IBC 42 - Competition Thread

[Cardenao]

“You’re awake.”

“I’ve been expecting this call.”

A tense start to the conversation between Mihaly and Luka Casales. It was nearly midnight when the line had rung, clicked and whirred as the encryption kicked in, and the two men responsible for the establishment of Cardenao’s basketball league were talking to each other.

“I read your report, Luka…very compelling. It was heartfelt, it was convincing; it was excellent.”

“Thank you, Mihaly. I put a lot of thought into it, the Treasure Valley deserves it, Eastern Cardenao is being left behind, stripped for resources—this is the least we can do to give back.”

“I can’t argue with that.”

“Well…good then! I’m glad we’re aligned.”

There was a pause, a slight one, but a pause nonetheless. A pause long enough for the meaning of the call to become clear.

“No, not entirely.”

Another pause.

“Ah…of course not.”

“You have to understand, there is a larger plan in place, a bigger focus.”

“Mmm, there always are. Tell me then, what’s the bigger plan here? All I see in Capo Capatori are empty towers, filled with dreams of money, wealth. Treasure Valley is so much more than that.”

“You’re not wrong,” Mihaly said, surprising Luka. “But there are things you don’t know, a member of the Banijan royal family is prepared to take ownership, to bring investment and opportunity into Cardenao; the opportunity is in Capo Capatori. Access to the Arrosian market, increased outside investment into the money markets, this gives Cardenao more at this moment than a Treasure Valley team.”

“All this in the background? So the Treasure Valley never stood a chance.”

“You made them heard, all of Cardenao and many beyond our borders know about them now. They will have their day.”

“Empty words, Mihaly, empty words. I won’t fall for that again.”

“No, no. You made another good point in your recommendation; a commitment to giving Capa Capotori an expansion team. Well, the Treasure Valley will get one, they’ll be one of the first.”

Still the anger pulled at Luka’s stomach. “There’s a bunch of kids who think they’re gonna put their city on the map, think they’ll care about a vague promise for the future?”

“It’s a delay, Luka, not a denial. Help them understand that, you’re good at telling stories, tell them this one.”

“Maybe they don’t need stories anymore, Mihaly, maybe they don’t want them. Maybe, just maybe, they need someone to see the potential in them like I do, someone to finally say yes to them.”

“Luka…I said yes to Cardenao, that means yes to the Treasure Valley. It will happen, you have my word.”

Silence.

“You understand, Luka, don’t you?”

A long exhale.

“Yes.”

[Valanora]

Jolbonopolis would be the home of the Dragons over the next several days and they were greeted to starting off the second group stage not on the court facing off against the highly talented competition that looked to stand in their way of getting to the quarterfinals, but with their bye here in the second group stage. There were two schools of thought when it came to an opening day bye, first that it allowed the coaching staff an extra day to make sure everyone was mentally and physically ready for the task at hand and they would always know what they had to do with destiny in their own hands the entire time. The other though was that they were behind the eight ball from the outset, always doing the chasing rather than the one being chased and that was not a comfortable feeling for a team that was the first seed in the group but had a bad history when it came to this particular format and one of the opponents that were a bit of bogey team for them throughout their history in the sport. While the coaching staff wanted to believe that the former was the case, the nerves associated with this group stage made the latter feel the more real of the two.

The Dragons were going to be given no favors as well as it was that bogey team in Drawkland that was set to be their first opponents of this group stage, a team whose physicality was renowned across multiple sports and made them formidable opponents in just about every one of them. This was especially true in a sport like basketball where being taller and stronger had obvious advantages, especially when compared to the more lithe and athletic builds that were common among Vanorians. These matchups against the Drawkians always made Vanorian coaches staffs feel like pulling out their hair as they knew the level of challenge they were about to face, they knew that anything short of an elite output from their squad and there would be no competing with the physically superior Drawkian team. While you did not have to be perfect, you had to be near enough close to being perfect or to have them be overconfident in their own abilities to truly had a chance. After surviving a scare where they gave up a huge lead but still hung on against the unranked Kytler side, Odin Nagy had doubts that the Drawkians would enter into the game anything other than laser focused.

Aksel Bergh knew the task ahead of him was large, despite being one of the tallest Vanorians he still gave up about six inches in height to the shortest Drawkians, standing nearly a whole head shorter than the competition he was about to duel with. While he had a fairly good vertical, the innate advantages that the team across from them were going to have was going to be difficult to overcome consistently, he would have to use his agility and fundamentals to get good leverage and attempt to block out the opposition. They were going to likely be stronger than he was to but if he used his positioning to his advantage, he was fairly sure he could put up a good enough fight to at least make them have to contest a lot of the rebounds and if luck went his way he would get more than his fair share. The pick n roll game was going to have to be pretty big to to try and open up the passing lanes away from their long arms and reach, of which he was really the only one who could probably have the strength and hustle to pull it off. The challenge sounded almost impossible but so was the idea of making the team a few seasons ago and here he was as the starting center.

The schedule was not going to be much kinder moving forward as the Dragons would take on each of the next highest ranked sides in a row, leaving the Kytler Peninsulae side that nearly pulled off the massive upset of the Drawkians for last, a game that had the potential to determine if the Dragons were going to advance or not. The Fleftics up next after the Drawkians were going to be in a bit of a mood after they were throttled by the same Visayas Islands that stunned the Dragons earlier in the competition, a team that the squad from the Empire knew the quality of. This first game was important for getting off on the right foot and establishing themselves in the group, that despite the level of difficulty and the respect they had for their esteemed competition, that they were keen on advancing out of the group and being a real title challenger. The Drawkian side was their bogey but eventually the team was going to have to face them as well as likely the other bogey teams in Quebec and Shingoryeo as well as Valentine Z if they were going to lift the trophy, there was no better time than now to start the purging of those bogeys than now.

[Banija]

Banijans impress with new jerseys in 21 point victory to open second stage group play at IBC 42

MONTEVICIO, QUEBEC- Stunning basically everybody, the Olympic Committee debuted new jerseys in the second stage of the IBC, once the tournament reached neutral site play. After 15+ cycles with their same jerseys from Filindostan, the team now has switched to Estrella Sportswear, a Kronbian sporting apparal company. "Yes, it was a bold move to make, unannounced here- but it was designed to be a stunning debut for this team." With the team having a strong group stage, finishing 14-2 in the opening stages, the team is gaining popularity, and therefore, jerseys are flying off the shelves. "It makes sense- a brand new era for the NT, with this being the first team that has no players or coaches from the IBC 30-33 title-winning squads. And, of course, surroundings."

Now, to be sure, this switch was pre-planned by all involved. But, of course, as social media takes off, there's an unofficial marketing campaign going around, 'a new jersey for the new Kabaka'. While OCB authorities flatly denied that the death of the Kabaka has anything to do with this, many Banijan fans are saying this, quite unironically. "A new jersey for a new Kabaka- it's a hell of an era." Said the former HC of the NT, and current athletic director at Loyola-Istria, Isaiah Lavaga. Sekakama is quite popular in the way that only 6 year old Kings can be, with no controversial decisions possible to be undertaken by him.

And now, for the basketball. While to the naked eye, Banija's path looks smooth- the trained eye knows that it is anything but. The path to the last 8 is treacherous, especially in as unforgiving a format as 2 group members, of 5, survive the group. The only guaranteed way to get through is to win 3 games, and do so convicingly- and since we are a Pot 2 team in this group, that is not promised. We get upset once- that might be a wrap. First up, a familiar opponent in Chobotan. The unranked team played Banija twice in the group stages. While they had a tight game in Banija, the reverse game was a blowout, as the Banijans beat them by 50+ at their own home stadium. Third match, rubber match- Chobotan's motivations are revenge for getting wrecked on their home floor, right?

A lot of work left to do- a lot of work. But, first game so good. The Banijans held their opponents to 31% shooting percentage from the field, as Dike Uchea led all scorers with 22 points as they cruised to a third win over Chobotan, by a score of 81-60. "Beating the same team three times in a tournament is never easy- hopefully we don't have to face them a fourth time." The head coach, Sadio Bartaba, told reporters. "Still, we did well- team was focused from the word go. Our victory over them a few days ago was all but forgotten- that had nothing to do with this game. No mistakes can be made once we reach this stage, and it was important to start 1-0 here, which we did."

Next, is the mouthwatering game of the stage- it's Banija against the defending champions, Ko-oren. "This is the type of game we want- a measuring stick game." Sadio Bartaba told reporters. "Ko-oren is the standard, the Dragonflies are the reigning champs until somebody rips that away from them." Coach Bartaba told reporters. "I know, the games against Quebec didn't quite go as planned. But we firmly believe that the Lions can compete at the highest levels, among the top 5 in international hoops- and this game is a hell of an opportunity to prove that to the world."

It's Telly who's going to have the most opportunities in this game. The Ko-orenite backcourt is electric, and we all know how Ko-orenites defend in any sport. But, it's that size advantage. Jorasen isn't even 6 feet tall, and Telly's 6'4- a size advantage that many others have assumed would help them in the past, that ultimately didn't. Can he pin her down in the post? Also, so much will do with each team's hunger. Ko-oren play with the quality and confidence of a team that just won a championshiop. These Lions, however, have plenty to prove. Can they prove it against the ringbearers? This will go a long way in changing people's perceptions of the modern NT- if this generation will be good enough to win a championship.

It's a tossup. But, you know, we've always got the home team- so go Lions.

[Quebec and Shingoryeo]

Four Weddings and a Funeral

PART 9 - ALMA-ADA - The Backdrop

'Feeling better today, Alma? We are almost at the end of the road now,' Irene Kweon Binnington looked back at her, as they waited for the right timing to enter the stage at Carignan's Pub. In the last month or so the former party leader ended up spending more time here than she had anticipated, mostly to help out as a nationally marketable aide in the province where her successor, Menzies McConnell, didn't enjoy much support. But the mutual respect they had carried for each other, in part thanks to reminders over the late Premier Haneke, whom she owed plenty, also helped it carry out to a smoother campaign.

Alma-Ada responded. 'What can I say? I am not the person who was our Prime Minister, or the one behind the Olympics in Twin Cities. This is just a small-town byelection compared to anything you've gone hrough, Irene.'

'And that's why it's good to be here right now,' Irene responded with a gracious smile. 'You know, your father loved running campaigns in small towns and barns because of that - if anything he embraced it because, as he would often say...listening to people talk on the barns and walk on the wheatfields brought the best spirits out of him?'

