NationStates Jolt Archive

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(Note: One more team can still sign up before the first games are scorinated on Friday, they will go into Group B. In fact, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE one team sign up if just so it doesn't seem so unfair. Though you could say that Group B's advantage is somewhat counteracted by the more taxing travel.)

RP and rosters here, original thread (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=512844) can be used for any lengthy OOC stuff. Results will also be posted here, just the scores will be supplied.

FORMAT
Top two of each group advance. 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw. Rankings for the group stage are determined by points, goal difference, goals scored, head-to-head result, number of wins, and if still tied, by the toss of a coin.

Ties after regulation time after the group stage will proceed to one full overtime period, and if still tied, to penalty shootout.

FIXTURES

Group A:
Kelssek
Quakmybush
Az-Cz
Bazalonia
Cafundeu

Group B:
Altanar
Coocoostan
The Great Monty Python
Milchama

Venue codes:
NRV - National Aquatics Centre, Neorvins
OUT - Centre Saint-Helene, Outineau
KIR - University Aquatics Arena, Kirkenes
ULY - Irbes Stadium, Ulyanov

19 Jan - Group A Matchday 1
Bazalonia vs. Quakmybush (NRV)
Kelssek vs. Cafundeu (OUT)

20 Jan - Grp B MD1
Altanar vs. The Great Monty Python (KIR)
Coocoostan vs. Milchama (ULY)

21 Jan - Grp A MD2
Kelssek vs. Quakmybush (NRV)
Cafundeu vs. Az-Cz (OUT)

23 Jan - Grp A MD3
Kelssek vs. Bazalonia (OUT)
Az-Cz vs. Quakmybush (NRV)

24 Jan - Grp B MD2
Milchama vs. Altanar (ULY)
The Great Monty Python vs. Coocoostan (KIR)

25 Jan - Grp A MD4
Quakmybush vs. Cafundeu (OUT)
Bazalonia vs. Az-Cz (NRV)

26 Jan - Grp B MD3
Milchama vs. The Great Monty Python (KIR)
Altanar vs. Coocoostan (ULY)

27 Jan - Grp A MD5
Az-Cz vs. Kelssek (NRV)
Cafundeu vs. Bazalonia (OUT)

Rosters copied over from original thread:

Kelssek


Marcus Alkmar GK Neorvins Sharks
Luke Warrener Utl Kirkenes Blues
John Staunton Drv CA Titans Dorval
Alexei Dubov Ctr Spartak Ulyanov
Marc-Andre Therien Ctr Neorvins Sharks
Brandon Nichol Drv Burnaby Thunderbirds
Martin Laperriere Drv Kirkenes Blues
Dusko Djordjic Utl Kirkenes Blues
Lorren Wainwright Drv Breton Mooseheads
Neil Fletcher Utl CA Titans Dorval
Pierre Lacousteau Utl Clayquot Neptunes
Dmitri Stefanovic Ctr Clayquot Neptunes
Colin Chilliad Drv Burnaby Thunderbirds


Coocoostan


Dimitri Drygyn GK Krilya Coocoobad
Oleg Pakhomov Utl Krilya Coocoobad
Boris Chapayev Utl Krilya Coocoobad
Yuri Chupin Utl Krilya Coocoobad
Mark Henderson Utl Wajax Dolphins SC
Sergei Sharifjanov Drv Krilya Coocoobad
Andrei Krivokrasov Drv Krilya Coocoobad
Mikhail Ragudin Drv Krilya Coocoobad
Alexei Kuznetsov Drv Khimik Vityazk City
Dale Walters Drv University of Tudor-Brackett Spartans
Vladislav Maltsev Ctr Krilya Coocoobad
Nikolai Ivanov Ctr Krilya Coocoobad
Rylan Neil Ctr Panjuhr Speed

Coach: Timofei Kournisov, Krilya Coocoobad
Assistant Coaches: Boris Safin, Krilya Coocoobad,
Brian Douglas, Wajax Dolphins SC

OOC: Could you post the groups in the RP thread as well?

Az-cz Scroll
Kelssek
Az-Vdo

Gnomes splash into Water Polo Championships

The Gnomes once again undertake to try and earn a NS world championship. The Gnomes have put up results all over the board, from a dominant performance in surfing, bringing home the championship, to a strong performance in soccer, to a decent performance in the Cherry Cup to a downright horrific performance in the Winter Olympics. And then there was of course the botched Baseball Championships. How would the Water Polo team fare?

