IBC • 43 -- Everything Thread

[The Kytler Peninsulae]

As the clock ticked down towards triple zeroes and a messy endgame of the kind you so often see when there's a handful of points separating the teams - a good advert for the implementation of the target-score endgame that the Kytlerian association KOB, in a rare moment of actual thinking, are set to implement into their messy domestic league next season even as they fail to pull the trigger on an actual reorganisation that would address the extremely silly legacy-based geographic state of the current KOB Pro League - finally came to an end, the crowd at the Kytlerian Indoor Arena started to sing.

To those who see no end in sight
To isolated endless nights
Hold on and never stop the fight
Believe! Believe!
The dark is worst before the dawn
So don't you ever be forlorn
Each plank of hatred can be sawn
Believe! Believe!

It was a very deliberate choice. This was a song written by Alaer folk singer Yre Crublig two years before the end of the Kytlerian Isolation, and adopted as a rallying cry by those seeking it to end; it was sung at a celebratory rally in Alaer as another local hero, Clituleng Giisost, led the Workers' Party to a landslide election victory that would deliver exactly that. It had somewhat been forgotten outside that southern city over time, but Believe! Believe! retained a certain familiarity across the country, if only as a historical document of sorts. And the fact that it was the song of choice on this occasion - at the end of a clutch 91-84 victory over this opponent, the representatives of a nation whose authoritarianism had just seen them receive a specific denouncement from Esportiva - felt decidedly targeted. Decidedly deliberate.

The result put the Explorers back in the driving seat in their quest to blast off to Sonnel as one of the two teams gaining repechage spots behind the runaway Banijan train, but this crowd were looking beyond that, and indeed beyond basketball. They weren't dreaming of another surprise IBC run; they were dreaming of a day where the Free Republics were, in fact, free.

[Free Republics]

News Magazine

Fake Daycare Scam Discovered, Perpetrators to Face Upcoming Election
By: Urbano Ricci

3 years ago, the Federation Childcare Fund was created by Senator Princess's Childcare for All Act. Now, News Magazine journalists have discovered a large scale fraud ring involving fake daycares. The daycares, operating in the Republic of Rhio, stole over 50 million thalers from the Federation government over the past year. This included facilities labeled as Learing[sic] Centers where presumably very little actual learning occurred. Our investigative journalists turned up at several of the daycares during their posted business hours and knocked on the door. There was no answer, no sign of any children nearby and even no playground equipment despite regulations that clearly require all taxpayer funded daycares to have playgrounds. This was a fraud so egregious that it had to have accomplices in the republic's government.

The president of Rhio, Christien Poulin, has voluntarily agreed to testify before the People's Assembly Committee on Oversight tomorrow. Poulin, who was elected to his second term 2 years ago, is a former member of the People's Assembly. Before that, he was a history teacher at South Bolton Community High School in the city of Bolton. He was also an unsuccessful candidate for consul 2 years ago.

A total of 94 arrests have currently been made in connection with the fraud ring. Per an executive decree from the Grand Immortal Imperator, they will face election at the upcoming basketball game between the Free Republics and Banija at the Venicio Piazza Memorial Arena in Republica. The election has been moved to Republica to ensure that local fraudsters in Rhio are not able to buy up tickets and secure a "Nay" result.

This is a developing story.

Urbano Ricci is News Magazine's Senior Election Reporter. With a career stretching over 20 years in journalism, he has been reporting on matters relating to law and criminal justice since well before the era of chaos.

---

Queen Thibodeau-Theriault read the story from News Magazine, disappointed that her home republic was now engulfed in scandal. She was about to board her team's flight directly to The Philippine Islands and Formosa after spending the post-game dodging Kytlerian media outlets that wanted the Republican team's opinions about some political statement their fans had made at the end of the Kytlerian victory. She didn't care. The Grand Immortal Imperator had brought peace and stability to the Free Republics, despite the best efforts of those terrorists who disrupted the election in Kolodelphia. Sure, she was an outspoken fan of Lady Scarlett's socially progressive politics when she was younger but, like Lady Scarlett, she had grown up and just wanted to be able to raise her kids, perform on the basketball court and walk the streets of Republican cities without fear. While you could argue about whether there was enough "due process" in the new Free Republics, it was clear that almost everybody who was publicly flogged or executed by the government was guilty.

She saw no reason to raise any of this with her teammates who were too young to remember the old Free Republics. But they had been every bit as annoyed with the actions of the terrorists who caused travel delays all to help a few shoplifters get away with robbing the sporting goods store. The fact that the authorities had yet to catch the terrorists all these days later was a national embarrassment but the media in the Free Republics had just stopped talking about the event. The official explanation being that there was nothing new to report. The cynical explanation was that it was a rare governance failure and the government didn't like drawing attention to such things. The error and coverup by SERTA had yet to be discovered which meant the manhunt was continuing in the completely wrong location and Kolodelphians were still unable to go about their lives normally.

Around this time, the news of the Esportiva Sporting Council's deliberate sabotage of Falutulu and Noburu Taiyou broke. The Grand Immortal Imperator quickly imposed sanctions upon them. Attacks on the government of the Free Republics from outside were clearly going to be met with most of the populace rallying behind the flag and behind their leader who had saved them. The goal of the government would be to respond forcefully but without inciting any jingoism amongst their populace. Because the Imperator did not want a war that could threaten the stability of his regime. He wanted peace so badly he had turned his back on his anarcho-capitalizt ideals and sold his soul to the Ilysee gods to make that happen. He wasn't going to let any enemies, whether foreign or domestic, undo all he had worked for...

[Tjorl]

The New Generation - 4 of 5 (Felix Neslunn)
Five Features on Five New Members of the National Team

Týrland eSports Network | News | Transfer Hub | Forum

Pollux Returns to Tier 1 Vanguard Through Halfweb Partnership

Pollux eSports announced on Tuesday that it has entered an official partnership with Halfweb Interactive, the developers of the tactical first-person shooter Vanguard, effectively sparking the organization's return to Tier 1 competitive play after a two-year absence. The announcement came during Pollux’s “Next Wave” showcase at the Messe Bysentrum in Skarlagen, which also highlighted the organization’s full competitive roster, upgraded facilities, and plans for content production ahead for the upcoming Tjorlish Vanguard League (TVL) season.

Founded by Tjorlish basketball player Felix Neslunn and online streamer Soren av Vahl, Pollux had previously competed at the T2 level in Vanguard but withdrew two years ago during the early stages of Vanguard, citing financial constraints, lack of opportunities at T2, and the inability to secure a T1 partnership with the game’s developers. Without an official T1 agreement, the team could not participate in top-tier events of the TVL or qualify for the highest revenue-sharing opportunities that would allow continued participation in the lower divisions of Vanguard.

“This partnership allows us to compete fully in Vanguard again,” said Pollux CEO av Vahl. “We finally have an opportunity to move past the financial limitations that kept us out, and hopefully this partnership can provide stability for our players and staff moving forward.” The agreement includes guaranteed participation in all T1 TVL-sanctioned events, revenue-sharing from broadcasts, marketing support, and early access to beta tournament content for maps, weapons, and other Vanguard content.

At the showcase, Pollux also unveiled its Core roster, consisting of five players with prior competitive experience in either T1 and T2 Vanguard:

• Vensel "linus" Malmquist – In-game Leader
• Jonatan "Merlin" Hendriksen – Entry Fragger
• Alfred "AJAX" Kesselring – Flex
• Julian "Schutzin" Shubin – Support
• David "WR4TH" Sjöberg – AWPer

All players have signed contracts that include salaries, travel stipends, equipment allowances, and media obligations. The organization also maintains a developmental squad, Pollux Nova, for players competing in minor leagues and online tournaments.

Furthermore, the organization also revealed the relocation of its headquarters from Kjol to Skarlagen, where its new home facility serves as a central hub for both the Core and Nova rosters. In addition, it was shown to include dedicated practice rooms, lodging, and a media studio for streaming and content creation. Neslunn commented on the new facility, saying, “In basketball, having the right gym, recovery areas, and equipment can make the difference between winning and losing at the top level. It’s the same in esports, really. All these rooms, the software, the studio, it’s everything a player and a team needs to perform at their best.”

Lastly, Pollux presented its plans for its content division, led by Rina Sorensen, which will continue to produce video content of in-game voice comms, match highlights, and behind the scenes-features. Additionally, new weekly content from both Core and Nova rosters include live-streamed match commentary, post-match breakdowns, vlogs, and other entertainment-focused content for fans.

The next TVL season begins in two weeks, with regional qualifiers in Afoln, Skarlagen, and Telfsund, followed by seasonal finals in Kjol a month after that. Pollux's newly-relocated and newly-revived Vanguard division will compete in the Skarlagen qualifier, where they expect to face Maelstrom and DaNO-led eXODUS.

[Kamijiro]

History of Hoops in Kamijiro, Part V: Modern Era

Rennyball couldn't last forever. The reality is that once those Université de Giverny teams started the revolution, three-point shooters became something that teams needed in a premium in order to keep up. What had started as a way for Giverny to compete with the big schools from Miraisaki ended with them being put to the sword by their own strategy - the top teams were starting to recruit those elite shooters that had kept the Roux Bombardiers rolling for a solid six straight seasons. Distance athleticism mattered heavily as always, with coaches emphasizing speed and stamina over the brute strength that defined the older eras.

The other issue with Rennyball (and its demise) was that it had a huge weakness against teams that refused to try to match-up and meet their pace, plus in a winner-take-all single-game elimination tournament, the odds were consistently stacked against them. One bad shooting night against any team and they were done for, which is what prevented them from adding trophies to their cabinet beyond their single win in KCSAA Season #11 (which, perhaps unsurprisingly, was one of their best seasons shooting as a team, shooting 39.9% from outside the arc). By the time the rest of the powerhouse schools in the KCSAA had caught up to their revolution, they'd already started losing some of their shooting talent (35.4% from deep was their team average in KCSAA Season #15) and it was clear that their recruitment process had been hijacked by schools with more pull. Renaud St. Pierre retired from his post at age sixty-two, leaving behind a basketball scene forever changed. His current role is an advisor to the Kamijiroan National Basketball Team and their developmental programs.

So, this begs the questions. Where are the professional leagues? Are there any? Did this whole thing culminate in a lack of long-term professional leagues in a country that's crazy about basketball?

Enter the modern era. Football clubs realizing that there was a market in basketball and founding their own spin-off clubs. That's where we're at now. A semi-closed-circuit league comprised of twenty of the top football clubs' basketball teams. It's ugly and filled with problems, but there's the reality of it. Now, the question next raised is often "semi-closed-circuit?" It's complicated.

Teams that wish to apply to be a part of the KOBK (Kamijiro Okunai Basketball Kyōkai - 神二郎屋内バスケットボール協会) must pass a small gauntlet of matches to prove they can actually compete in the league and then teams are to vote on the applicant's acceptance into the league. This is essentially a promotion playoff, but no teams are relegated back out of the league. This is to prevent teams from being completely outmatched in the league when they first join.

The standings for the league last season look like this:

## Team                          Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD
 1 Kustplaats Waves               76   60  16  6078 5263 +815
 2 Narakugai Night Roses          76   54  22  6058 5469 +589
 3 Miraisaki Athletic Tora        76   54  22  6051 5472 +579
 4 New Volendam Koningen          76   51  25  5961 5510 +451
 5 Miraisaki City Denki           76   51  25  5908 5457 +451
 6 R.C. Trèves Corbeaux           76   43  33  5891 5561 +330
 7 Les Cimes de Chamonix          76   40  36  5853 5677 +176
 8 Miraisaki United Senshi        76   39  37  5749 5723  +26
 9 Kaminho A.F.C. Phoenix         76   38  38  5823 5907  −84
10 F.C. Relâmpago Stormsurge      76   38  38  5734 5894 −160
11 Kanazawa Town Wolves           76   36  40  5714 5742  −28
12 Jirō Island Islanders          76   35  41  5697 5898 −201
13 St. Jerome Saints              76   35  41  5661 5899 −238
14 Giverny Blossoms               76   33  43  5600 5890 −290
15 F.C. Spolia Mariners           76   30  46  5731 5741  −10
16 Porto de Kamijiro Piranhas     76   27  49  5543 5975 −432
17 S.K. Cascais Lions             76   26  50  5440 5892 −452
18 Pwllheli Pirates               76   25  51  5613 5966 −353
19 Jarzé Town Knights             76   23  53  5510 6043 −533
20 1. Ōzu Pro Samurai             76   22  54  5520 6156 −636

- Current Matchday Info -

Kamijiro 75 - 68 Juvencus

Player of the Game: J.P. Louissaint (17 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist | 7/10 FG, 3/6 3PT, 0/0 FT)
Key Moment: A late spurt from the Lightning in the second half lead by Tristan Visser (12 points, 5 rebounds) off the bench saw the Kamijiroans over Juvencus.