This part, for most part, was true. Her father rarely brought his family to those trips, not because he chose to spend time away with seedy bunches or muddy ridges, but because he knew it was just easier for him to do so with his staffers and municipal leaders. Irene Kweon Binnington knew this level of bones was something that she, coming from a very different world, didn't carry, and cultivated a very different different image with her and her former spouse out in public. And for long time it worked for both leaders, as they climbed to the top of Jolbonopolis Legislature and the Gwangmoo 11's office, and life seemed to go on fine.

Well, until they weren't fine no more.

'What made you stay away from asking Vivek the question that's bothered everybody up to that debate?' Irene asked. 'You knew that you could have delivered the final blow, as most would have done so. But you let the liberal candidate ask instead.' While two of them rarely talked about coordinating strategies outside of initial grounds, mostly as a way to clear their respective turfs to avoid misunderstandings, longtime veteran had noticed how Alma-Ada had stayed away from commenting on the very Kisscam affair that had dominated the discourse. The level of deflections she had taken in response to the matter wasn't a particularly common one, and even during the debate she seemed too calm for Irene to be understood.

'The race seemed mostly set then,' Alma-Ada answered. 'I was getting confident enough to the point where we could just win by putting together a clean campaign. Besides, if Vivek was going to criticise me for being a nepo, it would have backfired here because we aren't doing a governor race like how other countries do. He would have looked even more critical for being openly embarrassed about his own doing.'

'I suppose, but you never know what could happen right?' Irene refuted, raising the need to stay more on point and alerted. 'You may have won this handily, but you know tides are all in your favour.' She continued. 'People here definitely miss the Premier, I could feel that, but this won't always last forever. I've once carried that goodwill, don't get me wrong, but it sometimes turns out your luck isn't as...long as you'd like to be?'

'I suppose,' Alma-Ada answered, before a thought that's been bothering her popped up. 'But you know, as well as probably a half-dozen people on this country, why I couldn't. I mean, I would have been better off if I hadn't found out back then, but you know how Amos-'

A timely disruption followed, as the local EDA chair quickly came to their rescue from an awkward momnt. 'Five minutes til the results start coming in, Prime Minister, and Miss Haneke,' Jeremy Herron said, a man in his sixties long familiar with the processes. He's worked on the provincial chapter for many years, including that of the Premier's days as MLA, and had quietly jumped into the federal chapter that had been mostly out of electoral consideration until few weeks ago. 'Shall we?'

Irene Kweon Binnington looked back, as they slowly walked along the back hallway and towards the hallway. 'Yes I do, but the fact it's stayed this quiet for so long is a blessing its own,' Irene answered in affirmation. 'Let's not worry about that though, and just celebrate.'

[Quebec and Shingoryeo]

MD2, SECOND STAGE CUTOFF.

Group 2A
Chobotan (UR) 77–75 New Umoja (12)
Ko-oren (4) 77–95 Banija (7)

Group 2A                          Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD                                
1 Banija                              2    2   0   176  137  +39       —    —   81–60   —    — 
2 Tumbra                              1    1   0    90   81   +9         —    —    —    —    — 
3 Chobotan                            2    1   1   137  156  −19       —    —    —   77–75   — 
4 New Umoja                           2    0   2   156  167  −11       —   81–90   —    —    — 
5 Ko-oren                             1    0   1    77   95  −18      77–95   —    —    —    —

Group 2B
Warkus (UR) 78–64 Vaishnavaria (11)
Valentine Z (1) 66–78 Aphrilia (8)

Group 2B                          Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD                                
1 Aphrilia                            2    2   0   155  138  +17       —    —   77–72   —    — 
2 Juvencus                            1    1   0    79   70   +9         —    —    —    —    — 
  Warkus                              2    1   1   150  141   +9       —    —    —    —   78–64
4 Valentine Z                         1    0   1    66   78  −12      66–78   —    —    —    — 
5 Vaishnavaria                        2    0   2   134  157  −23       —   70–79   —    —    —

Group 2C
Ophiuchus Region (UR) 62–90 Cardenao (13)
Quebec and Shingoryeo (2 - HOST) 85–66 Tjun-ia (9)

Group 2C                          Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD                                
1 Cardenao                            2    2   0   186  119  +67       —    —    —   96–57   — 
2 Quebec and Shingoryeo               1    1   0    85   66  +19       —    —   85–66   —    — 
3 Tjun-ia                             2    1   1   149  149    0       —    —    —    —   83–64
4 Sea Peoples League                  1    0   1    57   96  −39         —    —    —    —    — 
5 Ophiuchus Region                    2    0   2   126  173  −47      62–90   —    —    —    —

Group 2D
The Kytler Peninsulae (UR) 79–58 Abanhfleft (16)
Valanora (3) 100–61 Drawkland (6)

Group 2D                          Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD                                
1 Valanora                            1    1   0   100   61  +39      —    —    —   100–61   — 
2 Visayas Islands                     1    1   0    93   73  +20         —    —    —    —    — 
3 The Kytler Peninsulae               2    1   1   148  130  +18       —    —    —    —   79–58
4 Drawkland                           2    1   1   133  169  −36       —    —   72–69   —    — 
5 Abanhfleft                          2    0   2   131  172  −41       —   73–93   —    —    —

[Banija]

Omugabe Kato, landing in Cardenao

Omugabe Kato's plane had just touched down in Cardenao. He had been scheduled to come here a couple of weeks ago- the investment opportunities into Cardenao domestic hoops were immense. But of course, then, his grandfather died. And not only that- when your grandfather had spent nearly four decades as the King, well, whatever plans you had simply got superceded by his funeral. Everyone here had been fully understanding, of course. But it had put him a little bit behind on his own plans in Cardenao.

The two-time Olympic gold medalist had landed at the airport in Cardenao's capitol about a half hour before Banija v. Ko-oren tipped off. Tomorrow he'd see his sweetheart, Missy LeCrown- and that's when they'd really dig into this opportunity. But right now, he was flying to the towering Banijan embassy in this country. He was going to attend the Banija v. Ko-oren watch party for IBC 42 at the embassy.

When he got to the embassy, it was about 10 minutes before tip. He strode in, and everybody at the Embassy scrambled to stand up, as he waved them to sit down. "Welcome." The Ambassador gave him a slight bow, and the Omugabe shook the hands of the diplomat.

"How you like our chances today?" Kato said.

"Well, they are the reigning champs." Said the Ambassador in reply. "This team really has been improving though over the course of the tournament- especially since the second Quebec game, as well. I think this is a team that can actually do some damage."

"Same. I try not to have too much hope... But man, isn't it awesome to feel excitement about Banijan hoops? And if we lose, we have a buffer... But it makes the Tumbra and New Umoja games essentially both must wins. So a win would be huge."

"Uchea at the buzzer?" The Ambassador said. They both laughed.

"In our wildest dreams, man." Kato said, laughing back.

---

Banijans stun the world with 18 point beatdown ovet the reigning world champs here at IBC 42

MONTEVICIO, QUEBEC- When Malkom Yrisuéniho was dribbling out the clock at the end of the game, the Banijan fans were standing up in applause, basically in shock. Was this actually happening? Was this real? The reigning champs against the Banijans, and instead of Banija losing yet another big game- it was the Lions who would be high-flying, scoring 95 points and burying Ko-oren. "You know, we've got that hunger, this team absolutely has that dog in them." Sadio Bartaba, the head coach, said after the game. "We can meet up with the very best in the world, go to the deep end, and bury them. I promise you this- you have not seen the last of the Lions on this stage."

It was an absolutely insane game. The Banijans basically flew out to a crazy lead, and Ko-oren never caught up. A stunning first quarter- the Lions hit 5 three pointers in the opening quarter, to take a 30-18 lead after the first 10 minute period. And in the second quarter, it was the Lions stealing a Ko-orenite trademark- an absolutely biting defense, allowing only 9 points to be scored by Ko-oren in the second quarter. That meant the Lions took a 52-27 lead into halftime, a stunning 25 point game at the break. The closest the game was, at any point, in the second half, was a 12 point lead for the Banijans.

Let's go into the first quarter. How, exactly, did the Banijans build such a big lead? Let's dig into the offensive stats, where the Banijan offense really was on fire. 5/9 from three, and 7/11 shooting inside the arc, which meant the team was shooting 60% from the field in the game's opening period- including 55% from 3. "There's no one easy and obvious solution in why we were so good at creating offense in the first period." Said Dike Uchea, the team's star small forward. "But we were running the offense, getting guys into open position, and getting them to finish at the rim.

It was a true outcome performance- all eleven makes for the NT were either behind the arc, or inside the paint- they were able to get to the spots they wanted. A lot of drive and kick for the Banijans, and getting the matchups they wanted, where they wanted. The PF guarding Galabba Danjuma was 7'3, and so Danjuma dragged him way outside the arc- which inverted the Ko-orenite defense. He himself was bombing away from 3, going 3/6 from deep against the slower PF. "We had a strategy going into the game- get their big man out of the paint, and find me my shots." He told reporters afterwards. "Fortunately, I was able to find my stroke early, and knock them down. We had them scrambling in a way that they weren't used to doing." He led all scorers with 10 points in the first quarter, as he was also 1/2 from the line. When he beat the buzzer with a corner 3 to end the first quarter, he celebrated by chest bumping a fan in the first row.

While in the opening period, it was all about the team's ability to create inside-out offense, in the second quarter, it was all about the Lions' smothering defense. Holding them to just 9 in a quarter was an incredible achievement. "They got cold, for sure- but we made sure nothing was easy." Said Kizza Kaba, who played most of the second quarter coming off the bench. "Everything was contested, the rotations within the zone were good, and they couldn't get anywhere near the rim." The Banijans had a slight size advantage(except at PF), and use that to exert extreme pressure on Ko-oren's guards- who struggled to break down and beat half court traps. Not something Banija does option- but an excellent, aggressive wrinkle in a big game from the head coach.

The second half, not much to write home about. A stunning win regardless. "We're here to remind people about the ceiling of Banijan basketball. And on this day, at least, we've shown the world that." Said Dike Uchea.

"It was a hell of a win, a fantastic win- but we've got to lock in." Said the team's veteran PG, Jalima Ssebato. "Job's not done." And that is correct. Banija will have an off-day, one to recuperate, before getting ready to face New Umoja on MD4. With this win over Ko-oren, depending on results during Banija's bye, a win over New Umoja on MD4 should be enough to punch Banija's ticket to the quarterfinals- while a loss would be a momentum killer, and likely set up a do-or-die scenario against Tumbra on MD5, something that everybody wants to avoid.