Probably not well. Water Polo is a very minor sport in Az-cz, and in fact many were suprised to see the Gnomes cobble together a team, yet here they are. Most of the nations in the group are quite familiar to the Pink & Green. Of course Bazalonia and Quakmybush are both good friends from Atlantian Oceania who have competed in many things. Cafundeu is a rising football power who advanced to the finals of the Baptism of Fire held in Az-cz. Kelssek is the hosts and also a nation who was quite strong in the winter olympics.

Clearly Kelssek as hosts and organizers is the overwhelming favorite to win the group. We'll guess Quakmybush comes in next with the Bazalonians trailing behind them. It'll be between us and Cafundeu for the bottom, with us just being worse than them and bringing home last place. But much like the thrashing in AORBC 3 prepared us for much better things in AORBC 4 we hope that this championship will be a valuable learning experience for the Gnomes.

Az-cz Roster

Nick Mangetti GK
Stn-Frd Utl
Go-Mp Drv
Du-Bov Ctr
Tony Azvedo Ctr
Br-Dn Drv
Mk-Dre Drv
Du-Sko Utl
Lo-Ren Drv
Nei-Fo Utl
Sho-Sho Utl
Dar-Zog Ctr
Co-Lin Drv

(OOC: Done)

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Nichol has high hopes for Water Polo Championships

National water polo captain Brandon Nichol has high hopes for the Water Polo World Championships being hosted in Kelssek from this Friday, he told the Herald.

"I think we're one of the stronger teams and we will have to use the home advantage to spur us on. We can and should do very well, and I hope the fans will turn out to support us." said Nichol, a native Neorvinois who plays for the Burnaby Thunderbirds. He also singled out Az-Cz's star centre forward Tony Azevedo as "probably someone who'll have a big impact."

Water polo is gaining momentum and returning to the spotlight as a major sport in Kelssek after years of struggling with squabbles a common feature at the offices of Waterpolo Kelssek. The professional league was revived last year and had a very successful first season after being on hiatus for seven years, forcing Kelssek's elite players to compete for limited places on the national team program or head overseas.

The hosting of the World Championships is expected to attract about a million visitors, and for the powers that be in the sporting organisations hoping to bring a major international event to Kelssek, such as the Olympics or the Aglukark-Cherry Cup, it will be a matter of pride as well as showing their capacity to organise a large event.

Team Kelssek, drawn in Group A, will be playing two of its group stage matches at the National Aquatics Arena in Bay Square North. Tickets to the game on January 21 against Quakmybush and the highly-anticipated encounter with Az-Cz on January 27 are selling fast.

MORE REPORTS:
- Organising committee appeals to "hormonal pool-bunnies" to "bring friends"
- Centre Saint-Hélène tests new pee detection system, no word on what penalties errant urinators will face.

Results for each matchday will be posted at around 1400 UTC. The results of the first matchday will thus be out in 5 hours' time.

GROUP A MATCHDAY 1

National Aquatics Arena, Neorvins
1 2 3 4 FT
Bazalonia 3 1 2 3 9
Quakmybush 2 3 2 2 9

Centre Saint-Hélène, Outineau
1 2 3 4 FT
Kelssek 2 3 3 4 12
Cafundeu 2 2 2 2 8


GROUP A
P W D L GF GA Gdif Pts
Kelssek 1 1 0 0 12 8 +4 3
Bazalonia 1 0 1 0 9 9 +0 1
Quakmybush 1 0 1 0 9 9 +0 1
Az-Cz 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0 0
Cafundeu 1 0 0 1 8 12 -4 0

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Therien makes a splash

Hometown hero Marc-Andre Therien stamped his authority on Kelssek's first match of the World Water Polo Championships at Centre Saint-Hélène today, scoring five goals to help Kelssek to a 12-8 win over Cafundeu.

The centre forward for the Neorvins Sharks used his size to his advantage, parking himself in front of the goal despite the efforts of the defence, and could have easily have added more goals but for the efforts of Cafundeu's goalkeeper.

Captain Brandon Nichol added two goals with a couple of devastating long-range bullets while Luke Warrener, making his national team debut, also played well and contributed a goal off a cheeky lob which left the goalie stranded.

"It's good to get the first win and have some momentum going, especially in front of the home crowd." said head coach Wes Freelance, who was pleased by the all-round effort displayed by the team, which will now travel to Neorvins to play against Quakmybush in the nation's capital.

(OOC: The matches are all quite close and low-scoring because of how little RP has been going on. Hint hint.)

