NationStates Jolt Archive

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh106/newtypezaku/intl_bball.jpg


Announcing the qualifying group draw for the first International Basketball Championships. Rosters, if they have been posted, are linked from each team.

GROUP A
1. Corivia
2. Dancougar (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13751810&postcount=2)
3. Frontenax (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13756036&postcount=8)
4. Gerainia (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13758333&postcount=10)
5. Kura-Pelland (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13752125&postcount=4)
6. Newmanistan (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13755487&postcount=7)
7. Secristan (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13757865&postcount=9)

GROUP B
1. Arroza (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13759810&postcount=13)
2. Cafundeu (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13764386&postcount=17)
3. Kenavt (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13752632&postcount=5)
4. Kose and the Turkomans
5. Lovisa
6. Taeshan (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13752954&postcount=6)
7. Xaristan (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13751876&postcount=3)

Teams play each other twice, home and away, according to the following schedule. After each gameday, a link will be made to the results.

Gameday 01 (Wed, June 11): 1@2 4@3 6@5 (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13764333&postcount=16)
Gameday 02 (Thu, June 12): 3@1 2@4 7@5 (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13767848&postcount=23)
Gameday 03 (Fri, June 13: 1@4 6@2 7@3 (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13767848&postcount=23)
Gameday 04 (Sat, June 14): 5@1 2@3 6@7 (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13769835&postcount=29)
Gameday 05 (Sun, June 15): 1@6 5@2 4@7 (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13771414&postcount=33)
Gameday 06 (Mon, June 16): 7@1 4@5 3@6 (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13773223&postcount=36)
Gameday 07 (Tue, June 17): 2@7 6@4 3@5 (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13776269&postcount=40)
Gameday 08 (Thu, June 19): 2@1 3@4 5@6 (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13781503&postcount=48)
Gameday 09 (Fri, June 20): 1@3 4@2 5@7 (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13784134&postcount=51)
Gameday 10 (Sat, June 21): 4@1 2@6 3@7 (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13786075&postcount=54)
Gameday 11 (Sun, June 22): 1@5 3@2 7@6 (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13788273&postcount=61)
Gameday 12 (Mon, June 23: 6@1 2@5 7@4 (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13792803&postcount=67)
Gameday 13 (Tue, June 24): 1@7 5@4 6@3 (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13792803&postcount=67)
Gameday 14 (Thu, June 26): 7@2 4@6 5@3 (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13796153&postcount=71)
GAMEDAYS 15-25 (Mon, June 30 - Thu, July 10) :: FINAL TOURNAMENT AND BEST OF THE REST MINI-LEAGUE (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13796191&postcount=72)

The top four teams in each group, based on overall record advance to the final tournament in Dancougar. Tiebreakers come in the following order: head to head record, point differential, points scored, away record. If somehow all of those are tied, there will be a playoff game on Thursday, June 26. The quarterfinals and semifinals will be best of three series, with the final being best of five. When qualifiers are decided, a tournament info/schedule post will be made, and linked from here.

Useful information follows!

In keeping with the basketball theme, up to three points of RP will be awarded for each gameday. If we assign your RP bonus for gameday n to the variable 'rp', then your cumulative RP bonus for gameday n is given by
RP(0) = 3
RP(n) = 0.5[rp + RP(n-1)]
One thing you'll notice is that this also caps the cumulative bonus at three points. This way, teams that cannot RP as regularly as other teams are not penalized as much. Real life does get in the way, and missing a day or two will not kill your cumulative score.

There is no such thing as team strength, since there are no previous rankings to go on. Home teams will always have a bonus point tacked onto their cumulative score, but the effect of that extra point is limited only to the home game and does not carry on in the formula. So the only way you can really affect the outcome of the games is by RPing. It should be noted, though, that the scorinator generates results simply by picking and choosing random numbers and applying them to a statistical model. By definition of the method of scoring, strange things can and will happen. Please do not complain about it. RP bonus is not a guarantee of victory, but it makes you shoot more accurately on average.

A 'good' RP, one that earns a high score, will contain a well-written summary of the game, or maybe some storyline you've got running on the side, or some combination of the two... it doesn't matter! Just have fun with it. If you want some examples, there are other sports threads lying around that you poke through. Chances are if you enjoy writing it, it'll come out just fine. Interacting with the teams around you is also encouraged.

As the host, Dancougar is ineligible for any RP bonus aside from the home team point.

The cutoff for RPs is tentatively midnight, Eastern USA time, which is currently GMT -4 for daylight savings. (To avoid confusion, when I say gameday 1 is Wednesday June 11, it means the cutoff is roughly one second after 23:59:59 on Wednesday.) After the cutoff is posted to the thread, no more RPs will count towards that day's outcomes, which will be posted thereafter.

During the final tournament, there will be a bonus minigame which can boost your RP scores over the maximum three points. Details will appear when the finals begin. The first game is in four days, which gives everyone time to hit the ground running. All IC posts from here until cutoff will go towards your gameday 1 RP bonus...

The Black Wings are all hopelessly confused... what is this strange game for which they're serving as hosts? Whatever, they say, let's just play some ball. Starters are bold.

C Paul Oliver
C Fred Ingot
SG Shinji Kankuro
SG Walt Redman
SG Bradley Chambers
SG Morris Zimmerman
PG Chad Natrine
PG Dan Masterson
G Sai Tohya
G Carl Sampdoria
SF Greg Vinson
PF Tim Reynor
PF Sam Placeway
PF Jasper John
F Frank Natrine

Xaristan National Basketball Stadium:
http://www.bevosports.com/images/ncaab_reliant.jpg

Basketball is a favorite sport in Xaristan, and, as such, the Raiders hope to be able to bring home the inaugural title.