Job, indeed, is far from done. But on this day- we've proven that we are a team that absolutely nobody wants to face.

[The Kytler Peninsulae]

After the extraordinary comeback against Drawkland was wiped away at the last moment, it would have been easy for this Kytlerian team to fold. Getting here was already the surprise.

But there was a winnable contest to face first, against Abanhfleft - a nation who have history when it comes to scaring Kytlerian teams. They were the opposition for the World Cup 98 opening game, at a packed-out Zube Olympic Stadium, on Reopening Day... And they took the lead and provided an almighty scare before the Kytlerians ultimately came back. Even though it was their second appearance at the World Cup proper, it was the first time they'd conceded in the group stage.

Another time, another place, and a whole heap of things have happened since - not least the fact most of the players in that team that played Abanhfleft perished between there and here both chronologically and geographically - but the same setup. The Kytler Peninsulae against Abanhfleft, with plenty of neutrals anticipating the former to win.

If the challenge facing the Kytlerians against Drawkland was extremely visible, the test here came in part from there not being visibility. The Abanhfleft team were mystery men, and nobody quite knew what to expect from them despite the fact they demonstrably had a team that played games and even won enough of them to advance from home-and-home play. But here - and for the second gameday running - they put in performances as anonymous as they were. A team that had lost 93-73 to the Visayas Islands arguably looked even worse here, getting absolutely bullied in the paint by Magnus Eriksson - finally getting the chance to pick on someone human-sized again - and on the perimeter by, well, everyone else. Including and especially Bunsars Hesaramba, the sharpshooting stretch four who got open look after open look against a Fleftic side who simply didn't adapt to his usage. He led the team with 28 points in a team-high 26 minutes, including a nice 6/9 from beyond the arc, and with a heavily rotating cast of players around him playing suffocating defense... Well, that heavy rotation is how you get 26 minutes as a team high. That and said defense meaning the Kytlerians were 75-45 up with six minutes left, allowing an Oops! All Backups lineup to play all of those six minutes. They were elite bricklayers in that time, but all that meant was that the score was made to look like it was only mildly embarrassing for the Fleftics rather than extremely embarrassing.

"Nothing gets me pumped more than beating a no-name," Hesaramba stated in a postgame interview. "That was the first thing I took from learning more about international sport, that everybody hates no-names."

Let's rewind that statement. "...learning more about international sport." Hesaramba is 23, he's young enough to have basically no memories of The Isolation, he's young enough to have been in the first generation in several to actually have legitimate dreams of representing The Kytler Peninsulae on the multiversal stage in tournaments like this.

Only he didn't have them. Because he grew up in the mean streets of Cobden, Bitternea - a place where multiversal sport basically didn't register (at least until the CBDN Bowl was built to support the World Cup 98 bid and also hosted the IFCF Associations Trophy final), and where the local sport of choice was one that still didn't have a Kytlerian team.

Well, it does now. And Hesaramba is part of it, and might yet have set them on a path to an improbable debut quarterfinal. It would almost certainly require beating Valanora on the final gameday - and the Blue Suns of Visayas Islands before that - but the path is genuinely, staggeringly existent. The Blue Suns had a worse record in home-and-home play than the Kytlerians, and one of the wins they did get was against Valanora. (Who, yes, won literally every other game in that phase, but if you're narrative-building and you're not going to play fast and loose with the transitive property when it suits you...) The Vanorians have a height disadvantage over the Kytlerians, which bodes well for the likes of Eriksson. Oh, and the Vanorians had their bye first and the Kytlerians have theirs immediately before that final showdown.

Could this be a Kytlerian debut success story to rival or exceed any that have gone before it? And what will it mean for Bitternea - the long-forgotten exclave at the heart of this team of trailblazers - if it happens?

[Cardenao]

For the rest of Cardenao, to see the sea being this perfect, the greens and the blues of the water mixing into a deep jade, the surface calm, reflecting the sky like a perfect sheet of light, it would be a memory that lasts till the end of days. For Capo Capatori, it was Tuesday. A special Tuesday, to be fair, but a Tuesday all the same to many of Cardenao’s richest and most powerful who called this crown jewel their home, or at least one of them.

What made this such a special Tuesday was the reason why the SkyWalk Promenade had been rushed to completion and finished ahead of schedule, with only 10% more workplace fatalities than expected, and was now open for the first time, for this special occasion. The SkyWalk was the first of its kind in Cardenao, nearly 100 yards of glass and marble that sat 600 feet above the pavement below that connected two of the tallest skyscrapers in all of the country. The views were staggering, the glitter of rolling waves looking like so many diamonds through one side, dramatic views of the mountains bathed in the soft pink of the setting sun, looking down through the glass floor at the faceless peasants far beneath your feet. No matter where you looked though, you couldn’t escape the digital billboards and physical advertisements with one name, one face, one message:

“Missy LeCrown Presents: The Future of Basketball”

And underneath each one was the silhouette of a fierce lion with a crown atop its mane, all in hyper-stylized gold. The logo for the new team, and a mascot, Cardi the Golden Lion. It tested remarkably well with young children, perfect to drive merchandise sales and create fans, consumers, for life.

At the far end of the SkyWalk was an elaborate stage, shaped like the semi-circles on Cardenao’s flag, bathed in regal blue and gold. On stage was a podium flanked by three flags–one of Cardenao, one of Capo Capatori itself, the third…Banija. The crowd was chatting eagerly amongst itself, buzzing with nothing but anticipation and excitement. Everyone already knew, the only ones that didn’t were those that failed to acquire that which drove this glass and steel city: information.

This wasn’t a mere revelation of a new basketball team, no, this was a display of wealth and grandeur, for the first time in Cardenao’s history. No longer was this a country with unpaved roads, no longer was this a country without a place in the world, no longer was this a country without meaning. This was a coronation, a swearing in of a new dawn for Cardenao, an era where wealth and power was there to be seized if you dared dream big enough and gave up enough of yourself to get there. After this moment, many Cardenaoans would find themselves wanting…more. It would be an unfamiliar feeling at first, but quickly intoxicating with the whispers it hushed into your ears. Go to Capo Capatori, to New Cardonia, to Alameda, shit, even to Küsbon itself if that’s what it took to carve your name into a city block. But no matter where you go, eventually you’ll be forced to answer The Question: how much are you prepared to sacrifice to meet your dreams?

A hush came over the crowd as a man who had looked into the depths of his soul for an answer to that, and had long since made peace with what he was required to give, strode onto the stage with the timing of a master conductor. Cheering, yelling, an explosion of appropriately patriotic and energetic music as Mihaly smiled and waved to the crowd before him and beyond to the millions watching across thousands of speakers and screens throughout the multiverse.

No security ushering him out, no entourage introducing him. Just one man, the leader of a nation walking with purpose as his voice echoed out.

“I was born into a Cardenao that no longer exists,” Mihaly began. “A place lost to time, a country without meaning. I remember growing up in the wake of the Moon Shot, dealing with the destruction of the heart of our nation and the death of our great dream. From the moment I understood how weak we’d become, it disgusted me. I swore to myself–I will give all of me if that means building a New Cardenao, one that will never be forgotten. A place of power, wealth and health for all, a country connected to each other in a way that we don’t have to rely on others; that we will never again suffer under Eshan, or anyone looking at us with hunger in their eyes.”

He gestured simply to the skyline behind him, to the location of this unveiling. 30 years ago, nobody, save for one man, could’ve conceived a vision anything like this: rows of sleek buildings kissing the sky, well funded technological companies, a powerful navy to protect their shores

“Welcome to Capo Capatori; the next chapter in Cardenao’s story. Tonight, we make history again.”

With that, he stepped back as another of Cardenao’s most famous personalities emerged from behind the stage. The moment she appeared, it was like her golden hair and captivating energy rushed out over the crowd before her, driving them into a frenzy. With a beaming, hypnotizing smile, and a wink right down the barrel of the camera, Missy LeCrown owned her moment.

As she took the podium, the logo shimmered and changed from Mihaly’s to a poppy digital rendition of Missy in another display of Capo Capatori’s futuristic technology, and the screen behind her began displaying action sequence of a golden basketball getting slammed through a rim lit on fire by a towering, faceless figure. It was very corny but undeniably dope as hell.

Missy yelled out, “CARDENAO…… CAPO CAPATORI…… MEET YOUR NEWEST TEAM!”

The fiery rim exploded as Cardi the Golden Lion came roaring through the smoke. Again, corny but definitely memorable for a new generation of fans.

“THE CAPO CAPATORI GOLDEN LIONS!”

The crowd roared their approval, and if they were to look down through the glass under their feet, they would see a huge mass of Capatorians celebrating with an explosion of golden fireworks, golden flares, and golden confetti that all rained down on them; this had been planned to be a spectacle in every aspect.

Then the helicopter arrived.

Taking great care to touch down on the ‘roof’ of the SkyWalk Promenade without smashing into it and ending the whole event on an…unfortunate note, the helicopter auto-hovered so a figure in full ceremonial attire could step onto a special section that gently lowered him down onto the stage like he was descending from the very sky above.

“Hello everyone,” the man said in a deep, smooth voice with just the right hint of imperial flair.

The crowd began to murmur, is that…is that Omugabe Kato?? The Banijan Prince?

“It is a privilege to share this stage with Mihaly, and the legendary Missy LeCrown,” Kato said with respect to his host and a sly smirk to his girlfriend.

“It is my great honor to bring the spirit of Banijan excellence to the beautiful land of Cardenao. Basketball has always been a game of soul, of heart over height, and I am delighted to bring that to life as owner of the Capo Capatori Golden Lions. This team isn’t just about winning, though I promise you titles, not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, not six, not seven...…but this team is also about inspiration. It’s about bringing new hope to the boys and girls in Cardenao and heralding in a new era for Capo Capatori."

Mihaly clapped behind him, satisfaction written on his face while Missy LeCrown’s lovestruck gaze smiled on every screen in the city. Kato was right, this was more than a team; it was a platform for Mihaly’s ambition, for Capo Capatori to become one of Cardenao’s most important cities, it gave Missy LeCrown her own media empire, and it allowed gave the Banijan Royal Family a nice asset to add to their portfolio. Everybody was happy.

Welcome to New Cardenao.