GROUP B MATCHDAY 1


University Aquatics Arena, Kirkenes
1 2 3 4 FT
Altanar 3 0 1 2 6
Grt Monty Python 2 3 0 2 7

Irbes Stadium, Ulyanov
1 2 3 4 FT
Coocoostan 1 4 1 1 7
Milchama 2 2 2 2 8


GROUP B
P W D L GF GA Gdif Pts
Milchama 1 1 0 0 8 7 +1 3
Grt Monty Python 1 1 0 0 7 6 +1 3
Coocoostan 1 0 0 1 7 8 -1 0
Altanar 1 0 0 1 6 7 -1 0

GROUP A MATCHDAY 2


National Aquatics Arena, Neorvins
1 2 3 4 FT
Kelssek 6 5 2 3 15
Quakmybush 4 4 4 1 13

Centre Saint-Hélène, Outineau
1 2 3 4 FT
Cafundeu 2 2 1 1 6
Az-Cz 5 4 5 4 18

GROUP A
P W D L GF GA Gdif Pts
Kelssek 2 2 0 0 27 21 +6 6
Az-Cz 1 1 0 0 18 6 +12 3
Bazalonia 1 0 1 0 9 9 +0 1
Quakmybush 2 0 1 1 22 24 -2 1
Cafundeu 2 0 0 2 14 30 -16 0

i've never heard of any of those teams, but this entire game is based on false reality so i don't know what to believe. all i know is that i watched the fina world championships earlier this year. as well as the ncaa championships. and the mountain pacific invitational. i guess its cool that people on this site like waterpolo too. any of you guys play for a college or pro team?

OOC: This is a simulated version of a water polo world championship with our created nations. On this site there are many events of simulated sports, all using our nations. If you want to talk about real sports, that's best done here, http://forums.jolt.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=1227
But if you'd like to enter your own nation in tournaments then there are many things available. Currently signups for the next world cup (and associated beginners tournament) are open and more things will show up from time to time, like this.

IC:

Az-cz Scroll
Kelssek
Az-Vdo

Gnomes whack Cafundeu, chuckle at Unified Elites lack of knowledge


While there wasn't much fan support as the fans were off watching the AOCAF for the most part, the players themselves were very nervous. They didn't have much experience together and didn't have a professional league like the hosts or Coocoostan. But they had the Az-cz fighting spirit, so knew that if they were to go down, they'd go down fighting. Thankfully it was a great bludgeoning laid out by the Gnomes. They jumped out to an early lead on a couple of goals Tony Azvedo and Stn-Frd before allowing Cafundeu to fight back a bit to end the first period up five two. Azvedo was nearly unstoppable next period racking up all four Pink & Green goals to push the Gnomes ahead to a further lead of 9-4. While some teams might ease off at this point the Gnomes ratcheted their play up further. Specifically Mangetti in goal really cranked up his game. He held Cafundeu to a single goal in each period of the second half while Du-Bov, Azvedo and Stn-Frd each scored three goals to push the Gnomes to a dominating final of 18-6.

That puts the team firmly in second place trailing just the hosts, who have played and won a game more than the Robbers. The team is absolutely ecstatic about the win and believes that the victory ought to draw out more fan support.

In other news a small controversy was stirred up by an unknown nation called Unified Elites. They claimed that all of our nations are a bunch of unkowns and called doubt on this whole tournament. When asked for their reactions the players just chuckled. "Az-cz, Milchama, Bazalonia, Quakmybush unkowns? Come now. We're all well known on the soccer scene, or the surfing scene, or the kleptochase scene. Not to mention the roles of the nations in international politics, such as Bazalonia being a UN ambassador." Some other players mentioned things like Great Monty Python's wonderful film festival as reasons that these countries are well known, and instead wondered about Unified Elites history. But like many things for Az-czzers we just enjoyed the irony and got back to the water polo at hand.

OOC: Aren't the FINA championships in Melbourne later this year? Or do you mean the Pan-Ams? Meanwhile, the RP bonus yields more one-sided games in Group A...

GROUP A MATCHDAY 3

Centre Saint-Hélène, Outineau
1 2 3 4 FT
Bazalonia 1 1 3 0 5
Kelssek 0 4 1 6 11

National Aquatics Centre, Neorvins
1 2 3 4 FT
Az-Cz 4 2 1 4 11
Quakmybush 1 1 0 0 2

GROUP A
P W D L GF GA Gdif Pts
Kelssek 3 3 0 0 38 26 +12 9
Az-Cz 2 2 0 0 39 8 +21 6
Bazalonia 2 0 1 1 14 21 -7 1
Quakmybush 2 0 1 1 24 35 -11 1
Cafundeu 2 0 0 2 14 30 -16 0

The team were feeling very pleased with themselves, and who could blame them? They even had groupies now. Some of the fans tonight had brandished signs proposing marriage.

