After a team breakfast, they loaded into a bus that shuttled them off to the arena for warmups.

"It's so fuckin' cold here, why the fuck did we agree to this?" Complained Kazuma Maeda as the team trudged inside from the bus.
"Speak for yourself, this weather's better than the shit we get in Miraisaki." Was the quick reply from Yuki Kuji, who had lived in the mountains of Miraisaki before moving to Narakugai in his early teens.
"Fuck off, mountain ape."
"The hell did you just call me?"
"You heard me."

Next thing you know, Yuki and Kazuma are brawling in the middle of the hallway.
"KNOCK IT THE HELL OFF! Takuya and Taiki pulled them apart. "Shake hands and move on. And no more fights. Save it for the other team."

The game went rather smoothly compared to everything else in the build-up. Well, about as smooth as a Narakugai Night Roses game can go. Slow, grinding basketball that went to overtime is about par for the course for this team. Asides from a random crashout by Yuki Kuji (he was still too amped up from the earlier fight and proceeded to cuss out the ref midway through the third quarter and got ejected), anyway. The Night Roses trailed by eight headed into the fourth quarter but mounted a comeback to force overtime behind stellar bench performances from Kanata Miura (7 points in the fourth) and Atsuya Iwasaki (6 points in the fourth).

Line Score
    1Q  2Q  3Q  4Q  OT  FIN
KMJ 20  17  16  23  22   98
KRO 23  24  14  15  16   92

Kamijiroan Player Statistics:
Starters
Name (Eng.)     PTS  REB  AST  BLK  STL  FG/FGA  3P/3PA  FT/FTA  PF  TOV  GmSc
Takuya Kabe      21    9   13    0    3   8/12    0/0     5/12    2    4  23.4
Taiki Ito        19    4    2    0    0   9/18    1/6     0/0     2    3   9.2
Yuki Kuji        12    4    0    0    1   5/9     1/1     1/1     5    2   6.3
Kazuma Maeda      6    6    2    0    1   2/7     0/0     2/3     2    2   3.7
Natsuki Sakurai  11    7    0    2    0   5/7     0/0     1/1     2    0  12.6

Bench
Name (Eng.)     PTS  REB  AST  BLK  STL  FG/FGA  3P/3PA  FT/FTA  PF  TOV  GmSc
Atsuya Iwasaki   12    6    2    0    0   3/9     1/3     5/6     2    1   7.2 
Kanata Miura     13   14    0    0    2   4/12    1/6     4/4     3    2  10.4
Ichirō Mizuki     4    1    0    0    0   2/4     0/0     0/0     1    1   0.9

Totals          PTS  REB  AST  BLK  STL  FG/FGA  3P/3PA  FT/FTA  PF  TOV
                 98   51   19    2    8  38/78    4/16   18/27   18   16

DNPs
Junya Sugawara, Katsumi Nishimura, Kyōgo Ueda, Shōya Kimura, Shin'ya Yamada

Player of the Game: Takuya Kabe.

[East Lithuania]

EAST LITHUANIA: STARTING OFF ATOP GROUP 5!



In a heartwarming welcome to the world of international basketball, the East Lithuianian Commoners entered the tournament just happy to be there. The players had a chance to take their game beyond the meaningless boundaries of nationstates and terrifs and welcome the opportunity to face competition only dreamt about in previous generations. While hopes were high and unwavering support from the people of East Lithuania was more than the team could hope for, even the most diehard fans traveling to Ranoria in support for their team did not expect the East Lithuianian team to fair well amongst fierce competition, with nations who's players cross international bounds in the sight of mastering their craft. The staff had tempered expectations and the tone of press releases and interviews gave the unyielding impression that a win within their group would be seen as enough. Hell, to even take some of the powerhouses among the group to a tight 4th quarter would be seen as a win by a team who were jumping into the deep end.

Those core values of humility in competition may have been the edge, maybe the team is better than even they gave themselves credit for, maybe it was divine intervention. Regardless of the reasoning, the outcome of the first matchday of IBC 40 holds no debate; after a crushing 80-67 victory over Delata, the East Lithuanian Commoners hold the number one spot in Group 5, just a 2 point differential lead over Britonisea keeping them alive. The people of all collectives within East Liuthuania will certainly be cutting out the tables from their local paper, especially from those where the players originate from. And in the words of many government leadership, that level of fandom is mutual with even those in the highest union positions as many will savor this day of pride for their team and nation.


Veteran captain Sa Bunn won the opening tip off for the Commoners, and they never looked back. The captain logged 32 minutes, putting up 18 points and 18 rebounds in the contest, refusing to allow any mistake made by Delata to go unpunished, while the duel fast break threat of Gary Kirby's atheltic drive on breakaways or Marc Giordano's near perfect mark from the corner 3 postition, every Delata miss would be countered quickly, leaving a double digit lead the other team just could not respond to. The Prost brothers, Mikel and Nil, also showed off their chemistry, both logging 12 minutes and dominating the floor when they had the chance, Mikel Prost's 24 points being seen as the dagger by many commentators, extending the lead so well that coach Eishesh Ivana put out the reserves halfway through the 4th and gave everyone on the team some minutes.


"It's a great moment, and I'm proud of everyone in what they accomplished today," said assistant coach Ignatius Rumpelstiltskin after the game. "It takes a lot to show up under this level of pressure and put in this level of work. All we can do now is take this momentum into tomorrow and hope to put up more of the same, but against far greater competition. That will be the true test of what this team will bring to the table this year."

The reigning scoring champion does not use those words lightly, as the first powerhouse on the schedule is tonight. The Holy Calanian Empire of United States of Nova Calania spent the first matchday with a bye, certainly taking the time to scout this newcomer and finalize their gameplan. The country boasts a deep basketball tradition, and how East Lithiania responds to their challenge will give a better picture of how this group stage will go. We only hope the team can show the same level of grit and competition now and into the future.

[Sarzonia]

It wasn't the first time Kyle Trenton walked out onto the court to call the shots for the Sarzonian national basketball team. He'd served as acting manager when predecessor Joy Knight was suspended, so he didn't have the same set of butterflies any first-time skipper usually does.

However, there's a big difference between being a caretaker whilst waiting for the boss to return or until a new manager gets hired and becoming the boss and being responsible for deciding on the final squad and how the team would play.

"Nah, I'm good," Trenton said with an easy, confident smile when players asked him if he were nervous about his new responsibilities as full-time manager. "I've been preparing for this moment my whole life." When the other assistant managers were talking to the players or their opposite numbers from Vaishnavaria, he saw the look on lead assistant Thomas West and admitted the truth.

"Goddamn right I'm nervous," he muttered with his mouth mere millimetres from West's left ear as he sat to Trenton's immediate right. He hadn't told West about his vomiting in the loo in his office before he walked out to courtside, but West heard it.

What Trenton was well aware of was the difference between simply operating the offence and squad Knight chose and making his own decisions about roster construction and style of play. He'd chosen to do away with the three-guard lineup and more uptempo approach Knight preferred, opting to employ DJ Henry as the starting centre and utilise his shotblocking abilities defensively.

At the starting tap, it would be fellow seven-footer Vaishnavaria's Mohammed Washington lining up for the opening tap against Henry. Trenton scouted Washington personally and learned that he liked to use his huge frame on smaller teams and his athleticism against larger ones. What he didn't know was how the relatively lumbering Henry would handle his opponent's athleticism.

As it would turn out, very well. Henry led the way with 22 points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots as the Stars rolled to an 86-64 victory on the first matchday of the 41st International Basketball Championships. Shooting guard Tim Lawrence added 17 points on 6-for-9 shooting from the field. He was also 5-for-5 from the free throw line. He was 0-for-2 from 3-point range, but that didn't prove to be much of a problem.

"We were able to establish our inside presence with DJ and we did just enough from outside to keep the Tigers honest," Trenton said. "We played it the way we wanted to against them."

Sarzonia will face off against former regional neighbours and permanent multi-sport rivals Delaclava on Matchday Two. The Phoenixes lost their opener 76-67 against Valentine Z. Sarzonia will not face their other bitter rivals until Matchday Seven, which will be Sarzonia's penultimate match because of the bye on Matchday Eight.