- Next Matchday Info -

Opponent (MD9): New Rotterdam City
- Reverse Fixture Result: Kamijiro win, 101-79

[Quebec and Shingoryeo]

The Taegukgi: The Korean-language voice of the Commonwealth

Royal Commission to be launched on General Election Reform Following Disagreements on Committee Stage

Hailey Jeon-McRae

JOONGYEONG, JOONGYEONG -- In the continuation of the recent years' trend involving electoral reforms, the current Shingoryeoite Liberal Government will be launching the Royal Commission on General Election Reform, with six month period of assessment before the report is to be submitted back to the Cabinet and the House of Commons by 31st of August, 2073.

The decision to create the Royal Commission was originally proposed as the first of three-step measure that was previously agreed in the multi-party Committee for Democratic Reform during their last autumn's parliamentary session. After delays due to other parliamentary proceedings in the first weeks of the winter session, it was announced yesterday evening by the State Secretary for Democratic Reform Jeanne Kennelly and the Leader of the House of Commons Ji Gyeong-Wan.

The Royal Commission, which would be launched by the Privy Council's Judicial Committee chair, Stephanie Lambiel, would require approximately half-year of enquiry period, with members of the previous Democratic Reforms committee to testify and release their respective findings.

It is expected that the paperwork obtained from the Committee be the contentious part of the investigation. While dozens of groups and individuals promoting vote reform in provincial level, as well as legal scholars, would be contacted, the committee's disagreements on what voting systems for the federal election to take place, on top of the current multi-member districts involving fifty-five MPs, have resulted in the need for an independent, nonpartisan body as the previous committee had involved four Liberals, three Moogoongwhas, two Shinminjeons, in addition to one each from the Indigenous Congress, the Greens and the backbench of the House of Lords.

'The contentious nature of the debates in the previous Democratic Reforms have no doubt brought out the need for a nonpartisan committee to provide more objective, but most importantly most suitable vote system for not just a select number of urban seats, but across the country,' Kennelly, who represents Couen-Belmondo constituency of Mahan, said to the media. 'While the results of the most recent federal election have shown the promise for a MMP, concerns over its effectiveness on the greater, nationwide scheme remains a major challenge.

While the current Kang Tae-Goo government have yet to specify the details behind the Royal Commission, which they've stated as the second of the three-step plan that would eventually culminate in a legislation sometime in the autumn 2073's parliamentary session, it is expected that Lambiel be given higher priorities compared to the Committee.

The other parties, in the meantime, have remained mostly neutral to the Commission.

'I think the bigger problem here is that we've missed the mark that we should have hit with flying colours during the Committee phase,' said Moogoongwha Shadow Minister of Democratic Reform Oh Jong-Oak. 'There were unresolved marks that should have addressed first, whether through resumption of the Committee, before we would go onto the Commission phase.'

Similar sentiments were repeated by the other parties, perhaps most notably voiced by the outgoing CIS leader Yong-Rae Bryant.

'Why start so early? Is this a way to propel through a specific agenda or the model under this government?' he wrote on his Twi.tur account. 'We must go back to the drawing board and think through it again.'

The debate of electoral reform, while longstanding for the past 90 years going back to the 1980s, when Ivo Lanka's Moogoongwha government first raised the need for one, but had been put on backburner due to domestic concerns over democratic stability, as well as the wartime period during the 2010s. It was only brought back into the national prominence when then-Prime Minister Lucien Azagury-Zovaco proposed the change, which would involve the further separation of what was going to be 510 of 580 ridings, which were already marked as local, first-past-the-post constituencies, into 470 single-member and 20 dual-member ridings, resulting into 490 ridings that would elect 510 MPs to the commons. This came in addition to the 70 MPs who were elected on provincial tallies, under the same, single ballot.

The complicated nature of the idea originally proposed, which was intended to be done as a trial period for the 2067 Federal Election, had meant that disagreements would carry well past the 2071 Federal Election. There the topic was discussed as one of more important issues, but was covered by more critical issues such as foreign interference following the assassination of KK McDonagh in Equinox Hill, on the first days of the 45-day campaign.

The Shinminjeon and the Greens jointly proposed expanding the dual-member ridings to all cities above the 200,000 people limit that is usually applied, while the Liberals proposed return to the first-past-the-post for 510 localised ridings with Instant Runoff Voting (IRV). The CIS and the Moogoongwha, who stood firm on their grounds for urban-rural separation, proposed expanding the multi-member ridings to the ten largest cities of the country in Joongyeong, Songak, Kingston, Dongnae-Halifax County, Equinox Hill, Twin Cities, Jolbonopolis, Chicoutimi, Anju and Jeongju.

While the Prime Minister's Office at the 11 Gwangmoo Boulevard have yet to comment openly on the issue, citing it more as the national problem that warrants the multipartisan response, the internal murmurs that have so far come out suggests that the issue is likely to generate more noise for the rest of 2073, if not 2074.

[Drawkland]

IBC • 43 -- CUTOFF

Only one day left until we punch the final tickets to Drawkland! Will you finish strong?

---

Table key
Clinched playoff bye
Clinched playoff berth

GROUP A
United States of Devonta 78–81 New Umoja
Equestria 72–96 Drawkland
Natkr 85–83 Xanneria

  GROUP A                             Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Drawkland                             9    9   0   791  649 +142
2 New Umoja                             9    7   2   765  697  +68
3 United States of Devonta              9    4   5   735  732   +3
4 Equestria                             9    4   5   684  748  −64
5 Natkr                                 9    2   7   679  747  −68
6 Xanneria                              9    1   8   657  738  −81

GROUP B
HUElavia 62–94 TJUN-ia
Anewkansas 85–83 Croblade
Aphrilia 72–62 Chromatika

  GROUP B                             Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Aphrilia                              9    9   0   754  609 +145
2 TJUN-ia                               9    7   2   755  624 +131
3 Anewkansas                            9    6   3   717  718   −1
4 Chromatika                            9    4   5   646  686  −40
5 HUElavia                              9    1   8   651  771 −120
6 Croblade                              9    0   9   646  761 −115

GROUP C
Zenic 79–76 Sangti and the Filindo Isles
United Adaikes 76–75 Ko-oren
The Golden Harp 83–75 Riandera

  GROUP C                             Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Ko-oren                               9    7   2   770  672  +98
2 The Golden Harp                       9    6   3   733  734   −1
3 Riandera                              9    5   4   710  728  −18
4 Sangti and the Filindo Isles          9    3   6   711  715   −4
5 Zenic                                 9    3   6   677  718  −41
6 United Adaikes                        9    3   6   700  734  −34

GROUP D
Sernet 82–87 Macbon
Gatchingerrak Union 92–79 Kaumann
Valentine Z 84–76 United States of Nova Calania

  GROUP D                             Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Valentine Z                           9    9   0   758  593 +165
2 Macbon                                9    6   3   696  691   +5
3 United States of Nova Calania         9    4   5   674  686  −12
4 Gatchingerrak Union                   9    4   5   696  679  +17
5 Sernet                                9    3   6   639  731  −92
6 Kaumann                               9    1   8   665  748  −83

GROUP E
Quebec and Shingoryeo 85–71 Crpostran
Bhumi Matawis Empire 83–107 Tjorl
Kronbia 66–86 Tumbra

  GROUP E                             Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Quebec and Shingoryeo                 9    8   1   779  617 +162
2 Tjorl                                 9    6   3   767  729  +38
3 Bhumi Matawis Empire                  9    5   4   722  773  −51
4 Tumbra                                9    5   4   724  732   −8
5 Kronbia                               9    3   6   676  755  −79
6 Crpostran                             9    0   9   691  753  −62

GROUP F
Lisander 83–82 The Kytler Peninsulae
Banija 113–73 Britonisea
The Philippine Islands and Formosa 68–99 Free Republics

  GROUP F                             Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Banija                                9    9   0   838  630 +208
2 Free Republics                        9    5   4   719  691  +28
3 The Kytler Peninsulae                 9    4   5   712  714   −2
4 Lisander                              9    4   5   683  775  −92
5 The Philippine Islands and Formosa    9    3   6   659  735  −76
6 Britonisea                            9    2   7   678  744  −66

GROUP G
Juvencus 84–71 New Eastern Canada
Kamijiro 66–63 New Rotterdam City
Arguara 69–86 Valanora

  GROUP G                             Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Kamijiro                              9    8   1   735  653  +82
2 Valanora                              9    8   1   790  653 +137
3 Juvencus                              9    5   4   706  656  +50
4 New Rotterdam City                    9    4   5   684  690   −6
5 Arguara                               9    2   7   617  731 −114
6 New Eastern Canada                    9    0   9   632  781 −149

GROUP H
Orgstan 86–66 Jaoaa
Abanhfleft 78–71 Warkus
Cardenao 87–69 Andso Mangis

  GROUP H                             Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Cardenao                              9    8   1   739  615 +124
2 Warkus                                9    6   3   783  725  +58
3 Abanhfleft                            9    4   5   673  687  −14
4 Orgstan                               9    4   5   684  702  −18
5 Jaoaa                                 9    3   6   687  747  −60
6 Andso Mangis                          9    2   7   685  775  −90

[Banija]

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

Nashe Kyagumbo going out to eat at a restaurant in Herzegovina City

Nashe Kyagumbo, the Aksum State basketball head coach, had tried to visit the University of Ankole secretly- but had failed dramatically. He had been seen, and by who was up in the air- but what he had tried to do silently was now a decision of a lifetime that was going to be made in the open. It was the dominant news story in the college town. Lazkiban and the surrounding area had no professional sports teams- everybody was all in on Aksum State sports, and it was the greatest area in university history, athletics wise, with their men's basketball team reaching crazy heights.

It was the talk of college athletics around the country, and many were divided- would he stay, or would he go? It was not a scene where he could be walking around Aksum State right now. Normally the most popular person probably in all of Aksum, even his attempt to put gas in his luxury car was not great this morning. He had attempted to pay for gas, but the attendant didn't let him, promising him a free tank, and telling him that he had to stay at Aksum State. Another customer, who had a U of Aksum sticker on his car, had told him, while laughing, he'd buy him a candy bar if he promised he was going to U Ankole, right then and there.

Obviously, he ignored him, but he knew it was going to be worse. He was originally going to go out to dinner with his wife on the town tonight, but that wasn't going to happen- instead, they decided to drive down, two hours south, to Herzegovina City for dinner- the global city that had few ASU (or even U of A) fans would be a better place for him to get peace and quiet, to make a decision.

He had a long discussion with his wife. "Well, what do you think- do we stay, or do we go?"

"You know I love Lazkiban." She told him. "I'll follow you anywhere, naturally. Hoima is a good place, a fun city- but much, much louder than Lazkiban. Urbanized."

"Yes, but the chance to coach Jack Hoy..." His voice drifted off. Somebody like Jack Hoy was quite literally a once-in-a-generation basketball player. Not only due to his unique talent, and stamina. The fact that Hoy wasn't about NIL money(although he commanded a lot of it) because he was a pro athlete in the GFLB. The fact that he was guaranteed to stay there for 3 years, there was 0 chance of him hitting the portal, or going pro, was unique. The ability to recruit around him would be tremendous. He would be a fool to say no. And yet...

"Leaving a place where they're literally ready to build a statue of you." She nodded in response. It wasn't like he was talking about this mid-postseason, or anything- and yet, the pitchforks would come out. Aksum State had long seen coaches leave for greener pasture- that was their spot on the totem pole in Banijan sport. But they had never seen this type of success- especially since Kyagumbo had very publicly rejected a main place AkSU coaches ended up, aka Northern Moravica University. He had won it all here, and had a legitimate chance to build a dynasty unlike the country had ever seen- and yet, he'd be leaving in the middle of it.

For Ankole. Maybe that was the most brutal part. A conference rival? No. But seen as a lesser program- this would, quite literally, never happen if Jack Hoy was not there. But Hoy was there. Him and his wife spoke. And spoke. And continued to speak. And on their long drive back, Kyagumbo made a decision. It would be a life-changing one. Who knew how he would be viewed for this? But it was a decision that had to be made..