"The real test, of course, is Az-Cz," said the coach, "so you'll have to keep up the defensive work and not go crazy like against Quakmybush, yeah the crowd loved it, but we could've lost that one... Hell, I'd even say at this point Az-Cz are going to be the real competition here. And we managed to get Bazalonia tired out but Az-Cz seem to have some good conditioning so that's always important..."

OOC: I think the totals only add up to 10-2.

Az-cz Scroll
Kelssek
Az-Vdo

Robbers swim circles around Quakmybush; look forward to possible revenge

Following up their opening match thrashing of Cafundeu, the Robbers moved on to a more familiar opponent and friend Quakmybush. Although the two nations are currently working together on a World Cup hosting bid, that didn't mean that they would take it lightly on each other. That could be seen in the way the Gnomes systematically man handled Quakmybush 11-2.

The Gnomes put their mark on the match early with incredibly feisty play to make up for their lack of size. Like in all sports the Gnomes were at a disadvantage in terms of height, but thier incredible reserves of energy suit them well in the pool for water polo. Where as most teams have to at least think about conservation of energy the Gnomes can swim people down and tire them out, as well as get around the pool quite quickly.

Quakmybush scored on their opening possession and it looked like they might be able to give the Gnomes a good match. But then the Gnomes scored on their next four possessions while Quakmybush stalled and the score held that way. In the next period both defenses stepped up and held both teams down. Tony Azvedo slipped in for both goals in the period to push the Gnomes out to a 6-2 lead at halftime.

The third period was absolutely brutal. Both teams played great defense to really much things up and only one shot by Du-Bov found the net. However down 7-2 the Quakmybushians really lost their nerve as they allowed four unanswered goals in the final period, three by Stn-Frd to push the final scoreline to 11-2. Holding any team to two goals is impressive, with none in the second half, but doing it in a world championships is incredible. For any team, even a world power the results would be incredible. But for a team with as little experience as Az-cz they are purely and totally mind-boggling.

The Gnomes now look forward at a good chance at revenge. Based upon the results from the first two matches the team looks well placed to finally beat Bazalonia at something. Following their tie in the cup the water polo team looks to make Az-cz history against another close friend.

(OOC: Oh yeah. I missed some decimals while adding up. You didn't RP the fourth quarter so I'll put the extra goal in there)

However down 7-2 the Quakmybushians really lost their nerve as they allowed four unanswered goals in the final period, three by Stn-Frd to push the final scoreline to 11-2

I did RP the fourth quarter. But in the original RP I also did 7+3=11, so now thngs are fixed and good. :)

OOC: Oh well. First crisis worked out :)

GROUP B MATCHDAY 2


Irbes Stadium, Ulyanov
1 2 3 4 FT
Milchama 0 3 3 3 9
Altanar 1 2 3 2 7

University Aquatics Arena, Kirkenes
1 2 3 4 FT
Grt Monty Python 1 0 0 1 2
Coocoostan 0 3 3 2 8


GROUP B
P W D L GF GA Gdif Pts
Milchama 2 2 0 0 17 11 +6 6
Coocoostan 2 1 0 1 15 10 +5 3
Grt Monty Python 2 1 0 1 9 14 -5 3
Altanar 2 0 0 2 13 16 -3 0

GROUP A MATCHDAY 4


Centre Saint-Hélène, Outineau
1 2 3 4 FT
Quakmybush 1 3 0 2 6
Cafundeu 0 3 0 3 6

National Aquatics Arena, Neorvins
1 2 3 4 FT
Bazalonia 2 0 2 1 5
Az-Cz 4 3 3 4 14

GROUP A
P W D L GF GA Gdif Pts
Az-Cz 3 3 0 0 43 13 +30 9
Kelssek 3 3 0 0 38 26 +12 9
Quakmybush 4 0 2 2 30 41 -11 2
Cafundeu 3 0 1 2 20 36 -16 1
Bazalonia 3 0 1 2 19 35 -16 1

OOC: Kelssek, the tables are off Quak has two losses. I also only have 43 GF not 53. Hence only +30 GD.

Az-cz Scroll
Kelssek
Az-Vdo

Gnomes finally take down Bazalopes

After a long string of futility things are finally looking up in the rivalry between the Gnomes and their northern neighbors, Bazalonia. First the Gnomes picked up their first ever not loss, a 0-0 draw in the group stages of World Cup 32 and then now they pick up their first ever win, a 14-5 thrashing of the Bazalopes.