---

Several hundred miles away, Luka Casales stared down into his drink as the event played out on a grainy screen at a random dive bar in Capo Capatori, far away from the glitz and glitter of the skyscrapers, closer to the favelas the common workers and peasants were forced to survive in. He’d had an invitation, of course, and while some were bound to wonder where the Director of League Development and the President of the International Basketball Championship was at a moment like this, any curiosity was surely swept away by the glamor of the event.

Why would he go though? He was supposed to be the architect of this league.

Instead, he got played, used to advance the goals of others.

Welcome to New Cardenao.

---

As the sky above Capo Capatori exploded with fireworks featuring golden lions, basketballs, and shimmering scenes that bathed Missy, Mihaly, and Omugabe Kato in golden light–the city seemed to be basking in its own glory and self-made mythology.

“The future,” Mihaly said to the country, “begins here and now.”

Maybe it did, nobody could say for certain.

But far away, on a beautiful, dusty, forgotten court in Eastern Cardenao, a girl crossed her arms at a rusted bucket made from old wire.

She didn’t care about fireworks, about royalty or shimmering digital screens. She didn’t care about the grand dreams of those who already had so much.

She just wanted to hoop.

Welcome to New Cardenao.

[Valanora]

What happened last night in Quebec might be the single greatest basketball game ever played by the Dragons in the history of the national team and against one of the best teams that they were set to be competing with not just in their group but in the entire competition. Drawkland's stature within the basketball world is widely known, they have won multiple NSCAA tournaments with different schools and their physical make up makes them near perfect athletes for the sport. They have won the tournament two times before, in the twenty-fifth and twenty-eighth editions, while also finishing second in the twenty-seventh and third in the twenty-ninth. While it has been some years since they have been at the zenith of the game, they are constantly one of the best teams in every edition of the tournament and contenders from the outset, much as they were this edition as they came into the tournament as the sixth ranked team in the rankings. Yet the loss that they suffered last night against the Dragons might just be the sort of loss that rocks them so much that the morale hit means they fail to advance to the knockout stages of the tournament.

With no player among their starting five shorter than seven foot four, the tip off was obviously was going to go the way of the Drawkians, but it would be one of the few wins that they would have throughout the evening. Odin Nagy had got his team ready in all phases of the game for the match ahead and they were causing all sorts of confusion for the Drawkian players in the half court press defense that the team was employing. Drawkland would miss its first twelve shots of the game as well as turning the ball over three times to the hyper aware defense that the Dragons were playing, allowing for some much needed fast break opportunities. After just under six minutes of play, the Empire was already up eighteen to nothing as they were making layups and short range jumpers while Drawkland was constantly bricking their shots. Eventually Drawkland would start to find their rhythm by trying to bully the front court to some effect, Terri Blackwood making Aksel Bergh's task quite difficult down low. Yet the run that Drawkland went on for the rest of the second half had to be excellent and it was merely good, the first half ending with the Dragons up forty-eight to twenty-six.

Malin Lien was leading all scorers with fourteen points for the Dragons, a bid recipient of the fast breaks that the Dragons were gaining with the turnovers and rebounds. Despite having trouble keeping the taller players from getting high value shots, Bergh was making sure to box out on every missed opportunity and had twelve rebounds at the half, which normally was his average for a game. If Drawkland was going to get back into the game, they were going to have to find a way to slow down the Dragon's shooting, as they were shooting over seventy percent from the floor and had hit all four free throw opportunities thus far. It was exactly the sort of perfect half that the team had talked about needing before they game and they were executing it to perfection while Drawkland was obliging them with some real sloppy play. If they could keep up similar levels in the second half, the team knew they had a real shot of walking out of the game not just with a win but control of the group as witnessing The Kytler Peninsulae pull off a major upset against Abanhfleft in the first half of the double header, while Visayas Islands were resting on their bye day.

The second half was more of the first as despite better shooting from Drawkland, nothing they were doing was making the Dragons have any sort of struggle on the offensive side of the ball. Lien would finish the game with twenty-eight points, going ten from ten from the field with eight from nine at the charity stripe to lead all scorers. Bergh would add another eight rebounds in the second half to finish with twenty, as well as eight assists being more a decoy against the tower players of Drawkland. At the final whistle the Dragons had put up a hundred on the Drawkian team that had given them quite the set of nerves heading into the group stage, triple digits against the bogey team and biggest competitor in the group. Elation was on the face of all the players when the game came to an end, knowing how huge this win not just on the scoreboard but wheat it meant for the group and what it meant for all Valanora. Drawkland had hung over them like a dark cloud and yet they shone right through that misery and turned it into one of the best performances ever by a Dragons team.

That high can not get in the way of what comes next as Abanhfleft is now going to be playing for their knockout lives after losing their first two games, as another loss more than likely will eliminate them from knockout contention. That is going to be a desperate team looking to play with a lot of pride, especially the way they were beaten by an unranked opponent. The same sort of focus that the team put into their preparation for the game against the Drawkians now needed to be done for the Fleftic opposition, they could not be caught unawares. Slipping up against the Fleftics would erase all of the good that the victory against Drawkland had provided, all the leverage they had and the inside track to one of the two Quarterfinal spots that come with advancing out of the group. If Malin Lien can continue to be red hot from the floor and Bergh continue to do enough in the post, the Dragons are going to be a tough out for any one that they come up against and could give themselves a real chance at winning it all even if the hosts were looking near unbeatable thus far in the competition.

[Quebec and Shingoryeo]

Four Weddings and a Funeral

PART 10 - ALMA-ADA - The Victory

It was a fairly straightforward procedure on the pub once the polls closed with a mighty ring of a gong on each of Bonneville Centre's thirty polling stations. With how quickly the polls were tabulated, even at the manual hands of the busybodies who were mostly staffed of locals with varied experiences, the momentum of the first wave of votes were more than enough to tell us the eventual outcome. Within fifteen minutes of the first poll results, the election was called by those of the national television, and Alma-Ada was ready to jump into the stage.

Waiting on the backstage, while the EDA chair introduced, Mayor Denzel Surratt spoke of his memories with his late friends, and then Irene Kweon Binnington asked people to run and live on hope. A recorded video message of Isidore, Evan and Ava was played right after, to which endorsements and encouragements followed, as people got emotional. Then it was time for Alma-Ada walked into the narrow, wooden stage at the back, as she was ready to accept the victory that came calling.

'Thank you! Thank you!' Alma-Ada said, as she got to the podium and looked into a packed pub of about eight hundred. With the relatively small space this afforded, not all of those who were expected to come was able to make it. Outside speakers, of course, was made available for that reason. But both inside and out, and also covered by television camra, the orange wave was palpable, one that's more than enough to bring back the shades of Lecavalier era victories across the nation, as orange signs of 'All for Alma' and the Shinminjeon covered the space.

'It's truly an honour to be here, just twenty years after my late father, dear Premier, brought me and my two siblings out to the podium. My late mother, god bless her soul, was the one taking the photo - she didn't always have the easiest time with the shutters herself, so we kinda did our part for her,' Alma-Ada answered, to which a gentle round of laughters followed.

'But really, I think I am probably the luckiest person in the world right now, to pick up where we had all left off fifteen years ago. One of my greatest regrets in life, of course, was to not turn back the clock and save him. This feeling, one of clear regret, was one that I've carried around for many years, which was the reason why I was so hesitant to even consider following his path.'

The floor was silent, perhaps reflecting the density of the air here as she admitted her regret.

'But at the end of the day, I guess we all had to come back home,' Alma-Ada said. 'And no matter what and where and how I had to come back, I did come back. And here in Bonneville, my hometown, I can say that I have really come back now to really start a political career as the Shinminjeon's Member of Parliament for Bonneville Centre for next two years!'

A massive round of applause followed.

'But let's not think about my path no more. That matters little to none now,' she resumed, shifting the topic. 'Because this marks the beginning of something new, big, bright and blue for us. This victory may encompass just the Bonneville Centre, but I will be fighting for everybody I serve. Our constituents come first, of course, but the brave, proud Shingoryeoites across the country will not be left behind my watch. By this I mean that I will give every measure of support and trust to our leader, Right Honourable Menzies McConnell, and our strong, proud caucus in Jeongdeokgoong.'

A less roaring round of applause, with some murmurs, followed. There's only so much Alma-Ada could do to cause the federal party's inter-regional divide, or with the Shinminjeon Government in Yoseo province.

'But this is it for now today. We will wake up early tomorrow, we will get out there, and we will start making a change,' Alma answered. 'So now it is time for us to celebrate and call it the day. Thank you and good night!'

With that she left the stage, and moved to the crowd as the crowd cheered on her. Fully surrounding her, almost in a cultic atmosphere, she decided to greet and chat. Embracing the positive energy, that almost bordered the frenzy.

[Quebec and Shingoryeo]

MD3, SECOND STAGE CUTOFF.

Group 2A
New Umoja (12) 60–84 Ko-oren (4)
Tumbra (UR) 90–76 Chobotan (UR)

Group 2A                         Pld   W  L   PF  PA  PD                                
1 Banija                             2   2  0  176 137 +39       —    —    —   81–60   — 
2 Tumbra                             2   2  0  180 157 +23       —    —    —   90–76   — 
3 Ko-oren                            2   1  1  161 155  +6      77–95   —    —    —    — 
4 Chobotan                           3   1  2  213 246 −33       —    —    —    —   77–75
5 New Umoja                          3   0  3  216 251 −35     —   81–90  60–84   —    —

Group 2B
Vaishnavaria (11) 71–94 Valentine Z (1)
Juvencus (23) 61–74 Warkus (UR)

Group 2B                         Pld   W  L   PF  PA  PD                                
1 Warkus                             3   2  1  224 202 +22       —    —    —    —   78–64
2 Aphrilia                           2   2  0  155 138 +17      77–72   —    —    —    — 
3 Valentine Z                        2   1  1  160 149 +11       —   66–78   —    —    — 
4 Juvencus                           2   1  1  140 144  −4      61–74   —    —    —    — 
5 Vaishnavaria                       3   0  3  205 251 −46     —    —   71–94  70–79   —

Group 2C
Cardenao (13) 82–80 Quebec and Shingoryeo (2 - HOST)
Sea Peoples League (71) 100–77 Ophiuchus Region (UR)