Trenton said he expected his team to play extra hard against Delaclava.

"It's a big rivalry match," he said. "We better bust our asses and snatch the hell outta their wigs."

[TJUN-ia]

3rd. Last time out, the old Hoops-Jaguars of TJUN-ia came back from the dead...claiming their first-ever medal since the legendary IBC34 run. To say that was a surprise was an understatement in the eyes of the Basketball establishment but Bao Zhou was certainly ecstatic for obvious reasons. That run felt so good and the mood around this program was so sky-high, that everyone decided to come back for one last ride hoping to take this team back to the playoffs and beyond. And so, the gang is back together looking to go higher than before and aim for a 1st ever Big 5 Championship...if that is even possible.

Up first was projected to be our biggest test of this entire group stage as #11 Drawkland took us on in our new temporary home: The Lion's Den in Fiston, Ranoria. Hoops-Jaguars vs Net Corps is always a big matchup in any IBC cycle but for the opening day, it seemed like the organisers wanted a big match-up for TV and that's it. I don't blame them one bit, it was #3 vs #11, but you could've made it less obvious? Anyway, this game was tight as all hell - as you would expect considering the calibre of basketball these rosters could produce. Samantha Naylor and Ali Jaffer were beasts while Patrick Nevin and Ruth Cookson were clutch and both teams traded the lead like this was 7-Ball...but someone had to win, else we would've been here all day. The final blow ended up coming from Catalina Daywasson, who tipped home 2 with 0.3 on the clock. No way was Jimena Siena getting that shot off in time and so, the Net Corp took it 73-71. Good game, simple as that. I hope we see them later down the line for Round 2.

So yes, we are 0-1, but we certainly showed our stuff and could feel confident in our Playoff aspirations at this point. Debutants Delata are up next, a good opportunity to get the first W on the board. GO HOOPS-JAGS!

---

SCHEDULE (Group 5, all games @The Lion's Den, Fiston, Ranoria)
MD1: vs Drawkland (11) L 71-73 (5th/0-1)
MD2: vs Delata (UR)
MD3: vs United States of Nova Calania (64)
----------------Break----------------
MD4: vs East Lithuania (UR)
MD5: BYE
----------------Break----------------
MD6: vs Britonisea (18)
MD7: vs Kamijiro (32)
----------------Break----------------
MD8: vs Kronbia (25)
MD9: vs Safiloa (UR)

[Drawkland]

It's often said that the first game in a tournament is the most important. The tonesetter, starting the campaign on the right foot, not taking the early games for granted. It's not often that the first game is actually the most important of your campaign beyond psychological platitudes. For Drawkland's Net Corps, their matchday one tilt against TJUN-ia truly was the most important of the group stage. It wasn't necessarily a must-win, but it was a must-perform. Going against the #3 team in the tournament and #1 in the group with a new coach and some new faces on the squad, it was imperative that the Net Corps show some signs of life. The questions on the Net Corps' ceiling were always going to be there with how the team had underperformed for many cycles, and this was a chance to answer some of those questions prior to this cycle's playoffs. Could the Corps keep up with some of the best?

Through one half of play, the answer was a very surprising yes. Though the Net Corps trailed 40-35 against the Jags of TJUN-ia at halftime, it felt really close throughout. A late 4-point run in the waning seconds of the second quarter gave the Jags a comfortable lead going into the locker rooms, but the Net Corps had been breathing down their necks since the opening tipoff. In the first half, Ruth Cookson in particular seemed to have found her rhythm, going 4-for-5 on three point attempts and adding another 5 points on midrange shots and free throws. The Corps was also keeping pretty clean, committing only 5 personal fouls in that first half.

The Jags bookended halftime with another 4-0 run to begin the third quarter, putting them up 44-35 pretty quickly, but the Net Corps stood firm. The starters were rotated back in at that point, and they started putting things together. Natalie Endgard and Catalina Daywasson combined for 10 assists in the third quarter alone, 7 of those assists going to each other for points. By the time the buzzer sounded to send the game to the 4th quarter, the game was all knotted up at 58-58.

The 4th quarter was well worth the price of admission for all those that showed up to The Lion's Den in Fiston. The final ten minutes were neck-and-neck, with no team getting more than 3 points ahead of the other. Blow-for-blow, it was the exact sort of thing you'd want to see between the top two teams in the group. The final minute was the cherry on top for this budding classic of a game. Alright, that might be overselling it a bit, especially considering the score was a mere 71-68 with 60 seconds remaining, but it was a damn good game.

At that point, the Net Corps had the ball after a TJUN-ian two-pointer and Ruth Cookson drove it across the court with a sense of relative urgency. They not only needed to score, but needed to do it relatively quickly so that TJUN-ia couldn't get the ball back and drain the rest of the clock. Cookson dished to Delta Adams, who made a move like he was going to cut to the basket, or maybe pass to Carly Carolla on the inside. Adams drew a lot of attention, and it got the Jags to bite just enough that Cookson got open on the outside. Adams dished a perfect pass to the corner, and Ruth calmly sank the game-tying shot from beyond the arc. 71-71.

The crowd went wild, but now the Jags had the chance to respond. Bao Zhou called his last timeout to collect his team's strategy for the final 40ish seconds, and Domingo Abbott used this time to put in a couple defensive substitutions. Sebastian Earls came back in at center, and Jorah Douglas replaced Delta Adams. The Net Corps were not gonna get beat inside, not with their height. They'd force TJUN-ia to make a difficult shot. After the timeout, the gambit worked almost perfectly. The Jags knew they'd have to make a quick shot, in case it missed, they'd maybe still have time and not allow the Corps to drain the clock entirely. Samantha Naylor took the first shot from mid range, but hit the rim solidly. It reset the shot clock, and inexplicably Earls didn't come down with the rebound. Jucinara Benites did instead, and dished the ball back out. The Jags drained a little more time, but eventually they realized they had to take a chance. Ali Jaffer got an outside look from the perimeter ... but missed the shot wide.

Sebastian Earls came down with the rebound this time, and the race was one. Shot clock was no longer in play, the Corps just needed to find an opening and sink one. After a little bit of passing back and forth, Cookson saw an opening for Daywasson, and passed the ball inside. Catalina Daywasson had an open lane to the basket, caught the ball in stride, and laid it up for the game-winning shot. Well, it technically wasn't a buzzer beater, but with 0.3 left on the clock, the Jags had no chance with a last-second heave. Somehow, the Net Corps had their first win in the Abbott Era against their toughest group opponent, 71-73.

Next up is their second most difficult game, against Britonisea. We'll see if this was just flash-in-the-pan beginner's luck, or the start of a true hot streak.

[Cardenao]

Benny: “You catch the game?”


Jack: “Course I did, would never miss the Blue and Golds getting after it!”

Horatio: “Yeah, you never miss giving us an earful afterwards either.”

J: “Horatio, Benny asked me about the game, I’m gonna give him my thoughts and you’re just gonna have to listen.”

B: “How the hell did we pull off that win then? We played rough, pretty terrible for where we’re at in the world rankings…did you know we’re #15??”

H: “Nope.”

J: “Course I do, a lot of praise has to go to Blake D’Aquino and Alexis Wolfe for being the backbone to get us here.”

B: “Tom Parliamance, man he reminded me a lot of Wolfe last night. Tall, strong, he’s just a real bastard to try and score on…honestly he’s why we won the game I’d say.”

H: “You give up 80 points and say a defensive player is why we won the game?”

J: “Jesus Horatio just say you don’t know anything about the game. Look Tommy T had five blocks and three steals, that’s not half bad. He organizes our defense, it’s like having another coach out there; you can’t downplay how valuable that is on the court. He just has that aura man, the Jecklandarians seemed scared to drive at him or try anything too crazy in the paint.”

B: “I mean he had 13 points and 10 boards too, it’s not like he’s a goose egg on offense.”

H: “I saw LeBlanc was getting it done on attack too.”

B: “Yup, for a 21 year old he sure knows how to play the game. He’s so smooth getting to the bucket and he’s got this little two step drop-back shot the Jecks just couldn’t deal with. 19 points on your national team debut ain’t bad at all!”