---

Nashe Kyagumbo in tears, having a team meeting with his squad at Aksum State

Kyagumbo had called a team meeting. It had now been a week since the national championship parade- and now, it was his time to deliver his message.

"Guys, players." The rumors had been circulating, so the players could guess exactly what Kyagumbo was going to say. And still, it hit like a brick.

"My heart so sad- I must tell you all that the rumors are true. I am going to take the head coach job at the University of Ankole, and become their men's basketball coach by this time tomorrow." The room was silent. There was no claps, no cheers, no reaction- just eyes starting up at Kyagumbo. He sighed.

There was a lot of love there- but a lot of Aksum State's players, like the fans, felt betrayed. Leaving at the absolute peak of the dynasty- and not for a better job, like pro basketball or the national team(or even a foreign national team). For a team that Aksum State beat in the playoffs. For a team that, now, was going to be Aksum State's rivals in their quest to repeat as national champions ,and have potentially the greatest 3 year run in Banijan college basketball history.

Kyagumbo spoke ,and then, shook the hands of each of his players. Only handshakes- no hugs. One player whispered to him that he was a traitor for leaving, but Kyagumbo simply shook his head. He knew that the decision maybe wouldn't be understood here- he could win here, so why go elsewhere? But Kyagumbo was going to Hoima, and he was going to reach heights never before seen with Jack Hoy- or die trying...

---

Nashe Kyagumbo, amidst a bunch of controversy, takes head coaching job at the University of Ankole

HOIMA, ANKOLE- Ending a drama that has lasted the better part of a week, Nashe Kyagumbo, the former head basketball coach at Aksum State University, has taken the equivalent position at the University of Ankole. He has quickly risen to be one of, if not the singular, best coaches in college basketball in Banija. He won the Ultra 64 in NSCAA 16, finishing with a record of 40-2, having consistent and elite dominance from beginning to end. He then followed that up with a national championship.

Aksum State has taken the news very negatively- with fans calling him a traitor. Galabba Danjuma, the NT starting power forward who was his star player in his championship winning NSCAA 16 season, called him a 'traitor' to Aksum State. "Look- I will say, Kyagumbo is an excellent coach. I don't think I would be prepared to play in, let alone start, games at the International Basketball Championships. Despite all that, this is a disappointing decision. Aksum State is a place he can win at the highest level- we know this because we are doing that right now. As an alumnus and a fan, I am for Aksum State first, and Aksum State always."

Even politicians got in on the act, as the Premier of Aksum, Allopu Lubojje(who is an Aksum State grad), harshly criticized Kyagumbo for leaving. "His greed will be his downfall." Lubojje told reporters. "Aksum State is a program that is built to dominate- he's leaving all of that to coach a football player?" The understatement of the century, naturally, when it comes to Jack Hoy's basketball schools- but hey, rage is blinding, as they say.

In his press conference, Kyagumbo acknowledged what everyone else has said- the chance to coach Jack Hoy, in college basketball, was not one that he could pass up. But he spoke beyond that. "This is a chance to build some of the greatest teams that Banijan hoops has ever seen. I feel as if I have left a great foundation at Aksum State- but here, we are capable of building a death star." He paused, and then continued. "With the portal opening, and national signing day upcoming, we are going to build a team so strong, it will make even Moravica and Loyola shake in their boots. "

Oh, and take a look at game 14 of their schedule, their final non-conference game- an away trip to Aksum State. Let's circle that on our calendars now, shall we?

[The Philippine Islands and Formosa]

FANS DEMANDING LIN TO RESIGN AFTER THE LOSS
Manila, Federal District

While the Free Republicans came into the Mateo Soriano Airport, the Blue Heat came home after losing to Britonisea by a point. But the fans treat Adrián Lin not too well after 3 straight losses for the team and blamed him for his "incompetence" at any game, and demanding to resign and would appoint a new coach. "I understand the people have been going through.", says Lin. "But I have tried my best to lift the team up in good spirits." The fans have staged a boycott by not attending the Free Republics game, even though there are some fans came in to cheer on the team at the Coliseum. But it wasn't enough for the boys in white to stand against Patricia Thibodeau-Theriault and her henchmen to humiliate the Blue Heat. But there are some hopes yet to come as Dela Peña scored some threes, and layups from Lin snd Chen. But also it wasn't enough as the Free Republicans dominating the whole defense for the Blue Heat and won by 31 points, 68-99. "We have lacked preparation, and strategy for this game", says Lin. "But in our last match, we should prepare well and have a new strategy to take out the Kytlerians." The Blue Heat will travel to Boldrewood for their last group match against Kytler Peninsulae.

[Anewkansas]

Qualified by the thinnest of margins
Close call against underdogs shows Bobcats’ weaknesses

Making it to Sonnel and the play-offs should have ignited a cheerful celebration but for the people in the Shipyard, this was more of a relief. Before the game, the stars looked sympathetic: fellow hopeful Chromatika had to travel to the unbeaten Aphrilia while the Bobcats welcomed a Croblade still looking for their first triumph. Were it the nerves of clinching the ticket that played up or a certain complacency? The fact is that the visitors played without fear and swiftly took the lead by five to eight points. Hubbard tried to reshuffle his pawns quite often but could not get the usual rim protection on the court. At the other end of the field, mayhem was even worse. Fowler found his match in the center of Croblade while LaGuardia tried to drag the plays towards him but turned out rather unlucky in his finishing (1 out of 8 from 3). With the injury of Chidinma, who is not projected to return till the play-offs, there was a chance for Isaias Stephens to show himself but the Zodiac star has not been himself in white-and-red. This left a lot of responsibility on Blackwell, but he’s not a big iso player.

In the stands of the Shipyard, the people kept track of two scorelines and noticed how the Penguins were resolute to grab their last chance while Anewkansas just could not close the early gap. It forced Hubbard to start the third quarter with some radical changes to the line-up, most importantly putting Gyeung Hayoon front and center. The story of the 22-year old forward is a remarkable one. Hayoon only arrived with his family in the Lepontegu area two years ago, joining compatriots of his in Taegeuki Town, the suburb with ‘permitted’ immigrants who were signed by the Kinsman & Barrow car factory. In his home country, Hayoon had been seen as a prodigy already and in between screwing side mirrors together, he appeared for a local pick-up team. With success, he was quickly scouted and dropped into the official company team. Eighteen months later, he will be the Lepontegu marquee player and became a vital card to play for Hubbard. It is not that Hayoon radically changed the game but fewer possessions were lost and the youngster made the right passing decisions to improve the scoring percentage of the Bobcats.

With four minutes left on the clock, Anewkansas finally overtook Croblade when Kason Blackwell sunk a three. Those who had hoped that the Bobcats would now power through were mistaken. Croblade hung on and with faults piling up, Hubbard had to improvise. In the last minute, however, a good combination between Hayoon, Blackwell and Choi resulted in the decisive score. It confirmed an 85-83 win, too close for comfort: it is telling that even with six wins and just three losses, the total scoring for the campaign remains negative. Elsewhere, Aphrilia had kept their streak against the courageous Penguins: the final horn confirmed that fans could start browsing plane ticket prices to Drawkland. The association had foreseen a big plaque with ‘IBC43 Qualifier’ and tons of confetti but it feels that the crew of the Shipyard will be more annoyed with the result than the crowd were excited. Guard Oscar Lopez was honest in his conclusion. “Today was a narrow escape. We want to show our colours in Drawkland and then it will need to be better than this.” Manager Carl Hubbard urged to keep the bigger picture in sight. “Ahead of this campaign, few were seeing us get past the group stage. To do so with one game to spare is a huge accomplishment and deserves to be celebrated. Tomorrow, our focus should be back on, but the guys should seize this moment with the fans and be proud.”

A fair assessment but with an important footnote: Hubbard wants the team to improve for the visit to Chromatika. The Penguins could not pull a stunt in Aphrilia despite a solid performance, which feels like a good summary of their campaign. Few analysts will rank them below our Bobcats in terms of quality but throughout the run, our side showed that bit more clutch. As such, the anticipated all-or-nothing becomes a dead rubber. On paper. What seems more likely is that we’ll see a tense confrontation in the FRIArena. It is a game that will not have the attention of the international community. Those will be more closely watching whether Devonta completes an impossible remontada or the direct confrontation between the Gatchinggerak Union and Nova Calania in Group D and Bhumi Matawis Empire and Tumbra in Group E. Yet this match in Felswyr could be vital for the future of both teams. Can the Penguins overcome their disappointment and prove to their home audience that the current elimination is just a minor diversion on an upwards road? Or can the Bobcats show that they’re also a menace away from home and get that mental boost to commence the play-offs? The berths might be handed out in our group, but the rubber is far from dead.

[Aphrilia]

Final Party Notes
XENIX: Some final notes regarding the party that plans to take down the Extreme Difficulty Megaboss for the upcoming Megaboss Event. The Volcano Wyvern is the name of the boss, and the battlefield is located in the mouth of a volcano. More details of the Megaboss event have been released by the developers and these are the notes that I have developed in regards to each member, in order to ensure the best strategy to defeat this boss. There hasn't been a party able to defeat an Extreme Megaboss in a while, thus, we're entering no mans land.

BOSS: Raksha, The Volcano Wyvern
Some no-name adventurers entered an unexplored cave section and entered the mouth of the Mount Vetrusca volcano. Inside, they encountered a wyvern in it's sleep. Accidentally awakening the wyvern, it is now enraged and must be subdued before it unleashes it's searing flames and molten lava upon the world. That's the lore. The wyvern has:
- An insane amount of health points, above ten million is assumed
- HP% Lost into Stat% Increase (With a cap of 40%)
- Very high stats all across the board, slightly weaker magical defense
- Above average immunities to status effects (But not completely)
- Large AoE attacks with a focus on the new second stage status effect: Hyperburn
- Limited timeframe to kill the boss

This the first time an event has Hyperburn as a focus, so Hyperburn Potions are going to be mandatory and even then, damage is still massive. We have the skills necessary to make sure that we don't have to bundle up in order for all of us to get the effects. Every second of crowd control is going to be valuable, since the wyvern has some immunity to it even if not fully. Fortunately for us, some data analysts found that the boss is more bait-able than others, which should help us out massively. Still, we have a limited timeframe to beat it.

We do have a way of getting guaranteed hits on the boss. One of it's attacks is to send out balls of magma in several directions, which can either be dodged, blocked, or deflected. There's a few crystals that lay around the battlefield linked to the wyvern's body? I'm uncertain. Deflect the magma balls towards the crystals to destroy them, do it enough times and the wyvern will be temporarily stunned, which is where most of our damage will occur. The crystals take time to respawn, so it's vital we do this as often as possible.

PARTY MEMBERS
XENIX the Knight
Level: 87 / Gear: "Deep Trench Knight"
SKILLS: Taunt EX, Dash EX, Honor Guard VIII, Earth Sweep VIII, Hero Calling
ROLE: All-Purpose, Party Leader
My job is to make sure the party keeps going, ensuring that nothing bothers us. If the boss goes off the planned course of action, I'm the one to manipulate the boss AI. If anyone in the party needs cover, I'll be the one to give them extra breathing room. I also hold the responsibility of leading this party to ensure that we succeed in killing the Megaboss.

sKyLar_Rie the Mage
Level: 86 / Gear: "Royal Academic Witch"
SKILLS: Waterfall IV, Geyser IV, Hailstorm VII, Rushing Gale VI, Curse II
ROLE: Magic DMG Dealer
Rie has a simple role to keep, and that is to deal as much magic damage as possible. Curse is an... Insanely strong skill I didn't know exist, since I don't play around with magic damage. Allowing the boss to sustain more damage in exchange for your HP and momentary debuffs is crazy, but it does seem risky. The wyvern is weak to magical damage though, so I think it'll work.

KSMTables the Ranger
Level: 84 / Gear: "Starborne Marksman"
SKILLS: Quintuple Shot VII, Bullet Rain VII, Star Bullet V, Eye of Eagles IV, All Defense Break II
ROLE: Physical DMG Dealer (Sub-DPS)
Table shares the same role that Rie does, that being a damage dealer for our party. But the difference is that he's focused on physical damage. Eye of Eagles and ADB should be very useful, since he buffs himself with the latter also helping everyone else. Starborne Marksman makes Table more fragile than usual, but knowing how high his evade stat is? He should be fine.