Group 2C                         Pld   W  L   PF  PA  PD                                
1 Cardenao                           3   3  0  268 199 +69     —   82–80   —   96–57   — 
2 Quebec and Shingoryeo              2   1  1  165 148 +17       —    —   85–66   —    — 
3 Tjun-ia                            2   1  1  149 149   0       —    —    —    —   83–64
4 Sea Peoples League                 2   1  1  157 173 −16      —    —    —    —   100–77
5 Ophiuchus Region                   3   0  3  203 273 −70      62–90   —    —    —    —

Group 2D
Abanhfleft (16) 62–94 Valanora (3)
Visayas Islands (17) 57–76 The Kytler Peninsulae (UR)

Group 2D                         Pld   W  L   PF  PA  PD                                
1 Valanora                           2   2  0  194 123 +71      —    —    —   100–61   — 
2 The Kytler Peninsulae              3   2  1  224 187 +37       —    —    —    —   79–58
3 Visayas Islands                    2   1  1  150 149  +1       —   57–76   —    —    — 
4 Drawkland                          2   1  1  133 169 −36       —   72–69   —    —    — 
5 Abanhfleft                         3   0  3  193 266 −73    62–94   —   73–93   —    —

[Ko-oren]

Part IV

Project Wiki: Culture V

Fashion

Given the wide range of climates across the archipelago, traditional clothing - clothing worn until the last three centuries or so - was mostly confined to a region and influenced primarily by the available materials and protection against local weather and temperature. Where geography is one factor, another factor is the person wearing the clothes: their social class and wealth and clothes worn for physical labour or for a formal occasion. On the whole, traditional clothing across the islands was influenced by leading styles in the Capitals (centre of diplomacy), Amahne (centre of culture), and Ilohbonu and the southwest (centres of business). All three of these locations lie in the mild-climated central column of the largest island of Ko-oren, with the capitals having a decidedly colder climate but on the whole, this column contains - to this day - nearly half of the population, with the centre of population skewing even further to this corridor in the past. The three areas influenced each other as well and gravitated towards similar styles every now and again, and as a bloc they influenced fashion and culture in other regions as well.

Typically, traditional clothing consists of three parts:
- pleated trousers, like hakama, wide-fitting.
- a shirt/tunic, tucked into the trousers, with cords in the sleeves and around the waist to help affix the garment to the body.
- a belt that keeps the trousers and the tunic in place, sometimes as narrow as a rope, sometimes wide enough to cover everything between midriff and hips.

Optional, but often included:
- a hat to protect against rain and sun, with a flap over the upper back.
- a long jacket for warmth.
- cloth boots/shoes, just long enough to reach the trousers.
- a sash to tie together hat, jacket, tunic, trousers, and belt, and offer more storage space, and to make sure you always have a cloth and/or rope on you if needed. Sometimes, the sash was simply an extra fold in the tunic.

Most day-to-day clothing was made from panels, to easily replace those parts that saw more wear and tear. Designs were therefore often asymmetric. The belt was effectively a tool belt with extra loops and a longer end to have some space to have all the tools needed to bring more items, and the trousers also had large pockets. The trousers being wide-fitting, and the tunic often so as well, allowed for a breathable and somewhat customisable set. Colouring was elaborate, with a lot of bright colours, though more theory and coordination went into colour use in formal or high class clothing.

Different areas had different colouring codes, materials, and patterns for roles and classes. Brighter sashes and details, on the mainland, signified a higher standing, whereas the southeast, northeast, and other isolated communities usually had lighter garments and darker details and accessories.

Some of the traditional clothing remained around in modern times, especially for breathability and storage. Hikers, orienteerers, and other outdoors (and indoors) activities have obviously adopted modern materials and styles, but may still use some of the above elements to protect against temperature, rain, and so on.

Formal attire leans more heavily into traditional elements, with accessories, colours, and codes still used, overtop suits and dresses.

[Aphrilia]

Kieran Vassal hopes that he won't be on the chopping block... Anymore, hopefully.

Three matchdays have passed, and Aphrilia received their bye day on the third matchday of the competition. They've played two games in Group 2B so far, and have won both of them in fine style. Their first game in the tournament proper would be against unranked side Warkus, who had proven their worth as one of the five unranked nations that were able to get past the first group stage. But The Brigadiers knew better than to underestimate an unranked side. Doing that had almost ended their tournament run in the first group stage, and they had learned from their mistakes by going all-out on the first day. By this point in the tournament, it was all or nothing.

Still, The Garnets gave The Brigadiers quite the tough time. But in the end, the latter were able to prevail against the former in a tight match. A score line of 77 - 72 proves as much, especially as both sides were trading points against one another. It was only the first match of the tournament proper and it was already tough. Group stages were brutal, but it was even more brutal when Aphrilia had to face off against the multiversal bumber one in basketball, Valentine Z. It didn't seem like the team would do well.

But then, the match came and The Brigadiers won.

Mind the fact that the win wasn't a flashy or dominant one, especially against a side as experienced and talented as Gwen's Angels. The Brigadiers simply played the best basketball they could at that exact moment, and Kieran knew that. He knew the early struggles this team faced with how most of the players felt lifeless and all of that. To now see that spark re-ignited completely as they play each game to the best of their capabilities, it does make him smile. Especially as he watches each replay and reads each report. Analysis of each player's individual performance, statistic sheets, videos compiled with graphs about every little play... This was his expertise.

He knew that he wasn't a manager in the traditional sense. He was obsessed with data and analytics, much more than he'd believe most managers are. He was never the best at dealing with player conflict, Jefferson Sullivan, his assistant manager, would often deal with that regard. Kieran made the tactics and analyzed the plays, Jefferson would deal with the personnel. They don't talk to one another often, rarely even. But the two understood their roles as long as they were together on managing the national team.

So, what was Kieran expecting after this rest day for The Brigadiers was up? Well, two more games until the knockouts were coming up. He was not about to have this team get their two previous victories into their head. No job was over until the game was over. Both Juvencus and Vaishnavaria are currently desperate sides, especially the latter, and they likely will want to snag a win or two no matter what. Even though he wasn't the best at dealing with the players, he will make sure they play hard and work hard.

It wasn't about just keeping his job anymore, it was about getting this team to reach new heights.

[Valanora]

It was another dominant display for the Dragons as they have began their path through the second group stage in style, dispatching the two highest ranked team of the group outside themselves with the sort of performances that you expect for one of the front runners of the competition. Ruthlesslesly efficient on the offensive end and frustratingly difficult to overcome on the defensive side of the ball, they are playing a complete style of basketball that we have never seen from a Dragons side before. Even during the two tournaments prior when the Vanorian team made it to the championship game they were not performing as well as Odin Nagy has his team performing right now, having won every single game of the competition thus far besides a trip to the Visayas Islands on the second matchday. However in that game as well they had opportunities late on to tie the game or go ahead, but did come up just short from being able to escape from a difficult place to play still with a win. It might be even that the narrow loss had been exactly what the team needed early on to ensure their focus for the rest of the tournament was not deterred from the task at hand.

Abahfleft had come into the group having to like their chances of potentially playing spoiler to either the Dragons or Drawkland and taking away one of the two advancement slots from the group. They were a good team who seemed to be playing fairly good basketball heading into the second group and yet to open with a pair of losses put them on the backfoot and needing to get a victory against the team from the Empire or their tournament would be over with. The Dragons expected a fierce fight from the Fleftic team and for the first ten minutes of the first half, that was exactly the sort of game they got as both teams were exchanging baskets and stops to keep things neck and neck at twenty-two to twenty-one. However the Dragons would go on a twenty-eight to ten run to end the half as their half court press started to get the Fleftic team to rush their movements rather than play their style of game. Forty-nine to thirty-two halftime score saw the Dragons firmly establish the lead much like they had in the previous game against Drawkland, refusing to let the opposition make any significant run in the second half to close the gap.

Much like the previous game against Drawkland, the Dragons put their foot on the throat of the Fleftic team to start the second half and made their first eight shot attempts and the writing was on the wall for Abanhfleft. Unless they were about to play at a much higher level than they had the entire game thus far and the entire second group stage, they were facing a third straight defeat and elimination. That realization seemed to kill whatever resistance was left in the Fleftic team as though they were going through the motions, there was not much in the way of desperation about their play. The Dragons with their huge lead were able to let a lot of the bench players rack up some minutes and the scoring slowed down a little with the team failing to eclipse triple digits despite it looking like they were on the pace to. Once again Lien had lead all scorers, this time with twenty-one on the evening as the team walked away from the game as ninety-four to sixty-two winners, while Abanhfleft's elimination from the tournament have the side looking for answers with still one game left to play as they will want to improve upon this performance in the next edition.

For the Dragons, they are one game away from securing their spot in the Quarterfinals, as they look to contest Visayas Islands for a third time in this edition of the competition, having already gotten revenge for that early loss with an emphatic victory in Stormguard for the return trip. However this game is in Quebec and though it is in Arrosia it is the not the comforts of home back in the Empire. Visayas Islands though have to be reeling a bit after getting thrashed by the Kytler Peninsulae, the unranked team now with two wins and sitting in second and having a good chance for advancing out of the group as a big surprise. With the Rushmori outfit looking perhaps the strongest in form team in the group outside of the Dragons, the team would rather not want to risk having to beat them on the final matchday of the group stage to ensure their progression into the next rounds. Lien's performance over the first two games have been nothing short of spectacular and a third straight performance could and probably should be what the Dragons will need to secure that advancement and have a chance at making that deep run into this tournament while erasing the bad memories of the two previous times this format has come back to bite them. All they have to do is win one more game against a foe that they have come to know quite well this tournament.

[TJUN-ia]

After finishing 4th in Group 1D at 11-5, the Hoops-Jaguars of TJUN-ia have seen their record reset and the stakes changed as we prepare for the battle in Quebec and Shingoryeo for a spot in the Quarterfinals of IBC 42. Bao Zhou will be happy to see our GS1 record consigned to history, with several misfires and slumpish performances making the latter stages of the group not exactly a fun time, but now with the slate clean, the mission becomes all the more clear. We have to put that effort behind us and move on to a tough Group 2C, hoping to break through and make that Top 8. So how did the first half go?

Game 1 at Leggett Family Arena in Bonneville was up against a debutant - the pretty-unknown Ophiuchus Region. The fact they made it here in the first place was quite impressive on their part but up here against the big boys, we had all the expectations on our shoulders and we simply couldn't dissapoint. Samantha Naylor was running the show, with Teuane Tibbo in a strong supporting role, as we pulled up with a splendid 83-64 win - a 19-point buffer to add to the tally.