H: “Who we playing next?”

J: “Pfft, ‘we’ like you’re getting out there on the court.”

H: “Yeah like you are either, shut it man just answer the question!”

J: “Nightralia, think this is their first go at the IBC.”

B: “Yup, they got pumped by New Umoja, lost by 30 points so it should be straightforward for Team Nao.”

H: “As if it ever goes nice and easy for the Blue and Golds.”

B: “Hah, true. Their small forward looked kinda nice, Sven something or another, and their point guard Ilmari was pretty smooth with it.”

J: “I’d like to see D’Angelo Fox take over more against them, he’s fast, slams those dunks, he’s athletic, so cmon man! 8 points is bad, no way to cut it. Those 5 assists were nice though and shows he’s got some damn good potential.

B: “Yupppp this should be a bit of a coming out party for him. Hey, you notice how many players on the national team are from the Alexandria University Swordsmen college basketball team?”

H: “Yeah, I mean the entire starting 5 is the starting 5 from their NSCAA winning team.”

J: “Did we ever hear how that championship game turned out?”

B: “Nope!”

[Vaishnavaria]

IBC Giants Sarzonia Stars embarrass Tigers in opening day plunging them to the bottom of Group 2



Ranoria City

Karmin-Falce Arena at The Skyline Court



The Tigers were embarrassed in the Opening weekend of Vaishnavaria's return to International Basketball losing in a 22 point blowout to the IBC and sports Giants the Sarzonia Stars. Sarzonia dominated from the tip off running off with the lead early and making a meal of the Vaishnavarians from the first quarter. It was a bad and boring game for any fan to watch and extremely painful for Tigers fans. The Tigers attempted to mount a comeback late but fell short by a large 22 points. This was not the start anyone wanted for the Tigers (Unless your a Sarzonian then this is exactly what you want) and there opening match in the extremely Competitive group 2 led by Giants like reigning champion Valentine Z and high ranker Deleclava.




The tip-off was practically the only thing that went right for the Vaishnavarian Tigers in the first half as Mohammed Washington easily won it tapping it back to controversial starter Rafo Hendricks to kick off this opening match of the 41st International Basketball Championship. Hendricks managed to take it past half court and play a good pass to Jackson Morgan at the top of the Key who took it burst past his defender, took a jump stop and swished it at about the Free Throw line and a little bit back. 2-0 Vaishnavaria and it seems like the game was gonna be a close one or at least a really good fight put up by Vaishnavaria or Sarzonia. That was completely wrong. After Jackson Morgans jump shot to go up the Stars went on the attack and were in drive mode.




The Tigers athleticism and dominating strength and height were used to muscles smaller teams so the Stars opened up with a bigger starting lineup led by DJ Henry off the bench and it worked wonders. Henry and Matt LaForrest dominated the paint in the first half going for a combined 10 points in the first quarter. At first it was a defensive battle with the Vaishnavarian offense stalling incredibly and the Sarzonians struggling but using their skill and talent to get the upper hand on the Tigers. However then with the Tigers focusing on the dominating Forwards and Centers it enabled the Sarzonian talented guards to get in on the action. The Tigers were absolutely bodied and just physically and athletically outplayed by the Stars. The guards used their quickness and explosive shooting and dribbling ability to gouge the Vaishnavarians. With the scrawny yet athletic point guard Tim Lawrence took control of the offense setting up passes and Him and DJ Henry absolutely picked apart the Tigers defense. The offense struggled with Rafo Hendricks playing poorly like he did in the VBC and missed a couple open shots. Jackson Morgan was doing his best to rally the offense by putting up some good passes but he striggled to rally them as the Sarzonians were just outplaying them on every level of the game statistically and just on the court domination




The first half score was a baffling 32-14 with the Tigers having no answers for the experienced and absolutely talented Sarzonia Stars who seemed to be playing at their highest level against the young Vaishnavarians on every god damn statistic. Jackson Morgan had 10 games with Jon Lee Price being put muscled and rendered useless against the Stars while Jack Norstoll was also struggling as well as Rafo Hendricks who was controversially picked to start for the second season over Aarya Shoshant. They decided to give their subs more minutes and they actually almost pulled off a comeback. Jackson Morgan and Mohammed Washington were combining with Norstoll to squeeze points in and Aarya Shoshant was playing well against the Stars in his first ever start for Vaishnavaria. But it ultimately was not enough. DJ Henry exploded again and the Tiegrs puttered out leading to a huge final score of 64-86

[Quebec and Shingoryeo]

Part 1 - Johanna Youngblood-Parker

Four years were a long time in Quebec and Shingoryeo. Between 2066 and 2070, the Arrosian nation had seen no shortage of news, even as the International Basketball Championships 40 final losers had gone back to their usual competition in the QBL, the QWBL and on Quebecois Commonwealth-level competitions. A decade of excellence had passed indeed, with plenty to speak for - three IBC titles, four semifinals wins, as well as an olympic silver medal and a NSCAA semifinals run - and the sport had no doubt enjoyed its period of unparalleled success and favourability in the eyes of public, who would largely basketball as a premier winter sport ahead of volleyball and (ice) hockey.

On the outside world plenty too happened in the four years since the Reapers' run to the championship game. The 2068 Summer Olympics, held halfway between jointly between Hamilton, Electrum and Schimpol, Liventia would see the Tricolour Taegeuk delegation come out to a solid third place finish by 25 gold and 66 overall medals. But the occasion felt long and dreary years ago for those recalling it from the present time, as the festive atmosphere would be dampened by the news at home where Asher Lundrigan, Lord Ynys Dywyll, had passed after two-decades-long struggle with Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease.

The news had come at a certain layer of shock for many, as the legendary writer, who had enjoyed lifelong friendship with both legendary sportspeople in the Heo siblings and Ian Lautner, but also Christine II, had been expecting the engagement between his eldest child, Claire Lundrigan, and the Alexandre VI, Prince of Abitibi. With the news coming abruptly to most near the end of the Olympics, even as his family and the Queen had been aware of it, the certain solemn atmosphere would carry in the ether of the nation. It would stay that way, adding a weight of all the way up to the couple's engagement and the royal wedding at the Sandringham Abbey in May 2070 almost two years later.

Well, that was exactly a month ago from where the characters happened to stand.

Johanna Youngblood-Parker sat on the guest sofa of the QBC's Panorama Studios, sitting next to the good-natured, nicely-dressed host of the household regular 'Good Morning Quebec' show on every Sunday morning. It wasn't the easiest of atmospheres Johanna had to deal with. While very few people could rival or exceed the level of sharpness or experience Johanna had at that age, one of those who did just happened to be the host here. While Ian Lautner was a very respectful figure who would spend most of the time listening to a highly-recognised basketball coach, a friend of hers for over a decade now, she also knew that Ian had plenty of things to say and in a way that would challenge his interviewees.

'It's certainly an exciting time, indeed,' said Johanna as she followed along Ian's light nods that suggested to her that they were on the same wavelength. 'I am very happy to see the people here tonight ready for even more to come, especially after a week of celebrations.' Johanna, a red Tory who would swing back and forth between Moogoongwha and PJLQ parties, did not mind the twenty-five years of Christine II. She had met the Queen twice before, both times happened to be at the basketball national team's visit to the Daemyeonggoong Palace after the IBC-38 and 39 victories, and for most part carried positive impression.

Her issue, however, was the timing of all the festivities. Marrying into the Youngblood Family, who were as close to a sports royalty as the Heos or the Ahns had meant that she was more less used to all the events surrounding her and her in-laws. She didn't mind the streets of Joongyeong feeling an additional sense of glitter and gold after a year and half of gloom.

But this happening one month before their departure to Ranoria, especially with two weeks of training camp before that, wasn't ideal. Majority of the basketballers in the country didn't come to Joongyeong often - the sport's largely decentralised across the country and springtime was awkward out east where the slush were plentiful on the sidewalk and the late snowfall less than ideal for those from either end of the country - but this was a good time for many to congregate, party and cause havoc in the City of Eternal Lights.