THEN_Lumina the Priestess
Level: 83 / Gear: "Covenant of Darkness"
SKILLS: Unnerved Healing VIII, Nature's Fountain VI, Cure Sprout VI, Wishing Well II, Dark Goddess Blessing
ROLE: Healer
Lumina has one purpose and one purpose only, and that is to constantly heal the party. We are not winning this fight with zero damage taken, and she is going to make sure we will live no matter what. Max and I are especially her focus, since he's taking the brunt of the wyvern's damage and I will have to provide cover for the rest of the party when necessary.

MaxM11037 the Paladin
Level: 81 / Gear: "Soldier of the Holy Order"
SKILLS: Taunt EX, Holy Cover EX, Defense Boost V, Holy Sweep III, Paladin's Oath
ROLE: Taunt, Tank
Max probably has the hardest job, but we all believe in him. Tank the wyvern's damage, and make sure it targets no one else. He needs to distract the boss from targeting the rest of the party to ensure our damage is constant, Rie and Table must not fall. And knowing how good he is at game mechanics and knowledge, I know he's the right one for the job.

LilacBouquet the Assassin
Level: 81 / Gear: "Ash-Born Hunter"
SKILLS: Smokescreen EX, Bladeworks VIII, Icicle Slash VI, Ashen Triple IV, Final Gambit III
ROLE: Physical DMG Dealer (Main, Burst)
Acting independently, Lilac is our main damage dealer. She's showcased incredible talent at dodging and she has a high speed stat, should evade everything no problem. When the boss is stunned, she will deal as much damage as possible, since the wyvern has weakened defenses in that state. We'll have to coordinate everything with perfect timing, however.

We should be ready to take on the Megaboss, I'm very certain of it. I know we can pull it off, we just have to do it.

[Free Republics]

Sporting World

An Analytics-Based Analysis of IBC 43
By: Sarah Fuerst-Lucchese

Due to the international popularity of my previous analytics-based article about World Cup 100 qualifying, Sporting World has asked me to write another article, this time about the IBC. The 43rd IBC has reached its final matchday of the group stage. Fittingly, an exciting renewal of the Free Republics-Banija rivalry is on tap at the Venicio Piazza Memorial Arena in Republica. Tickets are sold out for that game but you can purchase verified resale tickets on LiveMaster. As of this writing, the cheapest tickets are starting at around 500 thalers. Yet this game has approximately zero playoff implications as the Free Republics are already virtually assured of qualification. The main storyline in this game will be whether Queen Thibodeau-Theriault can return to her prime form and carry her young teammates past a Banija team that looks like it might just be the odds on favorite to win its 5th IBC title. Besides the on-court action, there will be excitement at halftime as fans will be able to vote "Yay" or "Nay" on whether to execute the fraudsters who stole money from the taxpayers by running fake daycares where no children were present. (OOC: "Any relation to recent RL events in the state of Minnesota is purely coincidental" is what I'd say if I wanted to insult your intelligence.) In the event of a clear majority of fans voting for "Yay", the fraudsters will be executed by being thrown from the top of the Venicio Piazza Memorial Arena to the pavement below. The area where they may be thrown will be secured by troops from the Federation Guard to avoid any obstruction of justice by terrorist organizations.

But without further adieu, it is time to get to the analytics. Let's start with the tournament format. The top 3 teams in each group advance to the playoffs. The group winners earn a bye to the Round of 16. The 2nd and 3rd place teams go to the Round of 24. Tiebreakers are H2H wins, Point Differential, H2H Point Differential and finally a Coin Toss.

Group F: We start with the group that our domestic readers will care about most: Group F. Banija is 9-0 and has a 4 game lead with 1 to play. They've won the group. The FFR is second with a 5-4 record. There is a tie for third between two 4-5 teams: The Kytler Peninsulae and Lisander. The Philippine Islands and Formosa is in 5th at 3-6. Applying the tiebreakers, the Free Republics split the H2H with The Kytler Peninsuale and Lisander. Kytler and Lisander also split their H2H meetings. The Queen's team has a 30 point lead over Kytler in point differential and an insurmountable 120 point lead over Lisander so their odds of making the Round of 24 according to my model are 99.999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999% with many more 9's truncated for the sake of space. On the final day, The Kytler Peninsuale plays Philippine Islands and Formosa while Lisander plays Britonisea. Here's where it gets interesting: Philippine Islands and Formosa already beat The Kytler Peninsulae the first time around but they split with Lisander. This means that they would win a 3 way tie for third place on H2H wins having 3 while Lisander would have 2 and Kytler would have 1. But to make that happen, Lisander has to lose to Britonisea. But if there's a 2 way tie for 3rd, Lisander's point differential deficit is clearly insurmountable. Thus, my model has The Kytler Peninsulae as the favorite to qualify at 56.3% probability followed by a 31.2% probability for Lisander and a 12.5% probability for Philippine Islands and Formosa.

Group A: Drawkland has won the group at 9-0. New Umoja has finished second at 7-2. What is interesting in this group is the battle between 4-5 teams United States of Devonta and Equestria. They've split the H2H and Devonta has a 67 point edge in point differential that will be insurmountable if they have the same result. Devonta plays Xanneria and Equestria plays Natkr. These teams are a combined 3-15. Hence my model gives Devonta an 82.4% probability of qualifying.

Group B: This group is already decided. 9-0 Aphrilia has won the group. 7-2 TJUN-ia and 6-3 Anewkansas are in the Round of 24.

Group C: On the surface, this group looks like first place is still up for grabs. But 7-2 Ko-oren beat 6-3 The Golden Harp twice. 5-4 Riandera has secured a Round of 24 spot. Nothing important here on the final matchday.

Group D: 9-0 Valentine Z have won this group. 6-3 Macbon has clinched second place. The 4-5 teams United States of Nova Calania and Gatchingerrak Union face off on the final matchday. My model gives Nova Calania a 62.3% chance of winning at home. 3-6 Sernet cannot finish 3rd because the 2 teams ahead of them play each other.

Group E: 8-1 Quebec and Shingoryeo have won this group. 6-3 Tjorl have locked up a spot in the top 3 of the group as the two 5-4 teams play each other on the final matchday. Tumbra, which was recently sanctioned by the Free Republics for its involvement in the corrupt Esportivan Sporting Council that screwed Falatulu and Noburu Taiyou out of participation in a regional soccer tournament after initially accepting Falatulu's entry, will host Bhumi Matawis Empire in a win and in game. While virtually everybody in the Free Republics will be rooting for Bhumi Matawis Empire, they are the decided underdogs according to my model with just a 36.2% chance of pulling off the upset. But they did already beat Tumbra 83 to 78 in the first meeting between those teams. Let's hope they can pull it off again.

Group G: Group G is the only group where first place is still undecided going into the final matchday. Kamijiro and Valanora are both 8-1 with Valanora's only loss coming to Kamijiro by an 85-83 margin. The top ranked Vanorians are hosting Kamijiro on the final matchday for the group and the bye. 3rd place in the group will also be decided on the court as 5-4 Juvencus visits 4-5 New Rotterdam City. Juvencus won the first leg 85-66 so New Rotterdam City as part of their 4-1 start, including a win over Kamijiro. This means New Rotterdam City must overcome a 56 point disadvantage in point differential. Hence they need to win by 28 or more points. A Juvencus loss by 27 or fewer points would still send them through to the Round of 24. My model puts the odds of a New Rotterdam City blowout at 3.2%, giving Juvencus a 96.8% probability of reaching the Round of 24. That's because winning a basketball game by 28 points against a team of comparable quality is extremely difficult.

Group H: Last, but not least, is Group H. Reigning IBC champs Cardenao are 8-1 and have won this group. Second in the group are Warkus at 6-3. They have clinched second place. Third place is slightly more complicated and involves all 3 games on the final matchday. Abanhfleft and Orgstan are both 4-5. Jaoaa is 3-6. Abanhfleft swept both H2H meetings with Orgstan and split with Jaoaa. Jaoaa and Orgstan split their H2H meetings. Hence this underachieving 14th ranked Abanhfleft will still reach the Round of 24 with a win over Andso Mangis. Should they lose to Andso Mangis, Orgstan will visit Warkus and have an opportunity to win the group outright. If they lose, there would be either a 2 way or 3 way tie at 4-6 depending on the outcome of Jaoaa's game with Cardenao. Regardless, Abanhfleft would win this tiebreaker on head to head wins. Hence, my model gives Abanhfleft a 84.5% probability of reaching the Round of 24. Orgstan has a 15.5% probability. Jaoaa is eliminated.

With all 8 groups covered, I want to take the opportunity to say a few words to our international readers who may be confused about the political situation here in the Free Republics. As those of you who remember me from my days on our National Baseball Team are well aware, I was outspokenly left of center in my younger days after growing up in the Malifornia Charter Society. My father-in-law is a very powerful lay member of the True Church of Iesus Christus aka the Church of Saintland. Neither myself nor my husband share his religious beliefs but we had to hide that while growing up in the True Church, at the time branded as the Salvation Circle. That is to say, I understand what the foreigners criticizing our government are thinking but I have to ask you to please back off.

I do not feel the slightest bit oppressed or unfree under the current government of the Free Republics and I have firsthand experience of what an unfree government is like. Our elections may be far less important than they used to be and the Grand Immortal Imperator may possess a level of executive power that no consul ever possessed, with the possible exceptions of Kulseth and O'Reilly, but he is a benevolent dictator who has fixed many of our problems and made our Federation a better place. Without concentrating such power in one man, it is unlikely that these problems could have ever been addressed. In the old days, women and children couldn't safely walk the streets of our inner cities at night. Today, I don't have the slightest hesitation about letting my 3 kids play outside in Republica. I know that we have reasonable speed limits on our city streets that are strictly enforced and that the police actually do something about murderers, rapists, pickpockets, drug dealers and other menaces. Although women are expected to get married by the age of 25, unless we join a convent, we are free to pick our husbands and the impetus to get married means that we actually do instead of just fooling around until we're about to age out of our fertile years. We are also not oppressed in marriage in any way as it is surprisingly easy to get men to agree to marriages where we have all the power, especially if we marry slightly below our league. Many people may not remember the old Free Republics where the laws said women had more freedom but in practice men were free to just use us then move onto the next woman. Do I wish that we did more to increase career opportunities for women? Of course I do. But exceptional women like Queen Thibodeau-Theriault are still able to have it all and ordinary women who just want to be wives and mothers are free to do that with no pressure to pursue a career.

You may wonder what I think about our criminal justice system and its reliance on old-fashioned methods. I'm not bothered by it because it seems to work better and cost us less than the old system. The cases that get put up to a flashy "election" in a stadium or arena are just the borderline cases, the loophole abusers and the sensational cases that would likely entertain a crowd. In the majority of cases, our legal system simply upholds the law. We used to have "due process" and a ton of technicalities that criminals could use to get away with their crimes. Hence they knew they could victimize innocent people with relative impunity. That's not the case anymore and it has been a profound improvement to our quality of life.

There are those who would have us revert to our old political system with its instability and its constant risk of bringing a Kulseth or an O'Reilly to power. Some foreigners even imply that they'd like us better if we did that. But why would we want to make our lives worse? And why should we believe that foreigners who've always hated us would suddenly like us if we made political changes just to appease them? Let's not forget just how hated we were 33 years ago when Rule Theriault, Koby Theodore, Kyle Bolton and the rest of our legendary first generation of soccer players almost won the World Cup on our home soil. Even before that World Cup started, many were trying to take it away from us because they hated our Federation. When we won our world championships in baseball, football and soccer, there were many foreigners claiming that our championships were illegitimate or accusing us of cheating because our athletes would do whatever it took to win. One thing that is never going to change is the fact that nobody likes us. And we don't care. We're just going to keep on competing and winning championships. You hate us because we're better than you. The fact that we chose to hit the proverbial "fix everything easy button" really makes you hate us because we've shown that problems can be fixed. And we embrace your hatred. It fuels us. It drives us. It is why we know we will return to our rightful place. And there's nothing you can do to stop us.

Sarah Fuerst-Lucchese is a former second baseman for the World Baseball Classic 46 champion National Baseball Team and the author of the infamous "sign-stealing program" that got the Free Republics disqualified from World Baseball Classic 49. She is Sporting World's Senior Analytics Columnist and lives in Republica with her husband Elio Lucchese.

[TJUN-ia]

With two games left in the season, the Hoops-Jaguars of TJUN-ia were going to be in the Playoffs...but in what shape will they be? That is the question that must be answered before everyone heads to Drawkland and for Bao Zhou, answering these questions emphatically became the goal.