The match started out evenly enough, with both teams trading goals on their opening two possessions. The Gnomes scored on their fifth to make it 3-2 and then finally got a stop and added one more to make it 4-2 at the end of the first quarter. Although the Gnomes had the advantage there was still a good challenge to be had. However that was clearly stopped in the second quarter.

Mangetti and Tony Azvedo were locked in, with Mangetti stopping a number of strong shots and Azvedo pouring in all three Gnome goals in the second period to move ahead 7-2 and put the Pink & Green ahead to a very commanding lead.

The third period played out much like the first with the Gnomes just outscoring the Bazalopes in the period to extend their lead to 10-4. Bazalonia started out with a goal to give themselves hope, but when Az-cz quickly answered to make it 11-5 they faded, allowing three more easy goals by the Gnomes to push the final line to 14-5.

The Gnomes have absolutely rolled in all three matches and now advance to a showdon with the hosts. However, the importance of this match is dubious as both teams are expected to meet again in the finals anyways. Despite the fact that the Gnomes have put up better results to this point, Kelssek should still be considered the favorites. While the Gnomes are getting it done on stamina and guts, the Kelssek squad is quite knowledgable and skillful about Water Polo, which should give them an advantage.

OOC: Yes I realize water polo does not involve horses

"Dude Milchama is 2-0."

"Wait, we just knocked out of the world cup, baseball is not up and there are no other important sports. So then what marginal sport is it?"

"Water polo"

"How do they get horses in the water?"

"I have no idea but they do and it has worked well for the Water Warriors, we've won two games, including against teams with actual names"

"Wait, we don't know the team?"

"Nope."

"So then how are we doing so well?"

"No idea"

"There are other weird things about this sport also, like the fact that Group A has played twice the amount of games as Group B"

"Wouldn't that just be the tournament?"

"Shut up you"

"I will not be silenced!"

"Seriously though, how do they get the horses in the water"

"Let's do an investigation and find out"

"ok"

Ugh, that was a biggie. Fixed. And Group B does have to travel ten times as far between their games as Group A.

---
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Anticipation builds for big showdown

In what many are saying will be a preview of the final, Kelssek and Az-cz will be playing against each other Saturday night in Neorvins to determine the winner of Group A.

Kelssek will need to win to take the group, while Az-cz will take the group with a draw given their far superior goal difference. Both teams go into tomorrow's game having won all the three games they have played so far.

However, Kelssek coach Pat Rebers admits Az-cz will be a serious test, pointing to the goal difference as the key indicator. "They have very good conditioning and are very strong defensively. It'll be a tough match for us. The stats tell you everything here, they've had big winning margins because of the quality in their team."

Nonetheless, Az-cz's dominance did come as a bit of a surprise. The Gnomes had downplayed their prospects and Az-cz media didn't expect the team to do very well, let alone dominate to the extent that they have so far. No one's underestimating them now.

Kelssek vs. Az-cz will be shown live at 8pm on Saturday on NSN. Only the top-priced $60 tickets at the Neorvins National Aquatics Centre are available; all others have been sold out.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v465/mriggs17/CoocoostanskySport.jpg

Fighting Ibix 1-1 amidst favouritism accusations

The Coocoostan Fighting Ibix Men's Water Polo side has seen a few things most from our country have not. Like gnomes(they can swim and quite well at that). The tournament began with a loss to Milchama, a militaristic nation, who came back from being down at the half to win 8-7. The second match against the Great Monty Python(they actually were pretty terrible) saw 6 unanswered Ibix goals in the second and third quarters to win 8-2. A win over Altanar is somewhat likely, so the playoffs beckon. Not many travellers have come to Kelssek for the tournament, but with the bandwagon tendencies of all Coocoostanis not from Anadahl, they should show up once the playoffs begin. Hopefully, the team will still be in.

Another issue is that Krilya(Wings) Coocoobad makes up the majority of the roster. Coach Timofei Kournisov sees it differently however. "At Krilya we were 18-2 this season. I took the three best from the other sides, plus a university player. Is that wrong?" Some say yes, as with the majority of the players being Slavic, it could dissuade youngsters from taking up the sport(There are only 600 players at any level across the nation). While Kelssek's love affair with Water Polo seems strong, it's still foreign to the sporting public, and if it wasn't for the fact that this is a first for our country, it likely wouldn't be news, unless a medal is the end result.