Heading into the training camp, Johanna knew this had meant trouble and had tried her best to control her players with the co-coach, former national teamer and first-time coach Ben Rawlyk, but it would amount to little success with majority of the players being away in groups. 'So, Johanna, you've expressed your difficulties about coaching this group. It's something that every Grim Reapers coach have said, whether it be Riley Jeon-Keane, Allison Dubois or Florence-Anne Raabe, have said due to how close the BQ is to the capitol,' Ian then turned to ask the following question. 'What are your plans to address this challenge of yours? Do you think that the players will be able to avoid the misfortunes that have struck several of your players?'

Depends, was the first thing that's on Johanna's mind, as she looked back at Ian's sharper, brown-haired glare. She knew this question was going to come up, not because he doubted in her abilities, but because of what had happened in Banija four years ago. The Reapers team back then, while successful on paper, had run into many disciplinary issues off the court that they directly contributed to injuries, locker room fights and everything else. With Johanna being sole remaining member of assistants and head coaches from there, it's no surprise that Lautner, whose daughter Kelsey happened to be on the team, had to ask the question.

'In an ideal world we would run a very smooth, well-oiled machine,' Johanna answered, before briefly sipping her cup of coffee. 'But it's always going to be a challenge to keep them out and in full control over their outside circumstances right? These guys and gals are all full grown adults, many of them with children of their own, so we expect them to be on top of things.'

'So you would say that it's up to them on whether to avoid... or....embrace the troubles?' Ian asked back for clarification. 'Because it's certainly a departure from your known record at Queen's College.'

'It's inevitable, I would say, as the national team coach,' Johanna answered, trying not to overcomplicate her response. 'With my players they know I have a vision for them, and that vision's not going to be achieved unless it's done as a team. But they are also seventeen or eighteen when they come to the Golden Gaels program, so we have to set clearer standards.'

Ian nodded along. 'We can't say the same with the national team players. Most of them are professionals in the QBL and the QWBL, while the others too come from high-profile programs at collegiate level. They know what their stakes lie here and when they go back to their teams,' she said. 'So no, I think it's more implied than explicit. It suits the guys better.'

'Thank you, Johanna,' answered Ian, as they went into the next question. The rest of the one-hour interview, which would also feature two-act performances that would serve as a de facto intermission for everybody, was fairly straightforward. They mostly talked about her life as a coach, the expectations and her favourite memories, something that had ended up lot more than expected for Johanna to answer.

How time flies, was a brief thought that's inside Johanna's mind as she slowly winded out on the final minute. Johanna, unlike the players she coached, wasn't a national teamer in any capacity. She had made it to multiple age-side national team camps, and made several Saguenay provincial teams, but had found herself struggling with many injuries as a former four-star guard with Mount Ester before eventually shifting to coaching on her older program. Fortunately for her, past two decades have been generous to her with her coaching career - which would see five years as an assistant before taking over for four-time national champion Ike Kayembe fifteen years ago - would see her emerge from a young project of a coach to two-time national champion. She was now one of the most highly-regarded coaches in the country, with her salary and benefits equalling at that level and her stature more secure than ever in Cornwall, Mahan.

Now, the challenge's on how to get this national team ready and going in Ranoria. Expectations for her, especially with most of the Silver Generation of Reapers' men and women having retired, were not as high, and the public seemed to be happy about the team's expectations barring a disastrous group stage exit. This, of course, was a good thing, though more's to be found out if she would be able to control this team from falling apart. Part of the reasons why her predecessors weren't extended, even with a finals run, were due to the controversies generated, and she, sole survivor of the quartet of coaches back then, were now under the public lens.

How would she respond and how will her and Ben Rawlyk's Grim Reapers respond? We'll find out.

[Banija]

*= BoogyBins is the Quebecois equivalent of OnlyFans

Omugabe Kato, in Cardenao, on a private beach

Omugabe Kato was riding in the backseat of a luxury car, about to hit up one of the most exclusive beaches in Cardenao. He was in the country on behalf of his Government, to negotiate (another) arms deal between the Kingdom of Banija and the Republic of Cardenao- this time, for UAVs, more commonly known as drones, to be sold to Cardenao. It was something that, while important to the relationship, was expected to happen with relative ease. These were close allies that continued to get closer over the years- this was a natural step.

But, Cardenao might truly be the best vacation spot in Anaia- there was a reason that Kato's late brother(RIP) had chosen Cardenao to be the country where he proposed to Princess Muirne, who was now the mother to the heir of the throne. Kato was famously part of the 'Peerless Princes' 3x3 basketball team- two-time Olympic gold medalists, taking the world by storm in that short-form, half-court version of basketball. A version of streetball was never expected to be dominated by Royals- but Kato and his brothers were dominant in every way on the court. And they had gained all kinds of notoriety and fame while doing so, and he had some crazy activities- couldn't beat when he was hundreds of miles away from the Olympic Village the morning of a game, because he had been boozing and partying his way through Quebec.

He had arrived a day early for a couple of reasons. For one, he wanted to see the vacation spots- he was a royal, turned two-time Olympic gold medalist, turned chief negotiator on this deal- those Katende genes served him well. But why not indulge himself? And secondly, he didn't want to miss Banija's opening game at the IBCs. Now, of course, the game was in Ranoria, as was the whole tournament- but he'd watch on TV at the Ambassador's residence. There were times when diplomacy meant showcasing power, and the Ambassador's residence in New Cardonia might be Banija's largest. Banija's largest physically embassy was in Chromatika, but Cardenao was a place much more about flash and pizzazz than their Anaian neighbors- so those house parties the Banijan Ambassador could host would be legendary.

It was a shame Omugabe Kato stayed to watch the opening game- it was a disaster. He had turned it off when, while the Banijans were down 17 points in the fourth quarter, Obasie Khoza, the starting PG, got ejected for blowing up at the referee. For a team that is likely the oldest at this tournament, they did not expect to be at the receiving end of a blowout- and the NT had handled it about as poorly as you could expect. A 5.5 point favorite losing by 24 is always going to be ugly, but especially when all these oldheads came back for the specific purpose of saving their legacy- just to see Abanhfleft spit on it. The Fletics deserved it, of course- they just thoroughly kicked the Banijans' ass in every sense of the word. Even Oscar Laboto, the veteran HC, got fined by the IBO for skipping post-game media interviews because he was so pissed.

Abonyo got an ejection, and a one game suspension, for flipping off the referee after a foul call, down 20. The ejections surely didn't help things, but when both come in fits of boyish rage, because they're down 15+ points in the fourth, you can't even begin to pretend they effected things. Nobody left the locker room for an hour after the game, as there were reports of 'screaming' and 'flying chairs'. And the Banijans didn't even have a chance to react right away- they would stew in their anger, as MD2 was an off-day. So for an even longer period of time, the lasting image of the team was getting booed off the court by an arena that was probably 80-20 in favor of the Banijans.

But Kato didn't think about that. He loved rooting for the hoops team, of course- he was a basketball player himself. The 3x3 kind, anyways. But today, he was in Cardenao on pleasure- the business portion started tomorrow. Kato didnt' think it was quite time to settle down just yet- despite being almost 30, he liked the bachelor life. But unknown to basically anybody, Kato had a secret GF in Cardenao. She wasn't secret because she was from Cardenao- the Royal Family would love to add someone from that country into their clan. Think about Johanna, from Quebec. But she was not considered proper. A woman befitting of a Royal. Why, of course? Her profession- a BoogyBins* Model.

Should say her former profession, technically. But His family was devoutly religious, and Mormon. And Royal. Would they ever accept her into the Royal Family? The answer was already known. But on this day, he met her at the beach, and kissed her deeply. This beach was a well known retreat for celebrities- all sorts of big shot Banijans came here frequently. One of those resorts where they take your phone as soon as you arrive, so no pictures are taken. He knew he'd have privacy. And being a Prince, he was able to get even extra privacy. So he spent the day with his new GF, and then they eventually left, departed their separate ways. She'd eventually get to the Capitol- they'd rendevous there, as well. And he'd get back- lots of pleasure, but ultimately- the man was here for business.