In HUElavia, this new goal was put to the test, and it managed to pass with flying colours. This wasn't even a contest; it basically turned into an exhibition once the starters moved to the bench midway through the third quarter. Kim Gyu-ri was a machine out there, and even when they left the game, Yusuke Tokunaga was there to take over and keep the pace up. 94-62. Not even a question.

And so, one game remains - the rematch with Aphrilia in New Washington.
LET'S DO THIS GO HOOPS-JAGS!

---

SCHEDULE (Group B)
MD1: @Croblade (UR) W 76-63 (3rd)
-------------------DROP IT DOWN!-------------------
MD2: vs Anewkansas (UR) - Unity Centre, Riverside W 81-59
MD3: @Chromatika (62) - FRIArena, Felswyr W 103-63 (1st)
-------------------DROP IT DOWN!-------------------
MD4: vs HUElavia (44) - Unity Centre, Riverside W 80-65
MD5: @Aphrilia (8) - Christopher Alan Memorial Arena, Stallend L 78-84 (2nd)
-------------------DROP IT DOWN!-------------------
MD6: vs Croblade (UR) - Liberty Arena in The Gardens, New Washington W 92-79
MD7: @Anewkansas (UR) - Crescent Square Hall, Crestbeck L 83-84 (2nd)
-------------------DROP IT DOWN!-------------------
MD8: vs Chromatika (62) - Liberty Arena in The Gardens, New Washington W 68-65 (2nd)
-------------------DROP IT DOWN!-------------------
MD9: @HUElavia (44) W 94-62 (2nd)
-------------------DROP IT DOWN!-------------------
MD10: vs Aphrilia (8) - Liberty Arena in The Gardens, New Washington

[United States of Nova Calania]

Cooking with Chef Pierre-Paul Leboeuf

Chef Pierre-Paul Leboeuf: Today we're gonna cook a Parmentier de tapir, which is Saint-Jean-Jacques-sur-Mer's national dish. In other countries, the dish is known as a Shepherd's pie. It's also known as Pâté Chinois in Quebec and Shingoryeo. What are the ingredients, Sophie?

Sophie (the assistant): For this recipe of Parmentier de tapir, we need 1 lb of ground tapir meat, 1 can of creamed corn, 4 cups of peeled and cubed potatoes, 1/2 cup of milk, 1/4 cup of butter, 1 finely chopped onion, 1 chopped red pepper, 1/2 cup of chopped mushrooms, paprika, parsley and a bottle of red or brown beer.

Chef Pierre-Paul Leboeuf: First, we have to cook the potatoes in a large pot of salted water. Then, once they're cook, we mash them with butter and milk. Add salt and pepper at taste. It's already done to save time . * Chef Pierre-Paul Leboeuf shows the mashed potatoes to the camera *

First, you need to preheat the oven at 375 °F. Then we're gonna cook the onion, red pepper and mushrooms in a large pan. And add the tapir meat until it's brown and deglaze the pan with the beer. I've personally selected the Alan Belmore, an american style barleywine brewed by Brasserie Jour de Match in Nova Calania and named after one of the greatest footballer of all time. Then, you keep cooking until most of the Alan Belmore evaporates and add salt and pepper at taste.

Lastly, you need to put the meat at the bottom of a square baking dish, add the creamed corn and then, add the mashed potatoes on the top. Sprinkle with paprika and parsley and bake for 30 mins. And put it on broil for the final minutes.

* Chef Pierre-Paul Leboeuf shows the cooked Parmentier de tapir to the camera *

Next week, we're gonna cook a roasted tapir with mashed potatoes, a traditional meal for christmas, new year's eve and thanksgiving in Nova Calania.

[The Kytler Peninsulae]

There is something bracing about the clarity of the situation that awaits the Explorers now. Win, and they're in. Lose, and they're out.

"We didn't plan on having a knockout game so soon," admitted point guard Ace Lee, who has been the primary media voice for the team of late. "But what better place to have one than here in Boldrewood? Every time I've played here I've felt the energy, and that's as a visiting player. To have that kind of crowd on our side will be a game changer."

Especially against a Blue Suns team clearly lacking in confidence; after a promising start that included a comprehensive home defeat of the Explorers, they have lost three in a row and local media have been calling for heads all of a sudden. Lee hopes this is a better time to face this opposition. "They had some momentum when we met them last time and they have not got momentum this time, and when you throw in the home advantage as well then really you can throw out that first meeting. We've got a much better plan now, we've thought about how they exploited us and we saw what we did well when we did contain them for parts of the game before they retook control. So I'm confident."

For their part, the Blue Suns need a win and help to get their backdoor shuttle to Sonnel; if Lisander beat already-eliminated Britonisea, they would lock in a top-three spot alongside Free Republics should the Explorers lose, and nothing that happens at Boldrewood's famous hoops hub The Common Arena matters for the visitors. (If both the Kytlerians and Lisander win their respective contests and Banija complete their 100% Group F campaign against FFR, Lisander would be squeezed out on points differential either across the whole group or in the three-way head-to-head tiebreaker between teams that all split the series against each other; it's not clear which applies, it wouldn't matter which applies. Meanwhile, an FFR upset locks in second place for them and a two-way 5-5 tie resolves for the Kytlerians over Lisander in the same way.)

"To know that nothing else going on matters to us, no other scores matter - that's the best bit for us," Lee acknowledged. "Our opponents don't have that luxury, they need help elsewhere. So maybe that could be what makes the difference, especially if it's close here and Lisander are winning there - at least I think time dilation is supporting simultaneous starts there, we've never quite been sure how it works." (Nobody is sure what the connection between Rushmori time and that in Britonisea's Novapax region, but it's an 8:15pm IsT tip in Boldrewood.)

[Drawkland]

IBC • 43 -- CUTOFF

Apologies for the late cutoff. It's time to see who's coming to Drawkland!

---

Table key
Advancing to Round of 16 with bye
Advancing to Round of 24

GROUP A
New Umoja 66–78 Natkr
Xanneria 86–64 Equestria
Drawkland 89–82 United States of Devonta

  GROUP A                             Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Drawkland                            10   10   0   880  731 +149
2 New Umoja                            10    7   3   831  775  +56
3 United States of Devonta             10    4   6   817  821   −4
4 Equestria                            10    4   6   748  834  −86
5 Natkr                                10    3   7   757  813  −56
6 Xanneria                             10    2   8   743  802  −59

Devonta (1-1) Equestria H2H, goes to Point Differential


GROUP B
TJUN-ia 80–81 Aphrilia
Chromatika 75–59 Anewkansas
Croblade 69–66 HUElavia

  GROUP B                             Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Aphrilia                             10   10   0   835  689 +146
2 TJUN-ia                              10    7   3   835  705 +130
3 Anewkansas                           10    6   4   776  793  −17
4 Chromatika                           10    5   5   721  745  −24
5 Croblade                             10    1   9   715  827 −112
6 HUElavia                             10    1   9   717  840 −123

GROUP C
Sangti and the Filindo Isles 76–75 The Golden Harp
Riandera 78–77 United Adaikes
Ko-oren 83–74 Zenic

  GROUP C                             Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Ko-oren                              10    8   2   853  746 +107
2 The Golden Harp                      10    6   4   808  810   −2
3 Riandera                             10    6   4   788  805  −17
4 Sangti and the Filindo Isles         10    4   6   787  790   −3
5 United Adaikes                       10    3   7   777  812  −35
6 Zenic                                10    3   7   751  801  −50

Golden Harp (2-0) Riandera H2H


GROUP D
Macbon 76–90 Valentine Z
United States of Nova Calania 83–81 Gatchingerrak Union
Kaumann 84–84 Sernet (95–93 OT)

  GROUP D                             Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Valentine Z                          10   10   0   848  669 +179
2 Macbon                               10    6   4   772  781   −9
3 United States of Nova Calania        10    5   5   757  767  −10
4 Gatchingerrak Union                  10    4   6   777  762  +15
5 Sernet                               10    3   7   732  826  −94
6 Kaumann                              10    2   8   760  841  −81

GROUP E
Crpostran 69–85 Kronbia
Tumbra 86–61 Bhumi Matawis Empire
Tjorl 70–83 Quebec and Shingoryeo

  GROUP E                             Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Quebec and Shingoryeo                10    9   1   862  687 +175
2 Tjorl                                10    6   4   837  812  +25
3 Tumbra                               10    6   4   810  793  +17
4 Bhumi Matawis Empire                 10    5   5   783  859  −76
5 Kronbia                              10    4   6   761  824  −63
6 Crpostran                            10    0  10   760  838  −78

Tjorl (1-1) Tumbra, goes to Point Differential


GROUP F
The Kytler Peninsulae 86–59 The Philippine Islands and Formosa
Free Republics 68–76 Banija
Britonisea 66–82 Lisander

  GROUP F                             Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Banija                               10   10   0   914  698 +216
2 The Kytler Peninsulae                10    5   5   798  773  +25
3 Free Republics                       10    5   5   787  767  +20
4 Lisander                             10    5   5   765  841  −76
5 The Philippine Islands and Formosa   10    3   7   718  821 −103
6 Britonisea                           10    2   8   744  826  −82

All three 5-5 teams are 1-1 against each other, goes to Point Differential


GROUP G
New Eastern Canada 75–83 Arguara
Valanora 84–82 Kamijiro
New Rotterdam City 80–89 Juvencus

  GROUP G                             Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Valanora                             10    9   1   874  735 +139
2 Kamijiro                             10    8   2   817  737  +80
3 Juvencus                             10    6   4   795  736  +59
4 New Rotterdam City                   10    4   6   764  779  −15
5 Arguara                              10    3   7   700  806 −106
6 New Eastern Canada                   10    0  10   707  864 −157

GROUP H
Jaoaa 73–75 Cardenao
Andso Mangis 80–66 Abanhfleft
Warkus 84–74 Orgstan

  GROUP H                             Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Cardenao                             10    9   1   814  688 +126
2 Warkus                               10    7   3   867  799  +68
3 Abanhfleft                           10    4   6   739  767  −28
4 Orgstan                              10    4   6   758  786  −28
5 Jaoaa                                10    3   7   760  822  −62
6 Andso Mangis                         10    3   7   765  841  −76

Abanhfleft (2-0) Orgstan H2H

[Drawkland]

IBC • 43 -- PLAYOFF MATCHUPS

SEEDING

Nations were first ranked by group placement, then by wins, then by point differential, then by "coin toss." Riandera and Anewkansas necessitated a coin toss tiebreaker. IC'ly this was a simple coin toss, OOC'ly this was a single scorinated match using only RP bonus (no rank) as the skill for each team. The result is posted here for clarity.

Anewkansas 77–73 Riandera

GROUP WINNERS
1 Banija                               10   10   0   914  698 +216
1 Valentine Z                          10   10   0   848  669 +179
1 Drawkland                            10   10   0   880  731 +149
1 Aphrilia                             10   10   0   835  689 +146
1 Quebec and Shingoryeo                10    9   1   862  687 +175
1 Valanora                             10    9   1   874  735 +139
1 Cardenao                             10    9   1   814  688 +126
1 Ko-oren                              10    8   2   853  746 +107

SECOND PLACERS
2 Kamijiro                             10    8   2   817  737  +80
2 TJUN-ia                              10    7   3   835  705 +130
2 Warkus                               10    7   3   867  799  +68
2 New Umoja                            10    7   3   831  775  +56
2 Tjorl                                10    6   4   837  812  +25
2 The Golden Harp                      10    6   4   808  810   −2
2 Macbon                               10    6   4   772  781   −9
2 The Kytler Peninsulae                10    5   5   798  773  +25

THIRD PLACERS
3 Juvencus                             10    6   4   795  736  +59
3 Tumbra                               10    6   4   810  793  +17
3 Anewkansas                           10    6   4   776  793  −17 *
3 Riandera                             10    6   4   788  805  −17 *
3 Free Republics                       10    5   5   787  767  +20
3 United States of Nova Calania        10    5   5   757  767  −10
3 United States of Devonta             10    4   6   817  821   −4
3 Abanhfleft                           10    4   6   739  767  −28

PLAYOFF BRACKET

Group winners advance automatically to the Round of 16, where they await the winners of the Round of 24. Note that the Round of 24 is a single game, while the Round of 16 onward are Best of 3 series. For logistic simplicity, the Round of 24 venues are reused for the subsequent Round of 16 matchup. This bracket is fixed and there will be no reseeding between rounds.