And then we played the Grim Reapers themselves. The World #2 on home court. And yeah, it went about as well as you'd expect in those circumstances. They cooked us in front of the home fans and at 85-66, our 19-point PD just went down the drain.

So with two games left, we are 1-1 with a PD of exactly zero. Our fate is still in our hands, but we will certainly have to work for it nonetheless. We will hope to finally take down Cardenao up next before, win or lose, the Sea Peoples League awaits.
Do or die from here, so bring it on!
GO HOOPS-JAGS!

---

SCHEDULE #2 (Group 2C - Leggett Family Arena, Bonneville, Quebec and Shingoryeo)
MD1: vs Ophiuchus Region (UR) W 83-64 (2nd)
MD2: vs Quebec and Shingoryeo (2) L 66-85 (3rd)
MD3: BYE (3rd)
MD4: vs Cardenao (13)
MD5: vs Sea Peoples League (71)

[Banija]

Omugabe Kato, at his rental home in Capo Capatori, the morning after the announcement

Omugabe Kato was smiling. Never did he dream that this would be happening- but, indeed, it was. He was now the proud owner of the Capo Capatori Golden Lions, who would be one of the marquee basketball franchises in Cardenao. Kato himself- working directly with Mihaly- had made this happen, and now he was going to be a critical man in the growth of basketball Cardenao. Quietly, Mihaly was turning Cardenao into a sporting powerhouse. They already had a World Bowl title, after beating the heavily favored Banijans to win World Bowl 49. And after their massive upset, in Quebec, over the tournament favorite Grim Reapers, it turned out their national basketball team was also a legitimate threat to get a trophy.

Cardenao rising for the first time, Banija re-rising in this sport- it really was the perfect time to strike. And all this had him thinking about life. This opportunity, this team- it was a chance to build a business, build a legacy. And who did he want to build it with? The woman he was madly in love with- the most important woman in Cardenao, Missy LeCrown. Wouldn't Missy Katende be such a great name? Or, even better- Omugaba Missy? Their children could legitimately take over the world, that's the firepower. But to do that- they needed to get married first. But she was his girlfriend- it was time to change that.

"Baby? Kato?" Missy yelled from the kitchen. "I'm going on a run- you coming?"

"Not right now." He told her. He liked running with her- but this morning called for a different plan. "Love you!" He went down the stairs and kissed her on the cheek, and then she was out the front door. Kato waited for 5 minutes to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything- and with that confirmed, he decided to facetime his Aunt.

"Hey Auntie!" He said, holding up the phone to his face.

"Hey- that's Omukama to you." She said, laughing. Omukama Immaculate and Omugabe Kato exchanged pleasantries for a few minutes. She asked him how the trip was going, he spoke about how the plans were going off without a hitch, and how his plans for the Golden Lions would be strong. "Kato, I appreciate you calling, but we can catch up more broadly when you land in Busukuma. Can you tell me why you're calling today?"

"Well, Auntie, I guess you're in charge... I'm looking for your permission to marry Missy."

"You proposed??"

"Not yet." Kato replied. "But I've made the decision- I'm gonna do it within the next few days." The Omukama looked at him for a moment, making him sweat it out. Then, she called her brother, Omugabe Ttembo, into the room, and Kato told his uncle the same thing.

"Finally man!" Kato laughed, as Omugabe Ttembo spoke. "I can't believe you left her on the market for that long."

"She wasn't on the-"

"Kids these days! Waiting forever to get married. ME and my wife dated for four months- and look at us now?" Ttembo said, while laughing.

"Of course you have my permission." The Omukama replied. Like in most royal families, the ruling monarch had to personally approve of marriages- and with the Omukama assuming the powers of the monarch, she was doing exactly that. "Missy would be a tremendous addition to the family. And, yes- she will get the title of Omugaba. Seal your love, and an alliance to bet- what more could you want?"

"Thank you, Auntie." Kato said. The Omukama started speaking off screen, asking for someone to remind her to call Mihaly. Kato wasn't really listening.

"My advice, Kato?" The Omukama said. "Do what you want- but if you've got a ring ready, fly off to Quebec and get engaged there. IBC's ongoing, both of our teams just had huge wins, both should be playing in the quarters... It'll be just a great cause for celebration."

"Alright." Kato said. "Why not? I've been talking to a guy- I'll see if I can get the ring in time." And then, he hung up. This time next week- he'd be engaged to be married.


"

[The Kytler Peninsulae]

The Visayan national team are most often referred to as the Blue Suns in translated media, but another nickname they have is La Sele. It stands for either "The National Team" or "The Selection" depending on who's translating, but either way, it's a delightfully catchy little nickname. With one small problem.

It invites jokes about "making La Sele look silly."

Which is what the Kytlerians did in Jolbonopolis to put themselves in a position where an unthinkable place in the last eight of their inaugural IBC is now startingly thinkable. After an opening period where both teams were better at defending than scoring - leaving the score at 10-10 after the first, erm, ten - Vic Charles sparked the game to life in the second as they put up ten points of their own within three minutes, Ignacio Nobuhara looking helpless to stop them. When the change to defensive specialist Akil Abdulwahid stopped that run, the Kytlerians simply attacked the basket through Magnus Eriksson. In all, the Kytlerians almost tripled their first-quarter points haul in the second as they added 29 to their tally - all whilst keeping their opponents to another measly ten-point total. It was an absolute statement run from a team that have already put up a few of those at this point.

39-20 at the half, then, and the only reason the beatdown didn't truly continue was a combination of cold Kytlerian shooting in a third period they otherwise dominated and the Visayans actually looking like they could shoot in the fourth, Ramón Escaño Jr. finishing with a team-high 19 off the bench. Sadly for La Sele, the game was up by the time he put up most of them; 13 fourth-quarter points were only enough to bring the gap back to the 19-point margin the Kytlerians opened in the second stanza and added another seven to in the third. Both Charles - the genderfluid Kytlerian sixth wo/man - and Eriksson managed 21, and there were stray scores from seemingly everyone on the roster to account for the other 34 points scored in this 76-57 cruise.

Now comes the interesting bit. Valanora await on the final night of group play; clearly they will be favourites, but not to the extent anyone would have anticipated even at the start of this group, when it was already known they'd be playing the most chronologically difficult schedule and the Kytlerians would be off a bye. Not that being victorious over the Visayans in the matinee half of the fourth doubleheader will be distinguishable from a bye on this evidence, and you'd have to assume Drawkland - whom the Vanorians have already positively murdertwatted - will do the same on the final afternoon after also beating Fleftics Anonymous in the next nightcap. Assuming all that happens, the Kytlerians would need to beat Valanora and not have the worst points difference of the three 3-1 teams in that scenario - something that is physically impossible unless the combined winning margins for the Net Corps in their final two games is at least 74 points. There's an RLStates lesbian anthem whose title springs to mind when thinking about that one.

It means that the use of PD as the first tiebreaker is seriously playing into Kytlerian hands right now, and that's even ignoring the fact that in this scenario Valanora would also almost certainly need only to not lose by a dozen points to lock down the group win. But it gets better. If the Net Corps blow it against the Blue Suns and the preceding two games do follow the script, the Kytlerians will be near enough in the last eight before they even start; in that scenario, losing to the Vanorians would put them in a three-way tie at 2-2 in which they would almost certainly start with quite the PD advantage over both Drawkland and the Visayas Islands. Regardless, the Kytlerians will know exactly what they need to do in advance; the tantalising possibility is that this task isn't "beat Valanora" but "don't get absolutely murdertwatted by Valanora."

First, though, they rest, and wait. Their fate is in their hands on one level; it is anything but on another.

[Quebec and Shingoryeo]

Welcome to Fort Lowe, the city of milk and honey!
Gaylord E. Pryor Field (cap. 36,450)
Tenant: Keewatinook University (QIS)

As the second group stage is well underway across the province of Yoseo, the northeastern part of the province was getting ready for the next phase of the competition.

Located about nine to ten hours east of Prince Eric, four to five northeast of Bonneville, and thirteen to fourteen hours north of Jolbonopolis, Fort Lowe is a smaller, mostly agrarian city of 350,000. Located on the Wascana Range mostly known for its flat landscape that would span for hours to any direction, and the richness of its golden soil, Fort Lowe was built as a railway junction between the Northern Shingoryeoite Railway from Prince Eric to Attawapiskat, and the Grand Yoseo Railway from Zarubino, port town five hours north to Jolbonopolis. With its development as a railway hub and an agricultural frontline, especially in wheat, canola and potash best symbolised through the 250m tall Shingoryeoite Wheat Board Tower in the Downtown, the city has quietly but steadily developed into a regional centre. To this day this remains to be the case, as the nation's breadbasket continues to see sustained growth with solid job output and housing developments, even as much of the awkwardly-sized cities in its range continue to struggle.

It is in Fort Lowe where the third and final, knockout stage of the competition will be hosted, as the recently-refurbished, state-of-art Gaylord E. Pryor Field will be made ready for the occasion. First built in 1903, as a rectangular stadium that's designed to host the Keewatinook University's football, athletics and other sports teams, the GEP has since been rebuilt thrice, refurbished a few more times, and has seen enough expansions in what's now part of the university campus to develop into a modern stadium that incorporates all the heritage of its 1930s arches and traditionalist dining options, and the latest advancements afforded by its newer press and luxury suites.

A medium-sized outdoor stadium that has been specialised for its use on gridiron football, the 30,000-seater is expected to address its logistical shortcomings through various measures. It is expected that the smaller, inner circle of seating will be provided through retractable stands that would amount to around 20,000 stands, while the University has already upgraded its gigantic scoreboard at the east end of the stadium that's mostly empty outside of approximately 1,000 seats. Additionally, with its creaking seats (ergonomically designed to be this way), multi-level stands and cavernous roof that resembles early-1900s stadium roofs, and the windiness of the open air that's peculiar to this part of the province, needless to say that the stadium will come away with an intimate atmosphere deserving of hosting an international competition.

Outside of the stadium, there is relatively not much to do in this part of the province. Most visitors who come from outside of the province, tend to spend some time visiting the Agricultural Hall of Fame and the National Wheat and Grains Museum, as well as about a half-dozen local museums and galleries that the city offers in its core. Those more familiar with the locale, in the meanwhile, uses the opportunity to spend time in the University District located to the city's southern end, even though the recent rise of White City Fortress, a former military fortress that also incorporates latest gastropubs, nightclubs and youth housing, have meant that the eastern half of the city's where increasingly more visit. The western half of the city, in the meanwhile, is mostly residential in nature with the exception of the airport. Both are separated from Downtown by the Wascana River.