[Ranoria]

CUTOFF for MD2! Have some LoTR Music.

Group 1: Apollotown
Maraonia 86–78 Abanhfleft
Of the Golden Harp 88–62 North Oharan Valley Union
Panay Islands and Guimaras 103–79 Ralsalin
Juvencus 83–65 Foden

   Group 1: Apollotown           Pld   W  L   PF  PA  PD 
 1 Panay Islands and Guimaras      2   2  0  178 144 +34
 2 Of the Golden Harp              2   2  0  183 154 +29
 3 North Oharan Valley Union       2   1  1  145 163 −18
 4 Maraonia                        2   1  1  161 161   0
 5 Juvencus                        1   1  0   83  65 +18
 6 Abanhfleft                      2   1  1  168 152 +16
 7 Banija                          1   0  1   66  90 −24
 8 Ralsalin                        2   0  2  171 198 −27
 9 Foden                           2   0  2  130 158 −28

Group 2: Ranoria City
New Rotterdam City 67–76 The 189
Valentine Z 110–58 Natkr
Sarzonia 82–55 Delaclava
Oclea 76–103 Vaishnavaria

   Group 2: Ranoria City         Pld   W  L   PF  PA  PD 
 1 Valentine Z                     2   2  0  186 125 +61
 2 Sarzonia                        2   2  0  168 119 +49
 3 Southwest Eastnorth             1   1  0   93  72 +21
 4 The 189                         2   1  1  148 160 −12
 5 Vaishnavaria                    2   1  1  167 162  +5
 6 New Rotterdam City              2   1  1  160 159  +1
 7 Oclea                           1   0  1   76 103 −27
 8 Delaclava                       2   0  2  122 158 −36
 9 Natkr                           2   0  2  141 203 −62

Group 3: Memphis
Jeckland 68–86 Valanora
Nightralia 75–94 Cardenao
Equestria 77–93 New Umoja
Aphrilia 63–68 Dacarbatia

   Group 3: Memphis              Pld   W  L   PF  PA  PD 
 1 New Umoja                       2   2  0  181 135 +46
   Valanora                        2   2  0  180 134 +46
 3 Cardenao                        2   2  0  183 155 +28
 4 Equestria                       2   1  1  188 161 +27
 5 Dacarbatia                      2   1  1  136 174 −38
 6 Aphrilia                        1   0  1   63  68  −5
 7 Jeckland                        2   0  2  148 175 −27
 8 Lisander                        1   0  1   66  94 −28
 9 Nightralia                      2   0  2  133 182 −49

Group 4: New Quebec
Gatchingerrak Union 86–91 Crpostran
Delitai 83–71 Zuwabia
Ko-oren 112–60 All-American Confederacy
Sardina-Sicily 58–117 Quebec and Shingoryeo

   Group 4: New Quebec           Pld   W  L   PF  PA  PD 
 1 Quebec and Shingoryeo           2   2  0  209 130 +79
 2 Delitai                         2   2  0  176 133 +43
 3 Aurevbush                       1   1  0   93  64 +29
 4 Ko-oren                         2   1  1  184 152 +32
 5 Zuwabia                         2   1  1  138 149 −11
 6 Crpostran                       2   1  1  155 179 −24
 7 Gatchingerrak Union             2   0  2  152 158  −6
 8 Sardina-Sicily                  1   0  1   58 117 −59
 9 All-American Confederacy        2   0  2  122 205 −83

Group 5: Fiston
Safiloa 46–82 Kamijiro
Drawkland 79–72 Britonisea
Delata 70–84 TJUN-ia
United States of Nova Calania 76–70 East Lithiana

   Group 5: Fiston               Pld   W  L   PF  PA  PD 
 1 Kamijiro                        2   2  0  180 138 +42
 2 Drawkland                       2   2  0  152 143  +9
 3 United States of Nova Calania   1   1  0   76  70  +6
 4 TJUN-ia                         2   1  1  155 143 +12
 5 East Lithiana                   2   1  1  150 143  +7
 6 Britonisea                      2   1  1  147 143  +4
 7 Kronbia                         1   0  1   92  98  −6
 8 Delata                          2   0  2  137 164 −27
 9 Safiloa                         2   0  2  110 157 −47

[Panay Islands and Guimaras]

---

ANOTHER BIG WIN FOR THE ISLAND 5 THAT THE FANATIC AVALANCHE IS COMING
Apollotown, Ranoria


The Panayense fans in Specter Industries Coliseum

The Island 5 have previously got a win against Foden, but now the Panayense fans are now being batshit crazy when they face Ralsalin, thinking that they could be the hope for the IBC. Before the game, a massive moshpit happened when the travelling Panayense fans, even fans from other countries would try to test their strength and courage against the jumping Panayenses. In the first half, the Ralsaliens did a good job on the defense, but Mejía and Hiejima were too powerful against them. Even though they're actually ranked higher. Mejía then passes to Yoon for a fastbreak dunk that shocked the whole arena in Apollotown. It was a shocker to the Ralsaliens who wanted to win so bad but the Panayenses said that "not so fast" enough for them. The Mejía-Hiejima duo never stop dominating, with some of their assists to other players, and gave them a beating by 24 points. Mejía scored 35 points in this game, with Hiejima scored 29. The duo got so unstoppable that they even led the Panayense crowd for a chant. And Andolong was happy about the connection between the two of them. "I'm surprised that these two would actually work as a offensive duo, even though I made Hiejima defend, but he can pass and shoot., says Andolong. "I know that Mejía plays in NOVU, but I'll say that he can't be worried about his teammates at Kadzjors." Andolong and the gang will face NOVU, the country where Mejía plays. Will Andolong's tactics can be a sure win for the Island 5?

[New Umoja]

New Umoja moved to 2–0 in qualifying as they swept past veteran IBC heavyweights Equestria through the power of friendship and defensive hustle. Backcourt duo Trevon Jamison and JaQuavion Fields combined for 43 points; Fields had trouble finding his 3-point shot but didn’t stop going for it, on 3–12 shooting from behind the arc, and added 8 assists and 8 rebounds, both team highs. Kentrell Blackwell took over the starting center role from Omari Ndiaye; Blackwell had 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 blocks as all five starters registered double figures. The team’s three-point shooting took a dip to .333 (12 of 36) but turnovers were down: just 7, compared to 15 for the Equestrians. Head coach DeAndre Tate praised the 1–2 pairing. “Quay [Fields] and TJ [Jamison] looked good together, they’re a nice combo,” he said after the win. “Friendship is magical, but you know what’s really magical? Good spacing.”

[Aphrilia]

WELCOME TO THE LEAGUE (That Happened)
OOC: The things that happened in what I'm covering ICly happened before the IBC. But I'm doing this for RP.

Back during the 40th edition of the International Basketball Championship, the Aphrilian Basketball Federation showcased interest in forming a basketball league.

Of course, at the time, plans weren't going as smoothly as expected. This was a massive project that would require a lot of time, money, and effort. Luckily, Aphrilia has all three of those factors secured. And the national team's showing during the IBC was enough to garner a lot of interest in the sport to the point a professional league was feasible. Basketball has already an extensive college and university program in Aphrilia, with the sport being one of the "Big Four" in the nation's annual National College Sports Olympiad (NCSO, or NaCSO).

In the NaCSO, sixty four of Aphrilia's best colleges in a specific sport play out a massive tournament after a season's worth of qualifying series. Sports ranged from simple ones such as football and basketball to more intrinsic sports such as chess and racing (Karts, open-seaters, and motorcycles are the three categories). It's one of the country's prized events as the best college and university students try their best to win a national prize and represent the name of their school with honor and respect. It's a spectacle not typically found in other countries, with those who win in any sport represented in NaCSO often having successful and fulfilling careers in said sport later on.

And thus, the ABF along with many investors and willing individuals after some time were able to successfully form what would be now known as the National Aphrilian Basketball League, or NABL for short. This is the first ever iteration of the league, and changes may be made in the future for one reason or another. But for it's debut season, here's how things go:

The league is divided into two parts. The Regular Season, and the Playoffs. In Regular Season, the teams are put into three divisions based on which part of Aphrilia they are located. Adellia and Hellastia will have eight teams each in their divisions, while the Cormorant division has twelve teams due to the fact that land-wise, Cormorant is larger than Adellia and the territory that Aphrilia holds on the main continent Hellastia. For now, the regular season will consist of a triple round robin.