As stated in the bid, group stage rematches would be avoided for the Round of 24 and Round of 16. Thankfully, the seeding worked out to where group stage rematches were set in the Round of 24. However, both Macbon and Kytler Peninsulae would have a group stage rematch waiting in the Round of 16 if either advanced. Conveniently, these two nations are already adjacent seeds, so they were directly swapped to prevent the potential rematch(es).

#16* Macbon vs #17 Juvencus
@ Bunsen, Inc. Arena, Corinth City
Winner faces #1 Banija

#9 Kamijiro vs #24 Abanhfleft
@ Sunrise Gardens, Ducentu
Winner faces #8 Ko-oren

#13 Tjorl vs #20 Riandera
@ The Shire Center, Shire-Port
Winner faces #4 Aphrilia

#12 New Umoja vs #21 Free Republics
@ sNAX Arena, Raikennax
Winner faces #5 Quebec and Shingoryeo

#15* The Kytler Peninsulae vs #18 Tumbra
@ Cliffside Court, Sadeg
Winner faces #2 Valentine Z

#10 TJUN-ia vs #23 United States of Devonta
@ QXC South Arena, Kayo
Winner faces #7 Cardenao

#14 The Golden Harp vs #19 Anewkansas
@ Yo(care) Arena, Intersak
Winner faces #3 Drawkland

#11 Warkus vs #22 United States of Nova Calania
@ Great Tricorner Arena, Bellator
Winner faces #6 Valanora

See the host information post under the OP for more information about the venues (additional information and a map will be provided tomorrow). Please ask questions if you have any! The Round of 24 is in a little less than 48 hours from now, but remember that playoff cutoffs will be daily once we move to the series rounds. Good luck, everyone! And thanks to all the participants who fell short this time.

[Anewkansas]

Rout on the Road spells disaster for the Bobcats
Overpowered by the Penguins, the NT faces Golden Harp on mental low

This evening, Intersak will be the host for one of the eight play-off games that will determine who will get the opportunity to upset one of the Mighty Eight, the first seeds who all took their groups with ease. Only Valanora really needed that last-game triumph over a sparkling Kamijiro to lock in their ticket, but it is fair to say that the round of sixteen will have a clear set of favorites facing a diverse line-up of underdogs. The odds are a lot wilder to predict the play-off bracket with a mixed bag of hopeful seconds seeds, veterans on the way back up and overperforming newcomers. It is clear that the Bobcats rank in the latter category and ahead of the appearance in Felswyr, many international observers with a soft spot for unknown nobodies would have forked out a few quid to put on the Anewkansan team. The underdog in a confrontation against The Golden Harp? For sure, but not without chances. The blue-and-yellow stunted in IBC41 with a round of sixteen appearance and after failing to do so last time around, they hope to rejoin the series now. However, the team from Kasen Reynolds came through the opening round in a mixed form. When star player Labrhas Watt shines, so does the team. But also vice versa and their concluding loss against the eliminated Sangti and the Filindo Isles proved that there are holes in their defensive plan.

Wait. Hold on a second.

That sounds familiar, isn’t it?

Because the Bobcats will walk into the Yo(care) Arena (we don’t know if the brackets are branded, but we’ll assume so) with that same knot in their stomachs. Yes, the ticket was punched already so that last match had less at stake, yes, facing a vocal crowd on the road is something different than a match-up on neutral ground. But the bottomline remains the same. Just ahead of the moment of truth, your weaknesses have been displayed and shown across the room. For both The Golden Harp and Anewkansas, making it past the play-offs would be exceeding all expectations. The reward are two (well, at least two, but we’ll guess just two) matches in front of a fiery Drawkian audience. Hard games, the kind of games you dream of as a little baller and that will gets kids dreaming themselves to come up there and prove it. Win tonight and even two thrashings there are forgiven. Loose tonight and…

That the Bobcats got this far should not be diminished. Carl Hubbard was right after the last home game to urge his players to celebrate their accomplishment: they did not feature on the prediction list but proved worthy after a rough start with a streak of six wins only perforated by a defeat over title candidates Aphrilia. If nothing else, that proves that the Bobcats have every right to turn up at the table, something that was highly questioned after an abominable Olympic showing. But in the concluding game, the Penguins quickly shot a few holes in the hopes and ambitions of Hubbard’s squad. Or rather, the Bobcats failed to shoot. The opening quarter was a bit cagey (17-16) with both teams trying to feel out the other. It is fair to say that Wallace had the better feeling. The Chromatikans took over with Vospelici landing those buckets with flair and ease. From an eight-point gap at half-time, it turned into a devastating 60-39 at the end of the third quarter. With the enemy against the ropes, the Penguins allowed some game time to the second rotation and could start the recovery from the early elimination.

The mathematicians amongst the readers have in the meantime figured out that in the beefy middle section of the match, our squad racked up 23 points. On the free throw line 6 out of 9 (well, that’s not bad), next to 7 from 20 for two and a deplorable 1 out of 9 for three points. That’s 27.6%, as you had confirmed on the back of the envelope. The problem is that to get sufficient scoring compared to a decent, but not exceptional defense, you need to find either volume across the team or have one standout player. Considering the fact that the Bobcats step into the next round with the second-worst scoring record, you might have figured out that it does not come from across the selection. Only two players concluded games with a 21+ points scored this campaign and both failed to show up against the Penguins. Remington LaGuardia might be the most exciting player on the list, but lacks the consistency to truly guide them through bad weather. If he brings his best, he’s a joy to watch but in Felswyr, he remained freezing cold. That leadership is more present with Kason Blackwell, but after the high-level clash with direct opponent Saidykhan in the first leg, he now had to undergo the law of the strongest. And that is worrisome: if the floor leader of the Bobcats can be shut down, so does the rest of the team. Unless the Golden Harp scouts have been wiggling their fingers, they must have seen this as well. Carl Hubbard had limited time (and a limited selection) to come up with alternatives, let’s see whether he can find one, boosting the morale of the Bobcats in the process. If he does so, the Bobcats are ranked among the tournament surprises and the platform is set for a long-term programme.

[Tumbra]

HEADLINES: Morrison Launches People's Party Federal Election Campaign, Prioritises Crime, Education, National Debt

RIDGEWELL: Alexander Morrison, the leader of Tumbra's conservative People's Party, today launched his party's campaign for the House of Representatives in the city of Ridgewell — beginning a five-week trek across the nation in which he promised "strong, conservative solutions" to "the problems faced by Tumbra today." Rolling out five basic promises, which Morrison called "an agenda for no-nonsense conservative leadership in Straton," the People's Party campaign looks set to campaign chiefly on the issues of crime, education, and the national debt. Whether those issues resonate with voters, who currently place him behind Prime Minister Sandra Campbell in terms of the preferred prime minister, will likely be up to the 55 year-old seasoned political operator who has at times struggled with changing the widespread perception of the federal People's Party as a party that has moved far to the right and abandoned the centre.

In a twenty-minute address held at the Ridgewell Arena, also home to the city's basketball team, Morrison introduced "five key pillars" of the party's campaign, and, if successful, would form the "cornerstone" of his premiership. The five themes in the campaign were encapsulated in short slogans that Morrison said "would resonate with every ordinary Tumbran," who the leader said "are tired of a government that focuses more on photo-ops than governance." The five slogans revealed during the rally were "Safe Streets, Strong Communities", which focused on "cracking down common acts of antisocial behaviour" through the hiring of more police officers; "Back to Basics in Classrooms," which focused on mandating federal standards on the teaching of, among other things, phonics and algebra; "Fix The Debt, Fix The Budget," focused on healthcare and welfare reform to cut the national debt; "Building Our Nation's Future," focusing on general deregulation; and "Strength, Sovereignty, Security," which focused on defence spending and international commitments. Notably, the slogans did not cover tax cuts or conservative culture war issues, a sign that Morrison's attempt to pivot to the centre is likely to continue during the campaign.

Speeches by members of the Shadow Cabinet followed Morrison's speech to an enthusiastic crowd, but a notable absence was Shadow Home Affairs Minister Alexander Hurst. The move was thought to be down to Morrison's desire to portray the party as moderating; Hurst is often seen as the leader of the conservative faction of the People's Party, and is also seen as the most conservative member of the Shadow Cabinet, having garnered controversy in the past for supporting the re-introduction of the death penalty and a rollback of LGBT rights. Speaking instead on crime was the Shadow Law and Justice Minister, Anthony Janssen; billionaire Senator Thomas Kim, who is also the Shadow Commerce Minister, spoke on the "suffocating overregulation" of Tumbran businesses and how his party's reforms would make commerce in Tumbra easier.

The ambitious, if limited, five-point agenda for the election is widely seen as an attempt to drum up support and enthusiasm for the People's Party at a time where confidence is low. The party has not led a single poll in the previous four years, and Morrison has struggled to fight perceptions of him as a weak leader whose supposed moderate credentials within a party seen as swinging to the right are largely overblown. However, Morrison acknowledged the fight ahead, noting that the party was only five points behind the incumbent Labour Party in the polls on first preference votes; and cast himself as an underdog in the fight against what he said was a "media-savvy, slick, self-centred career politician," referring to Prime Minister Sandra Campbell. The People's Party, which held 250 seats out of 675 in the House of Representatives at the dissolution of the previous parliament, needs to gain eighty-eight seats across Tumbra for a majority of one in the new Parliament.

The decision to launch the campaign in Ridgewell, Tumbra's northernmost major city, was widely seen as an acknowledgement that the election will largely be fought in the post-industrial northwestern states, which have seen deprivation and economic decline for the past few decades. Yet the party's path to 338 seats remains tough, with two roadblocks in his way — one orange and one yellow [...]

---

The Maths Says Morrison Can't Win. But Why?
Nicholas Gold - Head of 675

At this point, reader, you should well know that campaigning for the 2045 election campaign is well under way; but beneath the sound and fury of campaigning, for the record, Alexander Morrison has a 3% chance of winning an overall majority as of today. That chance goes up to 14% for his party to be the largest (majority or not), and we're giving him a generous 22% chance of becoming Prime Minister at the head of a coalition, regardless or not whether the People's Party finishes as the largest party after the election. Yes, this is despite the polls tightening and showing that Labour only hold a 51.7-48.3 lead in terms of the two-party preferred vote.

The reason we give for this is simple. Alexander Morrison's path to a majority runs through two very big obstacles, both of which he has to defeat before he can even consider going up against Labour. Those two obstacles, also known as parties, are the Republicans and the Moderates. Both have occupied the centre space that the People's Party abandoned when Lawrence Newell couped Stephen Williams and drove the party to the right, and which has resulted in two successive electoral defeats for the House. The Republicans have made a greater show of occupying the centre space than the Moderates, having roped in a bunch of ex-party members from the disaffected moderate faction of the PP's predecessor, the Liberals, to form the creatively-named Liberal Democratic Party. It is, as of now really just an electoral vehicle for former Prime Minister Stephen Williams' son, Fabian, but the party does have genuine momentum outside of him and his family name. Meanwhile, the Moderates, despite their classical liberal turn, have nestled themselves firmly in this centrist space as well for people who want right-wing economics but without the squeamishness of conservative social policy.

The Moderates at dissolution held 38 seats, and currently have a majority of seats in the previously safe-blue state of Iswilyn. The Republicans only had nine, but have been polling high in the four Southwestern states that are their central focus (ignore the fact that they have set up shop in more), and which were also previously safe-blue states. Do you, dear reader, see the problem now? They can go after these seats that are the natural home of centre-right voters, but that means they have to focus less on Labour. They could go after Labour, but then they'd be leaving the somewhat-easier task of reclaiming seats in Iswilyn and the Southwest on the table. There is little margin for error here. The People's Party are currently eighty-eight seats away from a majority of just one in the House. The eighty-eighth most vulnerable Labour seat, out of the 349 they held at dissolution, requires a two-party preferred swing of 5.5%. This swing does not need to be replicated nationwide, but with current numbers we're looking at the People's Party requiring a 2PP vote of at least 51.5% to win a majority of one. For a safer majority of about ten, it's around 52%.

Across the four years of this Parliament, the most generous swing the People's Party has seen in its direction from Labour has been 1.4%. This would swing about twenty-five to thirty seats in their favour, yes, but that is hardly election-winning form. Add the fact that it's the most generous poll they've gotten across the last four years, and this number suddenly looks a lot more difficult. To win 88 seats from Labour, they'd have to clean house in the north-west; they'd have to basically clear Labour out of seat-rich Georgia, which is already very blue, make inroads in Clearmont, and be competitive in Napier and Bechor.