[Quebec and Shingoryeo]

MD4, SECOND STAGE CUTOFF.

Group 2A
Ko-oren (4) 91–65 Tumbra (UR)
Banija (7) 75–51 New Umoja (12)

Group 2A                         Pld   W  L   PF  PA  PD 
1 Banija                             3   3  0  251 188 +63
2 Ko-oren                            3   2  1  252 220 +32
3 Tumbra                             3   2  1  245 248  −3
4 Chobotan                           3   1  2  213 246 −33
5 New Umoja                          4   0  4  267 326 −59

Group 2B
Valentine Z (1) 93–68 Juvencus (23)
Aphrilia (8) 81–61 Vaishnavaria (11)

Group 2B                         Pld   W  L   PF  PA  PD 
1 Aphrilia                           3   3  0  236 199 +37
2 Valentine Z                        3   2  1  253 217 +36
3 Warkus                             3   2  1  224 202 +22
4 Juvencus                           3   1  2  208 237 −29
5 Vaishnavaria                       4   0  4  266 332 −66

Group 2C
Quebec and Shingoryeo (2 - HOST) 84–71 Sea Peoples League (71)
Tjun-ia (9) 60–61 Cardenao (13)

Group 2C                         Pld   W  L   PF  PA  PD 
1 Cardenao                           4   4  0  329 259 +70
2 Quebec and Shingoryeo              3   2  1  249 219 +30
3 Tjun-ia                            3   1  2  209 210  −1
4 Sea Peoples League                 3   1  2  228 257 −29
5 Ophiuchus Region                   3   0  3  203 273 −70

Group 2D
Valanora (3) 78–42 Visayas Islands (17)
Drawkland (6) 82–69 Abanhfleft (16)

Group 2D                         Pld   W  L   PF  PA  PD 
1 Valanora                           3   3  0  272 165 +107
2 The Kytler Peninsulae              3   2  1  224 187 +37
3 Drawkland                          3   2  1  215 238 −23
4 Visayas Islands                    3   1  2  192 227 −35
5 Abanhfleft                         4   0  4  262 348 −86

[Banija]

Amadou Secka, former Banijan NT point guard who lives at the PlayToy Mansion in Quebec

Amadou Secka hadn't been to a NT game in over a decade. The reasoning was obvious- he didn't really go to Banija. And the reasoning was a shame. Despite him not winning a title(and retiring immediately before the fourpeat), he's got a legitimate argument to be the greatest Banijan basketball player of all time. Still. There was nothing this guard couldn't do- shoot, slash, pass, create a shot for himself or others, even defend... And in a much less talented generation, no less. He helped bring Banijan basketball from basically nothing, all the way to the very brink of a championship- Newmanistan hitting a 4 point play in the final seconds burying the Banijans, and his title dreams at IBC 29.

His friendship with Marco Hertel, the owner of the PlayToy Mansion, was looked upon poorly during the most recent Banijan-Farf War(or the Banijan-Lithico^TM conflict, whatever you prefer). Marco Hertel was basically the least popular person in Banija in the aftermath of that war, as he led Hertel's slaves to fight against the Banijan military, as a core part of the Lithico fighting force. Secka, obviously as a public friend, and defender, of Marco Hertel was essentially persona non grata in Banija. While Hertel nor his brands were sanctioned or anything by Banija(thanks to the Banijan-Lithico peace deal), Hertel had a travel ban to Banija. And Secka, while being a Banijan citizen, was now highly unpopular in his homeland.

And therefore, he didn't really go to these kinds of events- even NT games abroad, which were popular for former plays. The Olympic Committee of Banija hadn't invited him to attend one of these games in years. And he hadn't tried to reach out, either- for obvious reasons, he didn't try to go. But with this IBC being in Quebec, and a new energy around the team, he thought to himself- why not go to the quarterfinals?

PlayToy Manson was decently empty these days. Well, not too empty- obviously all these models lived there. But Hertel was mostly in Delaclava these days, and Diamond Rhine(also not popular in Banija) was somehow on the Ranorian roster for World Bowl LI. If Banija did what they were supposed to do against Tumbra, and punched their ticket to the quarterfinals of the IBC... Well, Everything was in front of them, yes? And with the most hope that this team has seen since their return to the IBC, would they be more wlling to forgive Secka?

He sat there, thinking. Then, he got out of bed. There was a girl who knocked on his door. "Hey, wanna watch a movie?" She asked. And in this house, well, there was only one thing that meant.

"Eh, I'm good." She looked surprised- Secka wasn't ever one to say no to a high quality film. "Sorry- I've got a lot on my mind." She simply shrugged, and went downstairs. Secka looked at flight prices to Fort Lowe. They were decent. And he looked at his calendar. There's no way he could make a QF, he had a meeting... But the potential SF, if the Lions got that far? He bought a flight- and paid extra for cancellation possibilities. Maybe it was time for him to show his face around the NT...

[Warkus]

OOC: Image created using makowka character maker II.

Eirian Protheroe

---

Eirian I

Portrait of Eirian I (Protheroe)

Queen of Warkus

Reign: 2110-
Predecessor: Osian II
Heir (Presumptive): Markus Protheroe
Born: December 1 2082
Caer Lloer, Dinas Wen
Died: N/A
Spouse: None
Issue: None
House: Protheroe

Eirian I (December 1 2082 –) is the current ruling Queen of Warkus. She is the first monarch of Warkus to use her house name as her surname in all official capacities. In other words, she goes by the name ‘Eirian Protheroe’ instead of ‘Eirian I’.
Her grandfather and predecessor Osian II was noteworthy for breaking with tradition in appearing frequently at public events and appearing for interviews with the press. Eirian is also the first monarch of Warkus who did not hold the Princess/Prince title before ascending the throne, as Osian II had abolished the (functionally nominal) titles given to members of the royal family other than the reigning monarch.

Eirian’s father Bowen tragically passed away only three years after Eirian was born. She spent her early childhood in and around Caer Lloer, as it is tradition for children in line to the throne. In her school years, she was described as ‘very passionate about her studies’ and ‘highly intelligent’. These traits are often valued highly in Warkusian culture, particularly in the east. She demonstrated a particularly keen interest in international relations and the ethics of war, both topics that future Warkusian monarchs are expected to study in great depth.

Eirian pursued an undergraduate degree at Prifysgol Dinas Wen and completed a double major in philosophy and international relations. She then pursued a PhD at the same institution, producing a dissertation entitled ‘The Moral Foundations of Pacifism’, which was later published by Nyareth Newydd University Press. Although Eirian was preparing on applying for academic jobs, these plans were quickly shelved when her grandfather began speaking to her about his intentions to ‘retire’ as King and have her replace him.

At the age of 28, Eirian was crowned the Queen of Warkus and her grandfather adopted the title of Retired King. Eirian has expanded on her predecessor’s attempts to connect with the public and the media. She writes weekly posts on her blog, known simply as ‘The Queen’s Blog’, and is known for using her discretionary royal stipend to patronise the arts. She is also a big fan of basketball and allegedly asked the Prif Weinidog to accelerate plans to have a national team participate in international basketball tournaments and events, which led to Warkus’s entry in the 42nd International Basketball Championship. She is also reportedly highly opinionated on political issues but generally refuses to make comments on them, even in private, because doing so is seen as improper behaviour for the constitutionally limited Guardian Dove.

Eirian has yet to marry and is not in a publicly confirmed relationship, though she was rumoured to be in a relationship with a fellow graduate student during the early years of her PhD. Her heir presumptive is her younger cousin Markus Protheroe, who works as a librarian in the family castle Caer Lloer.

[The Kytler Peninsulae]

As expected, Valanora absolutely bodied another opponent, while Drawkland took care of Fleftics Anonymous. So, while technically this is still a complex scenario going into the final doubleheader in Jolbonopolis, it's actually really quite simple. Logic dictates that the Net Corps beat the Blue Suns, Valanora complete a flawless group stage by overcoming the Kytlerians, those two winning teams move on to Fort Lowe, and a sense of normality prevails. But if either of those games goes against the script, Drawkland go back to Sonnel without even being in the top seven, and the Kytlerians take their national tradition of breaking straight into the business end in sporting debuts to its illogical conclusion and make the IBC elite eight at the first attempt. (Technically, if the upset is a Visayan win rather than a Kytlerian one, there can be a different outcome. But it would require Valanora to win by even more than they already have and/or for Drawkland to spend the entire game Guzmaning rather than just the end.)

Bunsars Hesaramba is hyped.

"We're doing this for the whole nation, and not just the mainland, we're probably the first team that can truly say they represent the whole country," the proud Bitternean declared. (There have been Bitterneans on Kytlerian teams before though, and in proportions actually representative of their share of the population - the cricket team can claim to be the most representative on those terms, if not really on any others.) "We're not only putting Kytlerian basketball on the map, we're making people know about Bitternea again, which even with the World Cup (which had several matches in the Bitternean capital Cobden) people kind of glazed over it with just how much was going on that tournament, I think, although I know the visiting fans had fun there. But people didn't know what we were about as players, because all the focus was on soccer where there really isn't a Bitternean presence. Hoops are our home territory and we're letting everyone know it."

Is it actually possible the Kytlerians can actually beat Valanora?

"We're more rested than them, they're basically through now, we might catch them cold. I mean, we probably need to, they're that good. But we came back against Drawkland and almost won that despite a massive size disadvantage, and now we've got that going the other direction, and obviously that's not everything or Drawkland would have twatted Valanora instead of the other way round, but you'd rather have that advantage than not. It means a lot to know we've got one thing we're provably able to say that yes, this is an advantage we have, because I think not having that against Drawkland was why we got overwhelmed early - I don't think we believed ourselves that we could handle them, we had to go out and prove it and by the time we did it was almost too late. This time, we won't start that slowly because we don't have that sense of being worse in every possible direction."

All logic dictates that this is the end of the road. But that same logic dictated that it wouldn't even get this far to start with...