Then comes the Playoffs, where things will get spicy. The eight best teams (Out of twelve) from the Cormorant Division as well as the four best teams (Out of eight) from both the Adellia and Hellastia Divisions respectively will be drawn into a Round of 16 bracket. Every series will be a Best of Five, whilst the Grand Finals will be a Best of Seven and the winner will be granted the title of Aphrilian Champions. As for how the draw works, the sixteen teams that were able to get into the playoffs will be sorted by performance, with tiebreakers being: Points Difference - Points Scored (If by any chance two teams had equal PD). Then they will be sorted from Pot 1 to Pot 4.

The reason it's PD then PF is because of the fact that the Cormorant Division has twelve teams, there is a higher chance of gaining more wins even if a team from the Adellia or Hellastia Division perform a perfect run of 21 - 0. After running ten of thousands of simulations, the ABF deem that this is perhaps the fairest option, as the simulations showed that even without a perfect run, the top Adellia or Hellastia teams can beat the top Cormorant teams in PD even if the latter is able to have far more games to play. Of course, this can be revisited and revised in the future once there is a more solid and fair solution available to deal with this potential dilemma. But for now, this will have to do. And yes, we do see the flaw of having Points Scored as a tiebreaker, that can also be revised in the future. For now, think of these tiebreakers as a placeholder.

And with that, here are the twenty eight teams playing in the inaugural season of the NABL:

CORMORANT DIVISION
- Indy Coast Pirates
- Myrtle Flagbearers
- Crownford Frontrunners
- Vestal Hope
- Lange Peak Skeeters
- Gallatyne Executioners
- Stallend Wallers
- Massawitch Curse
- Billingham Bankers
- Shelldaze Storm
- Cheval Knights
- Winx City Skynets

ADELLIA DIVISION
- Ashford Rangers
- Northfolk Pine
- Luther Kingpins
- Luther Goths
- Darlingtown Blaze
- Trosspine Galeforce
- Halifax Glacial
- Blackgem City Conquerors

HELLASTIA DIVISION
- Khoi Dau Revolution
- Firewatch Highlanders
- Arterskye Waves
- Koffdif Landsknechts
- Icazzeta Muskets
- Tekkomura Steelers
- Clouding Quintet
- Pallas City Angels

Place your bets on who will perform, who will flop, and who will shock. We will see you once a third of the season has gone way, as there is quite some narratives building up.

[East Lithuania]

EAST LITHUANIA FALL TO 1-1!



As written in yesterday's report, the team of East Lithuania knew they were walking into the Lion's Den eight times against teams that all logic would determine were better and more prepared for the Commoners. Their first game against Delata was the confidence boost they needed to see the tournament out, opening on the one win they were hoping the secure by the end of this group stage, and many reprints of table after the first game had to be made as people scrambled for proof that, at one point in time, the East Lithuanian basketball team would see their name at the top of their IBC group. Many knew it was because the likelihood of this continuing into the end of the group stage wa all but impossible, and last nights defeat against 64th ranked Nova Calania, 76-70, did much to prove that mindset correct.

In a silver lining, though, the game was far closer than many could have expected. The six point gap between the teams was a well earned margain by the end of the game, with Nova Calanian stars Anastazja Jagodzinska, Fryderyka Olkowska and Maksimilian Jagodzinski all logging over 15 points apiece, Olivia Keefe breaking 25 assists as the Nova Calanian simply outplayed the East Lithuanian Commoners in the half-court, the Commoners trying to hold their mixed-zone defense over competition that wasn't phased by it.

The biggest takeaway was a continued dominance of defensive rebounds by Ba Sunn and Matias Sheff. Coach Eishesh Ivana switched in the second quarter to a bigger lineup, playing Matias at power forward and trying to bait Nova Calania to matching them, their young center Mengyao Hong the only team member to match the height. Whenever Hong did enter the floor, Ivana ensured Sunn was marked to him tight, making fight for every point and rebound against someone ten years his senior and with plenty of battles in the pain in that time. That lineup did keep the game close, East Lithuania nipping at the heels the entire game, every defensive rebound countered perfectly for a fast break the other way. By the time Fryderyka Olkowska hit the dagger to end any chance at an upset, the East Lithunian team could simply nod their head in acceptance and try until the final buzzer.

"We're not going to say this was disappointing, except for how close it was." Eishesh Ivana's press conference was sour, yet his demeanor showed an amount of pride any East Lithuanian would be happy to see. "I'm sorry to those fans who traveled to watch us lose, however we could hear their support their entire time and we are honored to have such loyalty in our corner. Everyone in the locker room loves and appreciates you all, and we all hope to lick our wounds, learn from this defeat and come back stronger than ever."

East Lithiania's lose saw them fall from the top spot down to 5th, still ahead of ranked Britonsea who suffered defeat at the hands of group powerhouse Drawkland, and yet right behind third ranked TJUN-ia, only a five point differential seperating them. Tonight is East Lithuiania's bye for the tournament, getting a two day rest combined with the National Peanut Butter Day break, it's one of the best combinations for a young, inexpeienced team from East Lithuania to survey the group and get the last bit of scouting needed to push forward. With such a gap between East Lithuania and the basement, murmers of a possible qualification out of the group stage have been bubbling up both nationally and internationally, however assistant coach Ignatius Rumplestiltskin got ahead of it right before print time.

"Don't bring that energy into our locker room. We entered this tournament having our end goal be to steal a win; we've accomplished that. Of course we're going to readjust our goals, but to go straight from 'hope for a win,' to, 'beat out mutiple wold ranked teams for a qualification spot,' is too much. That's the pressure that slowly cracks a team trying to make a name for themselves. Our goal is simple, one game at a time until the last match day. Then? We'll look at how the table looks and go from there."

[Sarzonia]

Breaking News

Henry injured in Stars win

From staff reports -- RANORIA CITY -- Sarzonian national basketball team starting centre DJ Henry left the team's match against Delaclava favouring his right knee during the third quarter of Sarzonia's 82-55 victory over their former regional neighbours.

Henry appeared to twist his knee in a battle for the rebound of a TIm Lawrence jumper at the 2:36 mark of the frame. He was helped off the court by members of Sarzonia's training staff and was taken to a local hospital for observation.

Sarzonian team doctors said they didn't want to speculate, but sources within the team feared Henry suffered a torn ACL in the collision with his Phoenixes opponent.

Sarzonia players knelt on the court in prayer and silent reflection before the match resumed after a 10-minute delay. Lawrence finished the day with a game-high 24 points, but he spent his time at the dais talking about Henry.

"Obviously, prayers up for our guy Deej," he said. "We all hope he's going to be OK, but obviously, we're going to have a plan in place in case he's going to be out the rest of the way." Lawrence added five of his six rebounds after Henry's departure from the court.

Sarzonia (2-0) led it 55-23 at the halftime break behind a 10-rebound, four point effort from Henry, who added three blocked shots and drew four fouls on the starting Phoenixes centre. Manager Kyle Trenton said he and the Stars used a three-guard lineup after Henry's departure.

"We'll know more when we get the report from the hospital," he said. "But right now, all we can do is hope DJ's OK and support him in his recovery."

Cliff Gamble will start for Sarzonia in their group stage match against unranked Natkr. Trenton said the team would answer next steps once they received the prognosis from Ranorian doctors.

"There's no sense talking about long-term effects until I have that conversation with [Incorporated Basketball Federation chairwoman] Lynn [Trask]," Trenton said. "If [the injury's] as bad as our training staff fears, we'll have to make a change to the squad moving forward. If it turns out to be something day-to-day or week-to-week, we're going to have a different answer. Right now, we're focusing on the Natkr match and on supporting DJ. That's all we can do right now."

[Valentine Z]

Part 1 – As it has been established a thousand times, Eveline uses her powers for relaxation and recreational purposes.