It's perhaps a stretch to say that Morrison, at this point, can't win; our model gives him something a little better than a one-in-five chance of becoming Prime Minister, and that's certainly not nothing. But that would require a hitherto unseen in-campaign swing of nearly five points in his direction when looking at the two-party preferred vote, or fighting a two-front war against both the centre and the left, which would leave him vulnerable to attacks from both and losing everything. I said four years ago, when he first became Opposition Leader, that the situation Alexander Morrison found himself in was an extremely unenviable one, and that he basically got the job by default because he wasn't seen as the most conservative politician in the country. He's had four years to turn his party's numbers and reputation around. I'll give him credit; he's done admirably, and the party is no longer seen as extreme as it was perceived to be under the leaderships of Max Young and Lawrence Newell. But the rejuvenation of the People's Party was always seen as going to be something that took a decade or more, and no matter how upbeat he sounds on the campaign trail, the office of Prime Minister might just not be on the cards for him.

[Kamijiro]

Future of Kamijiroan Hoops: Opening the Circuit

The overall idea is for the KOBK is to eventually have an open circuit model with promotion and relegation. Right now, the largest obstacle to this is that most clubs that are first forming have very little chance of competing with the top dogs of the league, hence why the test game model is currently used. The question becomes what happens if the league starts accepting more teams - how many is too many? At what point will the league become bloated and have to trim the fat a bit by creating a lower league? Well, according to the league itself, the number is twenty-four. Each team plays another team four times, pushing the league schedule to ninety-two games per team. Anything past that and it would start to get out of control.

As for now, the reigning champion Kustplaats Waves - led by Jean-Philippe (J.P.) Louissaint, Cole Jamison and Tristan Visser - are the cream of the crop in terms of pure basketball talent. The fact they had three players selected to the national team (only one other club, Narakugai, had two or more) shows how dominant the team actually is overall. They won the league by a whopping six game lead, being the first team to ever eclipse the sixty-win mark in the current schedule format. Their point differential was 226 higher than the next team down. They were the highest scoring team and also had the best scoring defense, as well. With the way the current contract system is set up, they are likely to repeat this dominance next season so long as they have no major injuries (or, with lower-end contracts being essentially rendered part-time work, no issues with players deciding to call it quits).

At the bottom of the standings are the two newest sides, Jarzé Town Knights and 1. Ōzu Pro Samurai. They passed their test matches before the season, both with a record of 2-3, beating the two lowest-ranked sides from the previous season before losing to both of the middle-of-the-road teams picked and the high-end team picked. They also passed the threshold to not get pulled back into an 'out-vote,' which is finishing with a win percentage below twenty. In this case, that would be anything worse than 16-60. Neither team has national team players but both do have some players with high potential, namely Pierre Rouiller from Jarzé Town, aged seventeen and already a full-time pro and Shinya Okazaki of 1. Ōzu Pro who already starts at small forward at age sixteen.

- Current Matchday Info -

Kamijiro 82 - 84 Valanora

Player of the Game: Keigo Mikami (20 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists | 5/9 FG, 2/4 3PT, 8/8 FT)
Key Moment: An almost-repeat of the reverse fixture falls short as Mikami's last-ditch three from well beyond the arc rims out.

- Next Matchday Info -

#9 Kamijiro versus #24 Abanhfleft
Venue: Sunrise Gardens, Ducentu
Best of One, Win or Go Home.

Winner of the series faces #8 Ko-oren in a best-of-three.

[Tjorl]

The New Generation - 5 of 5 (Maja Ilmaren)

Despite a second beatdown at the hands of Quebec and Shingoryeo, Tjorlish spirits could hardly be dampened, as they had already secured qualification to the knockout stages a game before after an emphatic 24-point victory against Bhumi Matawis Empire. Despite stumbling to a 2-3 record halfway through the group stage, the Jotnarne responded by going on a four-match tear, including knife-edge wins over Crpostran and Tumbra as well as two no-doubters against Kronbia and the Bhumi Matawis Empire. This run could have been due to changes coach Emrik Bergvik applied to the offensive system. Going into the tournament, Tjorl knew they had to rely on their perimeter threats such as Anders Martikainen and Jakob Kaiser. However, their free-flowing read-and-react system relied too heavily on individual creation, which caused offensive possessions to stall and shooters forcing contested attempts. Either that, or wide-open shots from Felix Neslunn and Albin Skarnlund just wouldn't fall all tournament. After a 22-point drubbing to Quebec and Shingoryeo, Bergvik changed the read-and-react Tjorlish offense to a more organized system, not too dissimilar to the offensive systems he led during his coaching stint with Konunsfjord a few years back.

Now relying on predetermined triggers like dribble handoffs, pistol action on the wing, or maybe a sudden backdoor cut, the once chaotic-yet-effective (or maybe once effective-turned-ineffective?) free-flowing Tjorlish offense turned into a more systematic affair, allowing shooters like Martikainen or surprisingly Ilmaren to get open and sink shots. In particular, the 24-point drubbing of Bhumi Matawis saw the Jotnarne drain 16/27 of their long-range attempts, with Ilmaren getting credit for 5 of those treys. This comes as a shock, even to Tjorlish fans, as entering the competition, Ilmaren was the third-string point guard for the team. However, with a slight knock to back-up Mats Nystrom, as well as a revised structure that placed a premium on speed and decision-making over individual shot creation, Ilmaren was given more minutes and filled in the time vacated by a resting Kaiser beautifully. After scoring 11 against Kronbia and 19 against the Bhumi Matawis Empire, it is clear that Ilmaren is shining brightly in the new offensive system organized by Bergvik. While there is no doubt that veteran Kaiser will still lead the charge in Tjorl's RO24 tie against Riandera at the 32,600-seater The Shire Center in Shire-Port, Ilmaren is looking to keep up in form and keep offensive production high, even if the captain needs to rest a minute or two.

---

Short Overview on the Geology of Kjol, the Tjorlish Capital
Disclaimer from the Týrland geologiske undersøkelse: Map currently unavailable, apologies for the inconvenience. The map will be available by the end of the next nationwide geologic survey.

Compared to the more volcanic origin of Tjorl's extreme reaches, its capital Kjol’s geology is dominated by an ancient, stable continental core overlain by relatively young folded belts and extensively glacial processes. Much of the city rests on basement rocks formed more than 1.6 billion years ago, collectively referred to as the Kjol Shield Complex. These rocks include banded gneiss, mica schist, and amphibolite, intruded by coarse-grained granite plutons. Long-term weathering and erosion have smoothed much of the interior terrain into low-relief plateaus and rolling hills. The shield provides a durable foundation that has resisted tectonic deformation, giving the interior a stable, rugged character.

Along its western and northern margins, Kjol’s landscape becomes markedly more complex due to the Mathiassen Orogenic Belt, where mountain-building events between 520 and 280 million years ago created steeply folded sandstones, shales, and minor volcanic units. These rocks were later metamorphosed into slate, quartzite, and marble. Large-scale thrust faults and imbricate structures stacked rock units atop one another, forming the city's highlands in its inland neighborhoods. The structural orientation of these belts, combined with persistent glacial erosion, produced long, narrow valleys aligned roughly perpendicular to the coast, which soon became the Kjolfjorden.

Glaciation over the past 120,000 years has been the defining agent of Kjol’s coastal topography. Massive ice sheets scoured the highlands and lowlands alike, carving deep U-shaped valleys, deep basins, and rugged fjords along the capital's coast. The Kjolfjorden System best exemplifies this glacial sculpting, with steep cliffs rising directly from deep, elongated inlets, while moraines mark former ice margins. Glacial outwash plains and sedimentary terraces extend inland, forming fertile pockets in otherwise rocky terrain, which has benefitted Kjol throughout Tjorlish history as not just a major trading hub, but also as a viable place to support agriculture in a country that is quite inhospitable to agriculture due to its cool climate.

[TJUN-ia]

Nine games down. One more to go. The Hoops-Jaguars of TJUN-ia will be in the Playoffs ahead, and they would not win this group...but they would play the team who did in one final chance to stop them from coming out of this group stage unbeaten. Bao Zhou knew that this was going to be a monumental undertaking for this team at this time, but wanted to give this game a fair crack anyway - to see of there was still one more twist in the tail of this group stage.

In the Liberty Arena in The Gardens of New Washington, the Regular Season Finale between the Hoops-Jaguars and the unbeaten Brigadiers of Aphrilia brought out a packed house - a loud house, and one that wanted to push the unbeaten to its limits on the court. This game was a duel between two foes - one already proven to be a contender, the other wanting to prove it belonged in that category - and in the midst of this scene, the Hoops-Jaguars really pushed the Brigadiers all the way. Samantha Naylor vs Lilly Harper felt like a clash of the titans out there, they were controlling the narrative that much, and it just seemed like a huge shame that in this battle, someone had to win. The visitors just escaped with the win, 81-80, to move to 10-0...but we made things uncomfortable. And that will be some comfort as we move to Drawkland for the Playoffs.

What do we think about 7-3? Not too shabby, isn't it? Now, we have to focus on knockout basketball - starting with United States of Devonta in Kayo - who went 4-6 in Group A, but who still found a way to make it.
LET'S DO THIS! GO HOOPS-JAGS!

---

SCHEDULE (Group B)
MD1: @Croblade (UR) W 76-63 (3rd)
-------------------DROP IT DOWN!-------------------
MD2: vs Anewkansas (UR) - Unity Centre, Riverside W 81-59
MD3: @Chromatika (62) - FRIArena, Felswyr W 103-63 (1st)
-------------------DROP IT DOWN!-------------------
MD4: vs HUElavia (44) - Unity Centre, Riverside W 80-65
MD5: @Aphrilia (8) - Christopher Alan Memorial Arena, Stallend L 78-84 (2nd)
-------------------DROP IT DOWN!-------------------
MD6: vs Croblade (UR) - Liberty Arena in The Gardens, New Washington W 92-79
MD7: @Anewkansas (UR) - Crescent Square Hall, Crestbeck L 83-84 (2nd)
-------------------DROP IT DOWN!-------------------
MD8: vs Chromatika (62) - Liberty Arena in The Gardens, New Washington W 68-65 (2nd)
-------------------DROP IT DOWN!-------------------
MD9: @HUElavia (44) W 94-62 (2nd)
-------------------DROP IT DOWN!-------------------
MD10: vs Aphrilia (8) - Liberty Arena in The Gardens, New Washington L 80-81 (2nd/7-3/+130PD/#10)
----------------------------------------------
Ro24: vs United States of Devonta (20/#23) - QXC South Arena, Kayo

[Free Republics]

OOC: This RP will likely be abbreviated. The idea is there and it's the right time and place to do it but I haven't really been in an RPing mood over the past 48 hours or so. Leaving out my usual disclaimer because I don't feel like copying and pasting it but any law enforcement agents reading this should be aware that I strongly oppose the RL terrorist group antifa and this work of fiction should not be interpreted as support for them.

Grand Immortal Imperator's Palace
Republica

As the Free Republics were playing Banija at the Venicio Piazza Memorial Arena, the security around the Grand Immortal Imperator's palace was much lighter than usual. Many resources had been diverted to guard the candidates in the "election" to ensure that they would be thrown off of the top of the arena to the parking lot pavement once the crowd overwhelmingly voted "Yay" to express its disdain for people who set up fake daycares to steal money from the taxpayers.

Around the end of the first quarter of the basketball game, 5 masked men walked through the gate and attempted to enter the Palace through the front door. They were immediately met by a response from the Praetorian Guard, as expected. Elsewhere, a man named Feng Kung climbed over a fence. Kung was the child of Ciqian immigrants who'd moved to the Free Republics when Ciqi was still a colony of the Free Republics. (OOC: I believe Ciqi, which was my Chinese themed puppet, was ICly annexed by Quebec long ago. Like how Iesusisgodistan was annexed by South Covello after Gregoryisgodistan was overthrown.) Kung had joined Anti-Imperator Action because his parents had been staunch supporters of Tsukihiko Fukuhara and the Globalist Movement. He had grown up a staunch progressive leftist and was an easy recruit for Anti-Imperator Action when he met some individuals from their Republica cell at a bookstore in a back alley. After he gained their trust as a teenager, they allowed him to access their collection of banned books and eventually to become a full member of Anti-Imperator Action.