GROUP B MATCHDAY 3


University Aquatics Arena, Kirkenes
1 2 3 4 FT
Altanar 0 1 1 3 5
Coocoostan 3 2 2 1 8

Irbes Stadium, Ulyanov
1 2 3 4 FT
Milchama 4 1 3 2 10
Grt Monty Python 0 0 0 2 2


GROUP B
P W D L GF GA Gdif Pts
Milchama 3 3 0 0 27 13 +14 9
Coocoostan 3 2 0 1 23 15 +8 6
Grt Monty Python 3 1 0 2 11 24 -13 3
Altanar 3 0 0 3 18 24 -6 0


Milchama and Coocoostan proceed to semi-finals.

GROUP A MATCHDAY 5


National Aquatics Arena, Neorvins
1 2 3 4 FT
Az-Cz 6 4 0 1 11
Kelssek 1 0 3 4 8

Centre Saint-Hélène, Outineau
1 2 3 4 FT
Cafundeu 3 3 1 2 9
Bazalonia 2 2 0 3 7


GROUP A
P W D L GF GA Gdif Pts
Az-Cz 4 4 0 0 54 21 +33 12
Kelssek 4 3 0 1 46 37 +9 9
Cafundeu 4 1 1 2 29 43 -14 4
Quakmybush 4 0 2 2 30 41 -11 2
Bazalonia 4 0 1 3 26 44 -18 1

Az-Cz and Kelssek progress.

PLAYOFF SCHEDULE


30 JANUARY

Semifinal 1: University Aquatics Arena, Kirkenes
Milchama vs. Kelssek

Semifinal 2: Centre Saint-Hélène, Outineau
Az-Cz vs. Coocoostan

1 FEBRUARY

Third-place playoff: Irbes Stadium, Ulyanov

2 FEBRUARY

Final: National Aquatics Arena, Neorvins

"Are we there yet?"

"No"

"Are we there yet?"

"No"

"Are we there yet?"

"No"

"Are we there yet?"

"Shut up!"

"Are we there yet?"

"YES! now let's go to the game and see how they put the horses in the water."

"Sweet"

"Let's go"

"There's the stadium"

"I see it too"

"All we need to do is cross the street, come on"

"Let's go"

"Wait! there's a car there"

*He pulls him back from doom*

"Meh, let's not do that anymore"

"Ok"

"What else is there to do in Kelssek?"

"There's a bar there"

"Perfect"

Az-cz Scroll
Kelssek
Az-Vdo

Gnomes beat hosts, push for fourth nickname

Az-cz sporting teams have three main nicknames, one as a heritage to their race, one to their "class" and one for their team colors. Gnomes, Robbers, and Pink & Green have all served Az-cz well. But their is becoming a push for a fourth national team name, "Water Doom Bugs".

You see, the Gnomes of Az-cz have shown an intense liking for water sports, despite not having any water sports amongst the national sports. First it was the dominance of the surfing tour, winning the team title and finishing 2, 4 and 5 in the individual rankings. Now comes a group stage where they handily dispatched of all opponents, even the hosts, winning their final group match 11-8, in a match that wasn't really that close.

Despite Kelssek's training they were unprepared to deal with the speed of the Gnomes. They seemed to be able to expect to be able to beat the Gnomes on pure strength and found out quickly they couldn't, as the Gnomes jumped out with a huge six goal first period, four by Stn-Frd, with Kelssek only adding one in reply. They added four more goals in the second, with this period Tony Azvedo slamming in three and Mangetti absolutely dominating in goal to push the Gnomes to an incredible 10-1 half time lead.

Not wanting to embarass the Kelssek team more in front of their home fans the Gnomes pulled their starters and brought on a whole new round of players to get some practice time in. With the second stringers on the bench Kelssek rallied back nicely, scoring three goals in the third, and four more in the fourth, with only Dar-Zog scoring in answer for the Gnomes. The Kelssek squad certainly showed their strength in the second half pulling back 6 of the 9 goal deficit, but the Gnomes blew the doors off early. That display should be worthy of earning the nation the moniker "Water Doom Bugs".

The team now moves on to face a dangerous squad from Coocoostan. After losing a hard fought 8-7 battle to Milchama, they've rebounded with very solid wins over Altanar and Great Monty Python. In fact their defence up to this point has actually been better than the Gnome's defense, by a hair, although their offense doesn't measure up. While the Gnomes should feel confident about their chances after the group stage they know Coocoostan could knock them off if they're not focused. We trust that the team won't look ahead to the finals, and the possible rematch with Kelssek.