Chief Aviator Eveline Gwen Tracer Hepburn “Fate of Existence and the Omniverse” Ellen Trixie Caitlin Foxworthy Avril Verlene Celinda Sammy Doris T-Rev Oxton Arielle Lindall Leslie Vitesse Allison was looking somewhat smartly dressed in her dress with blue floral patterns on it – one that she found from one of the little shops in Yangon. While not available for her usual size, she was able to make it work through stretching the fabrics of space instead of the fabrics of the clothes. It was not the fact that she was standing relatively taller compared to the other players, with Eveline being exactly two meters tall. It was more of the fact that she somehow managed to get her name out in a saturated place of streamers, professional players, and the like. Many have accused her of using tools in order to get her advantage, such as aimbots (basically helps aim for the player who uses it) or wallhacks (lets a player see where the enemies are, and as the name suggests, even behind the walls and obstacles). However, all kinds of investigation have left to no proof. It escalated to such an international problem, due to the game being popular in most of the countries of the world, that Eveline was asked to play at various no-stake tournaments. The idea was that she would be asked to play on the machines and peripherals that are officially provided. The computers will be checked for suspicious programs before and after the matches. Eveline was also doubly checked to make sure that she is not carrying anything on her person for such antics. She gave a small smirk as they hover metal detectors around her body as well as a full-on X-ray machine. “Damn, you guys take this very seriously,” she remarked, with her other teammates and opponents following her. “No problem. Hey, I have legitimate skills too, you know that?”

And then the games were on. By most typical measures, Eveline was able to play in a medium-high Elo, so to speak. She knows about a lot of the strategies as well as her aim not failing her for most of the time. Decent, and pretty good, but still not enough to warrant such a tournament level play. As the matches went on, however, the officials and the billions of audience saw that Eveline was doing more and more outlandish plays. Most of them were on the verge of human capabilities, such as reaction times lower than 133 milliseconds, more aware of rotating around the map (that is, having more knowledge of where the opponents are – either Site A or Site B), and many more along the way. She is effectively a dream for her peers and teams, along with being a nightmare to check for the officials. Eveline has been subjected to several tests, even including a couple of drug tests – all to ensure that she was not playing with them and that getting any sorts of unfair advantages. All the checks turned up negative and there was absolutely nothing that can prove that Eveline was cheating on her computer, and the absence of various devices meant that no one outside could have been giving her cues. To anyone else, especially to a lady, all of this might seem a little too intrusive. Eveline, however, was embracing the concerns and worries that others are having on her.

It took her several years, and decades, to perfect it. After receiving said power of time and space, Eveline needed external devices and gauges to keep track of when and where she was, both of which are equal importance. Eveline needs to know which world is she in, when she is in, and of course, which parallel universe or timeline she is in. All of this are neatly tracked by the aforementioned systems that she made by herself, and for most of the times, she was able to get it working. There are, of course, also times whereby she was unable to wear any of these. Telling people that these are her “space-time harnesses” also would not fly and might even mark her as a lunatic. As such, she started using her powers without any of these aids because after all, the Glyph expected her (and perhaps her predecessors) to use it as such. It always started with the basics, in particular slowing down time. Eveline, wearing her equipment still in case of emergencies, focused on one spot for some time, concentrating as to what she wanted to do and to cast aside all the other side thoughts. For the first few moments, it did not work very well, with her opening up errant portals, adjusting time unintentionally, and even slipping across several dimensions and points in space. The devices helped in gauging her coordinates on the multiversal system along with the times she was in, but the idea is to make sure that she can use her time powers without jumping to other dimensions. It was the time hastening that Eveline mastered, followed by stopping, and then finally slowing down. Reversing took a lot more practice due to the timeline splitting and editing nature of it. However, with immense concentration and practice, one would think that she was simply spacing out, but in reality, Eveline would be playing with the flow of time itself.

The officials came up with nothing. Eveline, on the other hand, was using her powers sparingly. She still appreciated the spirit of the game and wanted to get her actual skills to carry on. She did for most of them, and only at a few times then she felt the need to slow down the time by a factor of 2 (time runs at half speed for her). Additionally, she used the time reversals sparingly because to a casual observer, it absolutely made it look like Eveline was able to see and pinpoint where everyone is at any point without any sort of hacking. “Is this what I am doing with my powers half the time? Well, yes. And I am quite proud of that, I will admit. It’s just for harmless fun- okay, save for a fact that money is involved. Ahh, I will think about this another time.” The audience watched and cheered her on as she did her shots – flicking and pinpointing the heads of the opponents with great precision and reaction time. The game went on, and she would finish with a 13–7 for the team, and to say that the opponent got wiped would have been an understatement. The wins and celebrations were had, and Eveline became a quick sensation as one no-name player who went above all impossible odds. “Will this carry on for more and more matches, perhaps not. I may only join free-for-alls and the money part- I will think of something once again.” As she exited the building and quickly made herself unseen by anyone and the security cameras, Eveline portaled to Ranoria City, closing the portal carefully. She already got clearance for and one where Gwen’s Angels will be taking on eight other teams.

In the meantime, she got a lot of group messages from the IBC players, along with coach Joshua himself. “Hey, Eve! Something popped up while you are away for a while. Someone from Panay Islands and Guimaras was seeking for a foreign coach and they are wondering as to if we can spare one for them if any.” This she has not thought of for a moment. Since the earlier inception of Gwen’s Angels and the lack of successful in getting someone, Eveline never thought about getting a foreigner coach, nor sending a Valentian to a team. With that said, she knew about PIaG (she refused to shorten it as PIG) and their nice way of life among many other things. They’re also full of zest for a team that is dipping their feet into international basketball. If the team made it big, it might be one for the Valentian books. Even if they didn’t, it would still be seen as a good attempt at running a foreign team. The only catch is that Eveline has not thought of this, which is not a problem in terms of time needed; she can procure up a list or scour the entirety of Valentine Z in a blink of an eye. The only thing stopping her is as to if she is willing to do this for a team that they have not heard as much about, as well as the nation that – while they are on relatively cordial terms, there is not a lot of interaction between them. “I will think about it, tell them give us time before MD4 rolls.”

With all of this said and done, Eveline then wondered as to what she could do with her free time. With IBC and even NSSCRA not occupying her time as much, she got all the free time for some R&R, which typically involved going across various worlds and timelines with Valentians or just all by herself. “Or go back to that world and play more games with them. Then again, that act gets old. Like, I show up, use my time powers and then dip out? Not as fun as I thought I reckon it to be.” She quietly opened a portal back to that world and dropped her winnings to her team’s desk before leaving, perhaps for good for the time being. “Donate it or use it. Thanks for the good time! – Eve”

Art for Eveline is commissioned by a close personal friend, while I did the design. Absolutely no AI is involved.

[Valanora]

The Dragons have been off to a flying start to their campaign here in Ranoria, two wins from two and both have been very dominant performances from the heavily changed team from last edition. It is a stark contrast to the struggles that the team saw throughout their campaign last go around and the way the team has been performing may give even more credence that the team last edition was simply too old and needed a few fresh faces to help them keep their legs fresh. While we will never know if a handful of younger players on the bench could have helped eased the load off those key veteran players and allowed them to be more ready to give it all in the knockout rounds, the more this team plays at a high level the more you have to believe it would have helped. Nevertheless, this team has plenty of players who are young or are in their prime and the two weeks that the team spent training together back in the Empire seems to have definitely played the role that Odin Nagy was hoping that it would with the team seemingly gelling quite nicely early here in the tournament.

The big key perhaps, and this will come as a bit of pleasant surprise to anyone quite accustomed to Vanorian sport in any measure, is that the defense has been very solid and given the offense the foundation that they have desired to play their preferred style of game. Allowing less than seventy points on average in these international tournaments, as the normal average of points conceded tends to lean towards around the seventy-five point mark. While it is by no means a suffocating defense, it is a defense that has done everything it is designed to do in order to slow down and confuse the opposition and allow the team to get into those free flowing fast break chances. The half court press is a bit of unusual defensive style in this day and age of the game and you can see that bit of confusion that the first two opponents of the Dragons have had in trying to adjust to it and break it down, with the team them falling neatly into their two-three zone when they are broken down and they have played pretty well so far. If they can keep up this pace of keeping teams under that magical seventy point marker, then you have to believe on most nights the offense will be efficient enough to grab a victory.