Kung was carrying a hammer and an antique .30-06 caliber bolt action rifle that had belonged to the Nordernian military at one time. He found a window on the side of the palace and started smashing it with his hammer. Eventually, the glass broke and he managed to climb through the broken window into the palace. Once inside the palace, he started looking for the Grand Immortal Imperator's chamber. Since the layout of the palace, which was intentionally designed like a maze, was a closely guarded state secret, Kung did not know which way he was going. Eventually, he went into the room where Senator Shadow was. The cat freaked out at the presence of an unknown human. But as Kung was a vegan and a strong believer in animal rights, he wasn't going to harm the cat. He just didn't want the cat to alert his master. The black cat freaked out and starting trying to run out of the room. This startled Kung who accidentally fired his gun, shooting himself in the leg.

At this moment, Kung's reaction could only be described by the words "oh shit". He was wounded and clearly trespassing inside of the palace. But he could still hold the gun and possibly complete his suicide mission. As it so happened, Lady Nova had heard the commotion and wanted to find out what was going on. So she headed into the room. Once Kung saw somebody approaching, he tried to shoot his gun but he missed and the bullet ended up hitting a priceless painting instead. Lady Nova noticed what was happening and returned fire. Nova's bullet missed as well, hitting Senator Shadow's scratching post. Kung tried to return fire but the safety lock accidentally activated on his trigger. Realizing this, Nova charged towards him and disarmed him.

Moments later, the Praetorian Guard arrived and found Lady Nova along with her masked assailant. Once he was captured, Lady Nova told them the truth about what had happened. But News Magazine would report the story as if Nova had single-handedly disarmed the assailant and shot him in the leg. Most importantly, the Grand Immortal Imperator now had a member of Anti-Imperator Action in custody and would personally see to it that he would be thoroughly interrogated...

OOC: You may assume that this incident was reported by News Magazine, including the would-be assassin's name and his affiliation with Anti-Imperator Action. Also, the lies about Lady Nova heroically stopping him not the truth about him shooting himself in the leg.

[Valentine Z]

Part 4 – The Perfect Qualifiers. Everything has brought us into this.

Chief Aviator Eveline Gwen Tracer Hepburn “Fate of Existence and the Omniverse” Ellen Trixie Caitlin Foxworthy Avril Verlene Celinda Sammy Doris T-Rev Oxton Arielle Lindall Leslie Vitesse Allison: I am taking a break from that set of adventures that I am having with Sir Ivo and his crew, for now, anyway! Don’t worry about them, they will not know that I am here talking to you guys. In fact, they don’t even know you all exist and all that, hah! Oh yeah, to the report and the games themselves. Well, I am more than elated to find out that once again, we have managed to get an 10-0. Don’t get me wrong, I feel for the other teams and nations that did not manage to make it in, but it is kind of what it is and we got the victories. Besides, at the risk of sounding arrogant, there is a bit of a reason why we are still the 2nd best team in this season, hehe. Not that it helped a lot, considering the previous season… ugh.

With a points difference of +179, it put us at the resounding and reaffirming second, with Banija above us. We are giants standing around other giants, that is a sight to see. I am more than proud and happy for and towards Gwen’s Angels for this amazingness, and also to Coach Joshua for making this happen. I would like to thank Clarke too, even if he was mostly on standby; the presence still helped a lot. Oh I mean, I would still be fine with the Angels had they fumbled a little bit here and there, to be clear. But the fact that they did not, and have gone through strong, yeah that’s great! More importantly, we will be waiting for the result of a playoff – one between The Kytler Peninsulae and Tumbra. It will certainly be quite a matchup, and I will keep it quiet to what the odds are. Let’s just say that both of them are genuinely strong contenders. The more vital part of us is to make sure that we win against the either team that is going to be playing against us. Wishing these folks the very best, naturally, and may the odds be ever in their favour- that is how the phrase goes, yes? Of course, it is. I wonder if we will be against Banija or Ko-oren…

In the other realms and other bits – both the interdimensional sports and relations, we are and will indeed be moving towards contacting and trying to establish formal relations and embassies with the nations! This has not been forgotten in the slightest. A good number of them are very easy and obvious picks, and I can see it happening already, oooh! There are a few others that, while we are more or less cordial, I would like to think, they might not want to establish with us for the time being, either due to the technological (and magical) differences, or just something else down the line. And of course, it has to be mentioned, there are a few others that we rather not make contact with. Even being matched up against them was a travesty waiting to happen; you can see the happenings in the 100th World Cup as a good example of this. I have also looked through many of the other worlds and countries, and let’s just put it this way – our ideas will clash tremendously. Less mentioned about them, the better. It’s very clear what they think of us, innit? Bah, not my concern – for now, at least. They are not trying anything against me, heh.

[The Kytler Peninsulae]

"Never in doubt," Ace Lee laughed after the Explorers booked their shuttle to Sonnel after a win-and-in game that they extremely won, the Blue Suns battered 86-59 with a second-quarter surge of 13 unanswered points in less than three minutes setting them on their way after the visitors had kept in touch throughout a low-scoring, nerve-shredding first quarter. This winning margin - and Banija completing their perfect group phase with a 76-68 win in Republica - was enough to secure second spot in the group, albeit as the only 5-5 team to do so; they did get seed-swapped with Macbon, who were a similarly distant second to a 10-0 Valentine Z in Group D, but that's just ensuring that both teams are playing for the right to swap who slaughters them in the octos if they even get that past repechage opponents who actually have a better record.

For the Explorers, Tumbra are those opponents. It's a true like-for-like matchup; both big names in other forms of multiversal sport, both entering IBC42 cold, both cruising through to the second group phase of that particular event. (Tumbra, in the absence of an outrageous final-day escape against one of the sport's superpowers - though they did limit Banija to an eight-point victory - got no further; the Explorers, of course, did get that outrageous fortune and did make the last eight.) An undersized team by any stretch, the Red Wolves still managed to go 6-4 in a tough Group E to set up this showdown in Sadeg for the right to lose to play Valentine Z.

"One thing we've got going for us there," mused Bitternea Radio commentator Anders Olsen after the draw was confirmed, "is that we can visibly see a size advantage in the paint and can use that. This was how the Valanora upset happened - there was one clear advantage to exploit and they did it - and when Drawkland provided the opposite problem, when they were the ones with the size advantage as they inevitably are, it took forever for us to settle in and it was amazing it was ever even close after that. I think we can get off to a fast start and control the paint, but when (Magnus) Eriksson has to leave the floor and the less experienced bigs come in, will they be able to have the same effect as number 5? They'll still be much bigger so maybe, but the industrious nature of this Tumbra team cannot be underestimated. They will expect to win this, I am sure." Does Anders expect them to be wrong? "If we play like we did for the first half of the group stage especially, no, they'll win easily. But if we put up the kind of performance we just did in Boldrewood to get here, I think that should be enough to win. Of course, whoever wins this probably gets absolutely smashed into another dimension by the Valentians, but I think the Explorers would benefit greatly from the experience of playing that team, as I'm sure Tumbra would as well - I think that might just be the real prize here, besides the ranking points of course, having that opportunity to face an elite team at full strength and all the learning that comes from that for a young team like ours."

[Quebec and Shingoryeo]

OOC: Slowly working on something fun for political/national lore sake.

Podcast Episode
Lore-ian Leg-aces: The Prime Ministers - Part 1
Midnight Moon with Yves Mason-Jeunet

Yves Mason-Jeunet (YMJ): Hello, everybody! This is Yves Mason-Jeunet, I am speaking from the Midnight Moon's studio, right in the beautiful Sundance Coast outside Prince Eric. It is, as you would expect out in the Swangard County, a rainy April day, which is kinda perfect for this week's show.

Here we have our three panelists today: Georges Lemaire, Cathy Chiarelli and Oh Yeong-Gook. For those who are new to this show, Georges Lemaire is the former President of the Shinminjeon Party, Cathy Chiarelli is the Professor of Contemporary Shingoryeoite History at the University of Prince Raoul Island down the road from me in Port Gray, and Oh Yeong-Gook is the newest Director of Research at the Chunchugwan Institute of History. How are you guys feeling?

Georges Lemaire (GL): Phenomenal. Feeling much better after last week's cold.
Cathy Chiarelli (CC): Likewise. The classes are over, essays start trickling in, and everything else is coming along for the summer break.
Oh Yeong-Gook (OYG): Can't seem to feel the summer at all. Snow's yet to melt in the capitol. (Chuckles)

YMJ: Thank you for coming to speak to us. This week and next week's episodes are fun ones, because we'll be talking about individual Prime Ministers since the year 2000, and assess their legacies. Key achievements, of course, will be the focus, and for some Prime Ministers, we all know there is none because they were either around for so long, or just didn't have anything to speak for.

OYG: So this means no Amandine Souray, right? The lettuce lady, as opposed to the iron lady she wished to be called.
CC: We don't claim her either, guys. Let's be real here. (Chuckles)

YMJ: No, we'll skip past her and Theo-Florien Coutu. But the rest will be there, and we'll take time to talk about each Prime Ministerial eras. Can we please have the signs ready please, Joanne?
Joanne Jeunet (JJ): Right there!

---
Title: Sliding to the First - Amelie St. Louis
---

YMJ: The first PM we are going to have a full discussion about is, of course, Amelie St. Louis. Heading into the 21st century, we had one of the most iconic Prime Ministers who dominated the nineties and the first years of this millennium. We don't need to talk about how Marian Lecavalier was the one who modernised the Shinminjeon, how he stabilised the nation in the post-pandemic age, and everything else. His popularity was fairly consistent with back-to-back majorities after a strong minority the first time around, and the way his government treated the Kingston Incident, the People's Party and the rogue Premier of Mahan was considered the model study.

OYG: Indeed, and heading into the year 2000, lots of positives were out there. Public seemed happy with how the PPQ was addressed, Shingoryeoite Cool was the cultural vogue across the multiverse, and of course, the Crown-Gwangmoo relations were stable. There were still a lot of underlying issues, but people were content with how the things went.

GL: And then, of course, he went down with a rare cancer in 2001, and was forced to step down in one of the most unfortunate situations for the head of government. The way we, as in the Shinminjeon, viewed it was a huge vacuum. Nobody's going to replace a guy who held a rarified level of leadership, who was able to bring together, and that's what we'd find out in a very quick leadership race of 2002, which began in December after the party had won their fourth straight election.

CC: Which was, of course, won by St. Louis. She was the favourite in many ways - who held the party purses, lots of ground support, and not to mention was going to be the stable pick of the bunch. But indeed, there were indeed some concerns that St. Louis, for all the positives she had brought being former Mayor of Joongyeong and then in the cabinet, lacked the unifying factor. It was something that was discussed a lot as Bernard McDonagh would step up for the rejuvenated Moogoongwha around early-mid 2000s. What are your thoughts, Georges?

GL: I think she was dealt a difficult hand, that's for sure, and Amelie St. Louis, for all the good that she brought, was a technocrat at heart. Her successes were brought under massive infrastructure projects that really worked out well in the eighties and early nineties, and her policies reflected that.

For example, in the 2003 budget, you would see the general direction that she was pushing for. It wasn't so much the conventional budget you'd get in the Lecavalier years, where we'd see general focus on internal policies such as less emphasis on the military, more fundings to education and public health, et cetera.

A lot more technical details were available on with her policies instead - improving the Royal Navy fleet was the big focus that year, as would proposing the third phase of MACH high-speed rail, and a lot of interests in the national projects. And those were quite a night and day departure from her predecessor, who might not have been as ambitious, but was really the unifier of the country. So there's a lot of backlash that went against St. Louis inside the caucus, especially among those who wanted Woo Shi-Heon more.

YMJ: But it's an interesting dynamic since Woo was the relative outsider, who wanted to take the direction bit closer to Lecavalier-era policies, wasn't it?

GL: Absolutely. So the party ranks got all rumbled and jumbled even though Woo himself stepped away from politics by 2004. Instead we got left with a very unstable caucus, divided groups of voters and well, a rise in richer and better organised opposition. Now, this isn't a snide on St. Louis's achievements as the Prime Minister - a lot of the bigger projects she had raised here would eventually come handy by McDonagh and even Isabelle Perreault, who would both reap the benefits off her own deliverables - but they were really longer-term projects that didn't have the deliverables on time. So we came up short by 2006, even though the actual percentage of votes weren't bad at all, and combined with some strategic errors, of course lost that election.

CC: Of course, don't forget to mention how the attack ads backfired massively. Calling McDonagh an owl-eyed dork for his sunglasses was a bad idea.

GL: Indeed. This is why I tell the interns who would come to work at the HQ to watch how they project their voices. Cases like this don't help...