The TV camera approached the defeated bench. "So, coach, any thoughts on the game today?"

"Uh, well I think we didn't come prepared today and we paid for it. The guys have to be on from the word go and we can't have a first half like that ever again. Great character to fight back but we needed to be stronger out the gate today."

"Okay, thanks for talking to us today."

"No problem."

As the interviewer prowled the pool deck looking for victims, Pat Rebers glanced at his notes, composing the shellacking he would deliver in his head.

- def assignments must be stuck to
- careful about cntr-attack
- WTF were u doing Fletcher??
- man to man means STICK TO YOUR MAN
- WTF WTF WTF everyone
- have let the whole country down, are disgraces
- don't try fancy plays when behind
- mst have more urgency
- wow comebk vs. 2nd stringers am I impreseed??

Ibix prepare for Az-Cz in Semifinal
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v465/mriggs17/CoocoostanskySport.jpg

Coocoostan's Fighting Ibix know they can finish no lower than 4th, but still that doesn't comfort any of them in the slightest. A loss to the Az-Cz team would be considered a dissapointment, even with their stellar play in the round robin. "They look pretty good, but we have size on them and we should be able to use it," said one team member, who per team policy, remains anonymous. The match will be live on BSC, the first time the sport has been shown on the network, according to them. Many fans are travelling to Kelssek for the match, with a showdown with Kelssek(for either first or third) a reasonable possibility. What will coach Timofei Kournisov have to say before the match begins?
"Anything less than victory will be shameful."

OOC: Sorry it didn't work out like that, C. Personally, I blame society. It's society's fault we can't get a rivalry extending into another sport. As a nation we should be ashamed of ourselves for allowing this to happen. Also, random.org for drawing us into seperate groups, but it's way too easy to find a scapegoat.


University Aquatics Centre, Kirkenes
1 2 3 4 FT
Milchama 2 4 4 2 12
Kelssek 2 4 3 4 13

Centre Saint-Hélène, Outineau
1 2 3 4 FT
Az-Cz 1 4 4 1 10
Coocoostan 1 1 3 1 6

Az-cz Scroll
Kelssek
Az-Vdo

Gnomes down tough Coocoostan squad

The Gnomes faced their toughest competition to this point in the tournament so far with a determined squad from Coocoostan. However the Water Doom Bugs proceeded to victory 10-6.

The first period was controlled by Coocoostan but moreso by the keepers. Coocoostan scored on their opening possession and then the offense died. It looked well like Coocoostan would hold the Gnomes off the board but Stn-Frd found a goal with just five seconds left to even it up.

The second period of the match was the only one that was truly uneven, as the Gnomes took control of the match here and used it to power themselves to victory. After Coocoostan scored the opening goal, Tony Azvedo responded with three goals to push the Pink & Green ahead 4-2. Stn-Frd added another just before the end of the period as the Gnomes took a 5-2 lead into the half.

Coocoostan showed an impressive fighting spirit scoring the first two goals of the second period and nearly equalizing, with only impressive tending from Mangetti keeping the lead with the Gnomes. However evenutally the Gnomes restabilized pushing their lead to 7-4. Coostan scored to make it 7-5, but Stn-Frd found two more goals to push the lead to 9-5.

Coocoostan, like they had done in the other periods opened the scoring quickly. But the Gnomes really locked down from there, shutting down the Coocoostan attack the rest of the match. Du-Bov added an incidental goal late in the match to move the scoreline to a four goal victory.

Although Coocoostan showed great spirit, they just couldn't deal with the speed and energy of the Az-cz squad. The Water Doom Bugs now move on to face the hosts again. Az-cz can feel confident because they have already easily beaten Kelssek, but beating the hosts with a championship on the line will be no easy feat. Can the Water Doom Bugs add a second title to the Az-cz collection?

As they were getting ready for practice Go-Mp slammed down a newspaper on one of the benches in the locker room. "Have you guys seen this shit?"

Stn-Frd, captain of the squad, replied "No. What?"

"It's the betting line. They've got Kelssek favored by two goals."

Azvedo shot in "That's fucked up. We wiped the floor with those guys."

Stn-Frd said "Who cares? That doesn't make any difference to us. We've just got to work hard and we can get them?

Br-Dn questioned the logic "What reasons do they give? We were up by 9 goals at halftime against them using our starters, and we looked much better in all our matches. They barely beat Milchama."