On offense, the threes are falling in with fairly good regularity and when they are not the team has been quick to grab the rebound and get those second chance points from in close. Leander at center has been a real force in the middle of the court right now and though he is smaller than a lot of the players he has been going up against, has been using the fundamentals and hustle to ensure he gets to those rebounds and loose passes more often than his peers. For the only starter on the team who was a part of the last edition of the squad, it has to feel like the start of a redemption tour, even if it is only two games into the campaign. It will need to stay at this sort of effort though as the team will have duels still left to go with Equestria, Cardenao, and surprisingly off to a hot start New Umoja. The latter is the team that the Dragons are tied with first with through the first two games, both teams with two wins from tow and nearly identical points scored and given up, with the same exact point differential. They may be new to the scene bu New Umoja is showing that they are not to be underestimated.

Up next for the team is Nightralia, who as you might expect from another one of those teams that are new to the competition have not fared very well here in Ranoria. On paper this looks to be quite the easy contest for the Dragons and a way to keep the good times rolling and have that early leg up on the rest of the group in the race for qualification for the knockout rounds. It is a race that unfortunately for the Dragons will end early for them compared to the rest of the group, as they have a bye on that last matchday of the group stage and thusly will have to have their affairs in order. Currently that looks to be on good progress towards finishing at the top of the group but with all the difficult games left to play, besides Lisander, it is a tough call at this point. Equestria or Cardenao could easily show us up or we could be caught unawares by one of these new to the scene teams like our friends and neighbors in Banija were, a match that the head coach is no doubt using as an example to the team why they have to keep their concentration levels high. While the team might be the best team on paper in the group, margins are small and if you do not give your opponents the respect they deserve, you can easily be toppled. So far all is well and the fans will be believing all shall stay well as the team looks to shake off the idea of a jynx on the program in high flying fashion like the first two games have shown.

[Kamijiro]

The Limelight

"Well, that was easy." Taiki Ito mused to a reporter following Kamijiro's 82-46 win over Safiloa. And in truth, it was easy for the Night Roses to win this match. They were ahead by 24 at the half, spurred on by a paint masterclass from Natsuki Sakurai (18 first-half points, 8 first-half rebounds). But that didn't prevent them from celebrating like they won a close one. Oh no, they went clubbing. And by that, let me specify, I mean they commandeered the bus from their bus driver and drove to Ranoria City to go clubbing. Oh, actually, let me be even more specific. They stole a bus, drove it to Ranoria City, and then the bus got towed while they were clubbing.

So now, the Narakugai Night Roses are stuck in Ranoria City, which is... kinda far from where they need to be. Oh, and they're way taller than the average person in the city. They stick out like a sore thumb.

In a parking lot wedged between a bar and a casino, two members of the team argue.
"This was a fucking genius plan, Maeda." Takuya Kabe said, fuming.
"Well, they didn't say I couldn't park there!" Kazuma Maeda replied.
"HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A BUS IN A REGULAR-ASS PARKING LOT?"
"I mean, yeah, but..."
"NO BUTS! I'm getting the team a cab. And YOU'RE PAYING."
"God fucking damn it, that's gonna run me so much money."
"Yeah, well, it's that or we walk. You pick. Actually, go find the rest of the team."
"Where are they?"
"God knows. Just look for big guys with rose tattoos."

All the while, Kanata Miura is puking his brains out in a hotel lobby bathroom, Atsuya Iwasaki is drunkenly hitting on an uninterested bartender and Ichirō Mizuki is trying to buy knockoff cigarettes in an alley. The rest of the team are still in a club. Like herding cats, collecting a bunch of idiots is always a task best left to somebody else. Sadly, Kazuma Maeda is the 'somebody else' tonight. He started by going to the first bar the team went to. There's Atsuya, pouring his heart out to the bartender.

"Sorry for the idiot." Kazuma said, giving her some Jiroes on the way out. "Try to convert these to digital or something, I don't know how it works." So that's one idiot collected... two to go.

Thankfully, the corralling was done before long. A large cab-van pulls up to the curb where the drunk (and high) Night Roses are waiting. Takuya is the driver. He's the least inebriated of all of them and he swears he can see the road properly if he squints one eye and really focuses.

"I thought you were getting a cab." Kazuma asked as he piles in last behind Kanata and Kanata's puke bag.
"Yeah, a cab for 13 people. Good luck finding one of those. I rented this." Takuya says, glaring back in the rearview. "This was the dumbest night ever. Why did I ever let you talk me into this?"
The van gets rolling, the team in various stages of euphoria (or coming down). Asides from Kanata's occasional vomiting, the van rides on in silence.

Line Score
    1Q  2Q  3Q  4Q  FIN
KMJ 23  22  23  14   82
SAF  8  12  12  14   46

Kamijiroan Player Stats
Starters
Name (Eng.)     PTS  REB  AST  BLK  STL  FG/FGA  3P/3PA  FT/FTA  PF  TOV  GmSc
Takuya Kabe      11    3    7    0    3   5/11    0/1     1/2     3    3   7.4
Taiki Ito        12    1    3    0    2   5/9     2/4     0/2     2    2   7.5
Yuki Kuji        10    1    2    3    0   3/6     2/4     2/2     1    3   7.8
Kazuma Maeda      8   11    0    0    1   3/6     0/0     2/2     3    1   7.9
Natsuki Sakurai  24   13    2    2    4  12/20    0/0     0/0     2    1  23.9

Bench
Name (Eng.)     PTS  REB  AST  BLK  STL  FG/FGA  3P/3PA  FT/FTA  PF  TOV  GmSc
Atsuya Iwasaki    5    6    1    0    0   2/5     1/2     0/0     0    0   4.8
Kanata Miura      2    3    0    2    0   1/2     0/0     0/1     1    0   4.2
Ichirō Mizuki     4    2    5    0    0   2/6     0/1     0/0     2    0   4.3
Junya Sugawara    4    3    1    0    1   1/5     0/0     2/2     3    2   1.1
Katsumi Nishimura 2    3    0    0    0   1/1     0/0     0/0     1    2   0.6

Totals          PTS  REB  AST  BLK  STL  FG/FGA  3P/3PA  FT/FTA  PF  TOV
                 82   46   21    9    9  35/76    5/12    8/12   18   14   

DNPs
Kyōgo Ueda, Shōya Kimura, Shin'ya Yamada

[TJUN-ia]

After a tight opening defeat, the Hoops-Jaguars of TJUN-ia were 0-1...but they were certainly not salty at all. Us and Drawkland fought out of our teeth across 4 quarters and in the end, the Net Corps won. There's nothing wrong with accepting we lost a hard-fought contest in this group stage, especially against a team as good as the Net Corps...and Bao Zhou was quick to stress that. We still have games ahead of us and plenty of time to make things right...starting right now.

Game 2 here in The Lion's Den and debutants Delata were up next, a team who were making their first steps in the competition like so many before them. We knew we should easily take this side down, but that didn't mean things were guaranteed at this level at all. Delata certainly pushed us hard at times, with Chenrop Rueangthanarot certainly getting tired through all that work, but Jucinara Benites and Holden McGriffin helped stable the ship enough for Samantha Naylor to pop off and help us deliver the 84-70 win. Simple.

1-1 and now, the road truly begins. The United States of Nova Calania, ranked 64th, are up next. 2-1 please, sir? GO HOOPS-JAGS!

---

SCHEDULE (Group 5, all games @The Lion's Den, Fiston, Ranoria)
MD1: vs Drawkland (11) L 71-73 (5th/0-1)
MD2: vs Delata (UR) W 84-70 (4th/1-1)
MD3: vs United States of Nova Calania (64)
----------------Break----------------
MD4: vs East Lithuania (UR)
MD5: BYE
----------------Break----------------
MD6: vs Britonisea (18)
MD7: vs Kamijiro (32)
----------------Break----------------
MD8: vs Kronbia (25)
MD9: vs Safiloa (UR)