[Valanora]

When Odin Nagy watched his team fail to come out as victors in their trip to the Visayas Islands in the team's second game of the first group stage, he thought that the team had simply been caught a bit flat footed and still on the rather intense emotional high that they had achieved with the victory over second seed Aphrilia is Stormguard two nights the prior. Beating what was expected to be the best competition for the group title in a rather convincing fashion had given the team and most of the fans a feeling of elation that was entirely difficult to describe and Nagy thought that feeling had simply carried over through their trip and kept the team from being as prepared as they could and should have been for that game. Visayas was still a rather high ranked opponent who had needed the team's full attention and not have the team be distracted and already believing their own hype that they were going to be challenging Qeubec and Valentine Z for the chance of winning the tournament this edition. While that might have been the goal, the head coach knew they had plenty of tasks ahead that needed to be done first before they could attempt that ultimate goal of the campaign.

What Nagy did not expect was that that would be the lone blip in the entire campaign of the first group stage, that the team would take that loss and turn it into one of the biggest motivating factors that any Vanorian team had used perhaps in decades, maybe ever. That three point loss had given the staff and the team something to point at and say that you did not want to play like that or feel like that again after another game, not against any one. There was going to be no looking forward to the next difficult game or the next group stage or now here in the second group stage there was no looking at the knockout rounds either. If the team was going to be the best and truly be a contender, every single game had to be treated like an elimination game, like they were playing one of the two opponents above them in the rankings and the only reason they had not won one of the last several tournaments. Each game was a chance to further hone your craft better, to emulate Laborious Hawk and attempt to find perfection in an imperfect system, like harnessing lightning in a bottle, every forty or so minutes at a time.

Fourteen wins in a row later, the Dragons had conquered their first group stage with relative ease, finding different ways to win and having truly taken to the idea of a team that was in a controlled flux, able to transform into any style of play as was required of them. The second group stage was going to be more difficult though, they had sixth ranked and bogey team Drawkland with all of their physical advantages to deal with, as well as a good Fleftic side, and of course the Visayas team that had bested them in the second game of the tournament once more. Also looming over the Dragons as they had made their way to the north of the region was the fact that the two group stage format had been their detriment in the past, like a spectre coming back to haunt them as they tried to reach for the top. Yet if the format and this group's difficult was supposed to show the glass ceiling that has been perpetually over the Dragons in the IBC, keeping them from being among the elite of the elite, then this version of the team was a wrecking ball smashing through that glass and sending it shattering into smitherings.

Drawkland demolished, the Fleftics brushed aside, and even a bit of a lackluster performance against Visayas Islands still resulted in an over thirty point victory for the Dragons, with only unranked Kytler Peninsulae left in the way of an eighteenth win in the row as well as a clean sweep of the second group stage. With the mightily impressive point differential on their side, the Dragons already have one foot inside of the quarterfinals, needing only to not have a loss of catastrophic proportions combined with a Drawkland blowout of a similar quality to not find their way into the final eight of the tournament. With Malin Lien leading the Dragon's scoring, having been the leading scorer of all three of the second group stage games the Empire has played in, there is a strong case to believe that it will be same against the Rushmori outfit. Yet the Kytler team has a certain flair about it and the nation has seen quick success in other sports after reemerging from diplomatic and sporting isolation not that long ago. What they lack is the same single focus that has lit a flame under them and have them playing like a team possessed like the Dragons have, a team focusing on one goal and knowing they are bit a few more wins away from achieving that goal.

[Cardenao]

“Well there you go, that’s that then, huh?”

“Looks like it, little narrow in the first phase but damn did we take it to our group in the second stage!”

“Too right mano, I’ll drink to that.”

For D’Angelo Fox and Raúl LeBlanc, a much-needed bye day meant a well-earned drink. La Furia Azule’s explosive, energetic point guard and master-of-all-trades small forward definitely deserved a moment to kick their oversized feet up and have a cold one or three; these types of moments don’t come often in international ball.

Fortunately for them, the Cardenaoan team was finding their peak right at the perfect time; over their first four games, the offense had gone absolutely nuclear and put up the most points of any team. Raúl, with his ability to score on all three levels and open up options for his teammates just by being on the field, was a huge reason for that and it was no surprise he was their leading scorer, while D’Angelo was the man who kept the play flowing, passing the rock around while occasionally taking a moment to splash a three or attack the rim and jump through the roof to posterize a fool. They were lucky, they had Tom Parliamance to do the defensive work of both of them so they could rip on offense, Big Tommy P was an absolute monster on defense and knew how to direct the rest of the team to shut down whoever they were matched up against.

“Ay, how you feeling about The League starting up? Where ya buying your next house at?” Fox asked, partly joking but partly desperate to get drafted by the same team as Cardenao’s best player. It was extremely unlikely considering that, as a starter for the national team, he was going to be one of the first off the board when the Creation Draft got underway.

“Mano, you know I can’t answer that haha not supposed to, it’s all hush hush right now!”

“Ohhhh…so you’re going to Sareña then huh, all that glitz, glamor, and riches… perfect for the baddest man on the court.”

When it became clear that the finalization of an eight team professional basketball team in Cardenao was inevitable, so became the realization that, well, you gotta populate those teams somehow and it similarly became clear The League would allow teams, which they were now calling ‘franchises’--something to do with business and commercialization–to partake in a draft where any and every eligible Cardenaoan could declare for. The best of the best would go early, the best of the rest would follow.

“Fox man, who knows bro! We don’t even know the draft order so how the hell could I know!?”

Of course, there was another reason D’Angelo was desperate to land with Raúl, or any other member of the Cardenaoan national basketball team: they had all been on the Alexandria University team that shocked the world when they won NSCAA 15. Now here they were, running it up in the International Basketball Championship, of course he wanted to be with his boys, his friends who he’d been hooping with for nearly a decade at this point.

Fortunately for Raúl, who’d been forced to endure…many, many conversations like this one, his phone chimed at the perfect moment, before D’Angelo’s did a few seconds later. They snapped their phones open with urgency, it felt like any text or any call these days could be the one that decided their future.

It wasn’t.

“Ohhhh yeah……oh hellll yeahhhh……oh FUCK YEAH!” D’Angelo Fox, folks, never one to hide his emotions. “You seeing this man?”

“Yeah, yeah I am. Those are some clean jerseys man…but how the hell did Missy LeCrown get the leak on our new jerseys before we did?”

Fox shrugged. “I dunno, dude; it’s Missy! Who knows how she does anything but damn, she’s my queeeeennn!”

“Careful my boy, Kato will hear you and you’ll be in a world of pain!”

“Yeah yeah yeah,” D’Angelo responded as he looked at the images in front of him.

CONFIRMED: NEW CARDENAOAN NT BASKETBALL JERSEYS–HOME AND AWAY DESIGNED BY ESTRELLA SPORTSWEAR FROM KRONBIA

Home:

Away:

OFFICIAL IMAGES:

You look good, you feel good. You feel good, you play good. You play good……you fucking win.

[Quebec and Shingoryeo]

Four Weddings and a Funeral

PART 11 - ALMA-ADA - The Office

Another week would come to pass between the victory night and now, as Alma-Ada Haneke looked into her Commons Office in the Jeongdeokgoong Palace.

Having spent much of her schooling years in Joongyeong, especially during her two years working on a Master of Arts at St. Croix, she was mostly familiar to the clean, marble pavements of Joongyeong and the neoclassical architecture that's dominated much of the city's administrative quarters which, while mostly staying pristine and quiet in the daytime, would turn into different creatures their own in night.

And when the nights would come here, much of the streets surrounding the Jeongdeokgoong Palace, a former palace that was long reconfigured to use as the parliamentary house since year 1832, it would be surrounded by the outgoing, nightlife-seeking crowd of nearby youth hostels and sometimes local houses. The usual routine being that they would get off to a nearby Jeongdeokgoong-Les Halles station from either the Quartier Calanien or across the river in Levis, and then walk towards the nightclubs further east. Those quarters, which were faced to the east the Armada district that's home to the Royal Quebecois Armed Forces' headquarters and also the CSKA Quebec complex, were serviced mostly by decrepit metro stations that carried its own problems in night hours. So for most visitors, walking past and around the Jeongdeokgoong was a fairly routine course, an irony considering the status it held as the stately home to one of the oldest parliaments in the Multiverse.

Not that Alma-Ada was much of a partier, anyway. She used to be, mostly when she was a secondary student at the Lakeland College, where its rich-pursed, oft-privileged seniors had no issues chartering busses to Songak, but Alma-Ada got tired enough of it by the time she reached college to the point where once she settled in with Isidore, it was easy for her to move on. But Alma-Ada knew that she could have fit into the crowd fine, with her age remaining perfectly young and fun at 33, and her fashion style...not totally awful at all.

The life of being a parliamentarian in Joongyeong, in the meanwhile, wasn't so straightforward as it looked. The day after her victory, Alma-Ada left for Joongyeong where she was greeted at the airport by Menzies McConnell, some staffers both of her constituency and the federal party, and headed straight to her hotel suite at Le Parthenon. There she was going to stay a week, at least a furnished apartment's going to be made ready few blocks down the road.

The following week had since been a very busy one for Alma-Ada, as she found herself immediately jumping into work. Being placed on a three-day 'Jeongdeokgoong 101' course that was ready for every incoming cohort, she found herself having to adjust into a very different world, one where she knew plenty but needed more than that to jump into actual familiarity zone. Fortunately in her case, her colleague at the class, fellow electee Kim Min-Woong, the grandson of former Moogoongwha leader Kim Doo-Joh, was very familiar with the proceedings. Coming from relatively same age at 35 to 33, they too would become friendly over time, perhaps enough to become friends in the years to come.

A week later, Alma-Ada was mostly readying herself to attend her first parliamentary session. Having already sworn in at the end of the ceremony, it was mostly the federal party meetings, Yoseo party meetings and familiarisation to her Shinminjeon office staff that kept her from really spending much time at the office. But when she was there, most of the work was done to keep herself on track with party documents, and what to prepare for her maiden speech to the parliament. It was going to be a short one, where she would mostly highlight her appreciation to the people of her hometown for bringing her back to carry on the legacies of those before him - mostly devoid of pomp and circumstance. Unlike a recent Acadianan senator, whose firebrand reputation was not helped by the 40-minute speech she had run on privilege and identity politics, Alma-Ada just to get the show rolling.

It was then that her silence on a Sunday afternoon was disrupted. Her initial assumption was that she had missed a meeting, most likely with her assistants on figuring out work schedule, but she realised that today was Sunday, meaning that her Jeongdeokgoong staffers were most likely outside, enjoying the sun. She then assumed that it was likely another MP, who may have wanted to drop in and say hi, and decided not to worry.

'Come in,' she came in, after which a familiar figure entered the room.