Go-Mp explained, in a mocking voice "Here's exactly what it says, 'Although the Gnomes easily defeated Kelssek in the group stage, that wasn't the true Kelssek performance. As the result was irrelevant they didn't expend their full energy. With the home crowd behind them, and wanting to reassert their status as Water Polo power, they will give their best performance, something the so called "Water Doom Bugs" can't match."

Azvedo "Can't match, eh? Can't match? We'll see about that"

OOC: You'll pay for that Kel-cheks. You may not think so, given all the stuff we're about to buy from you, but you'll pay.

It wasn't so bad, because I asked a gnome about flexiblity on package deals and he said it was redonkulous.

The players were exhausted after such an intense and close game, gasping for air and too tired to do much else but sit on the deck as the crowd cheered wildly.

"Did... did we win?" someone asked.

"Yeah I think so." said Luke Warrener, looking around trying to find the scoreboard.

"No, we lost," someone else said.

"Oh, whatever."

"Well done guys!" the coach said excitedly.

"We won?"

"Yes. We're in the final!"

"Good then."

"Against Az-Cz."

"Aw, crap."

THIRD PLACE PLAYOFF


Irbes Stadium, Ulyanov
1 2 3 4 FT
Milchama 3 1 2 1 7
Coocoostan 2 2 3 2 9

FINAL


National Aquatics Arena, Neorvins
1 2 3 4 FT
Kelssek 3 4 0 3 10
Az-Cz 2 4 4 3 13

OOC: Kelssek, you only scored ten goals. Also, thanks for arranging the tournament. As a stealth Water Polo fan I enjoyed it.

Az-cz scroll
Kelssek
Az-Vdo

Water Doom Bugs preservere, earn inaugural championship

Coming into the finals there were predictions for both sides. Many thought that the Kelssek side would find their form and come out on top, but there were also those who felt the Gnomes would continue their good form and pick up the title.

Coming out early, Kelssek looked better scoring the opening two goals of the match. Although their pace slowed down they held the Gnomes basically in check and maintained a 3-2 lead after the end of the first period. That lead by Kelssek was the first time all tournament the Gnomes had trailed at the end of a period.

The second period Kelssek looked for certain like they were going to get revenge, they extended their lead to 5-2 and then after an Az-cz goal added two more to push the score to 7-3. The Gnomes looked pretty well toast, but they came roaring back in extreme fashion, absolutely taking control of the match. The Gnomes, led by Tony Azvedo's two goals scored the last three goals of the half to pull back to 7-6 at the half.

But the Gnomes domination didn't stop there. They come out fresh in the second half and you could see Kelssek's will start to fade against the more energetic Robbers team. The defense was lock down and Stn-Frd scored three goals with Du-Bov adding the fourth as the Gnomes put four unaswered goals on the board to move well ahead at 10-7.

And the Gnomes continued to keep the pressure on two more Stn-Frd goals extended the lead to 12-7 before Kelssek finally responded. From the middle of the second period to the middle of the fourth period the Gnomes scored nine unanswered goals to take control of the game. Kelssek finally broke onto the board to make it 12-8, but Stn-Frd scored a quick reply to go back ahead by five goals. They held control until late, when Kelssek scored two goals against the reserves to lead to a final result of 13-10.

The Water Doom Bugs had brought a world championship back to Az-cz. While dominating through most of the tournament, they overcame the home advantage and a large deficit to beat Kelssek cleanly. They proved they are truly worthy champions.

Four Az-czzers were selected to the all tournament team. Stn-Frd, who scored 9 goals in the finals, was selected player of the tournament. Tony Azvedo, Nick Mangetti and Du-Bov were also selected to the squad.

OOC: Thanks. I promise I will learn to add by the next time I host something.

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Kelssek falter in the final

Az-cz were the clear winners in the final of the World Water Polo Championships, overcoming the home advantage to beat Kelssek 13-10 at the National Aquatics Arena in a much closer and more even version of the group stage debacle the last time these two teams met.

Despite holding a one-goal lead at the half, Kelssek got a bit overenthusiastic in the third quarter, gifting the Robbers two goals with poor discipline as captain Brandon Nichol and Dusko Djordjic were both excluded in the first 2 minutes, giving Az-cz a two-man-up situation they didn't fail to capitalise on.

Four goals in the third quarter and a good defensive effort in the fourth nullified a sprited comeback attempt by Kelssek, and compromising on defence in search of goals allowed Az-cz to strike back on the fast break. It was too little too late as time ran out and Az-cz claimed the inaugural World Water Polo Championship title.

Nevertheless, second place was quite a positive result and the team will undoubtedly be looking to the Ylompic Games for their next challenge.