Roster:

Starters:
C Bryan Walters 7'2
C Franklin Harris 6'11
PF Simon Arres 6'10
SG Michael Potter 6'4
PG Zack Darid 6'1

Bench:
C Gregory Urran 7'1
PF Ira Hran 6'10
PF/SF Talin Seymore 6'7
SF Hunk Jeffers 6'8
SF Matthew Dwayne 6'7
SG Otto Jossick 6'3
SG/PG Hank Uxon 6'2
PG Vick Berger 5'11

The Raiders play a 2-3 zone defense, with a set offense generally concerned with pounding the boards and launching the occasional three point shot. Has some trouble against smaller, quicker teams, though bench is usually able to compensate. Against smaller teams, Matthew Dwayne usually replaces Simon Arres. The rest of the lineup remains the same.

GROUP B
1. Arroza
2. Cafundeu
3. kenavt
4. Kose and the Turkomans
5. Lovisa
6. Taeshan
7. Xaristan

Gameday 01 (Wed, June 11): OFF
Gameday 02 (Thu, June 12): Xaristan @ Lovisa
Gameday 03 (Fri, June 13: Xaristan @ Kenavt
Gameday 04 (Sat, June 14): Taeshan @ Xaristan
Gameday 05 (Sun, June 15): Kose and the Turkomans @ Xarisann
Gameday 06 (Mon, June 16): Xaristan @ Arroza
Gameday 07 (Tue, June 17): Cafundeu @ Xaristan
Gameday 08 (Thu, June 19): OFF
Gameday 09 (Fri, June 20): Lovisa @ Xaristan
Gameday 10 (Sat, June 21): Kenavt @ Xaristan
Gameday 11 (Sun, June 22): Xaristan @ Taeshan
Gameday 12 (Mon, June 23: Xaristan @ Kose and the Turkomans
Gameday 13 (Tue, June 24): Arroza @ Xaristan
Gameday 14 (Wed, June 25): Xaristan @ Cafundeu

KURA-PELLAND ACES

STARTERS

C Paul Tarotti (6'11, 271lbs)
PF Bryan Grade (6'9", 253lbs)
SF Jake Ulrich (6'7, 255lbs)
SG Vincent Elton (6'3, 220lbs)
PG Michael Melbridge (6'1, 202lbs)

BENCH
C Oscar Martins (7'2, 300lbs)
C/PF Fergus Persil (6'10, 260lbs)
PF Mario Cosetti (6'8, 250lbs)
SF Dwayne Partridge (6'6, 260lbs)
SF/SG Wesley Beasley (6'6, 256lbs)
SG Marti Millbrook (6'5, 219lbs)
SG/PG Tom Dillimer (6'3, 219lbs)
PG Mark Cottee (5'7, 178lbs)

TEAM STRENGTHS: Positional play; passing
TEAM WEAKNESSES: Shooting, especially three-pointers

HOME STADIA: Kura-Pelland Aces games will travel between four suitable venues around the country.

* The Unity Arena, Trilan. Capacity 21,556. Has staged the WorldVision contest and is generally seen as the 'national indoor stadium'. Will host games against Newmanistan and Secristan (the first two games).
* ICA Arena, Porterbridge. Capacity 21,810. Porterbridge has been trying to one-up Trilan for a few years now. This venue was quite deliberately designed to top the Unity Arena for capacity. Will host games against Corivia and Dancougar (the last two games).
* Corganen Arena, Wulting. Capacity 19,600. The Kura-Pellandi building society has used sporting sponsorship as a lynchpin for international expansion. Will host the game against Frontenax.
* The Southeast Dome, Mambaro. Capacity 20,340. The latest in a series of major construction projects in Mambaro as it sells itself as the 'gateway to Kura-Pelland'. Will host the game against Gerainia.

Kenavt Basketball Federation

Outlook on the KBF Team:

Young and fast. Run fast break, and man-to-man defense. Look for da Vincho to stand out. The two big men mainly grab rebounds and play D.

Rosters:

Head Coach: Larry Burble

Starting Lineup:
C Thomas Vanek 7'0"-30 Defensive stalwart. Like Ben Wallace.
PF Kevin Woods 6'8"-22 All-around good player. Like Shawn Marion
F Barret Hary 6'6" Mainly used to set picks and screens. Don't leave him open, though. Like average forward
SG Vance Poi-6'5"-27 Show-off. Can shoot the 3 and dunk, but cannot guard well. Like Jason Richardson
PG Connor da Vincho 6'2"-19 Look for Connor da Vincho to be the standout player at the IBC. He can play defense, shoot that 3, dish it out, and dunk (occasionally). Like Kobe Bryant-just not selfish.
Reserves:
F Grant Clarke 6'4"-19 Shut-down defender. If he improves offense, may take over Barret Harry's spot.Like James Posey.
G Sky Asyton 5'11"-22 Sharpshooter. Like Kyle Korver.
C Phillip Geston 7'2"-23 Can knock down the three. Working on defense and getting in the paint. Prime candidate for starting five after Vanek retires. Like Dirk Nowitzki.
PF Xavier Partlock-6'11"-29. Doomed to spend the rest of his years on the bench. Like Antonio McDyess of Detroit
G Jacob Hollowrd 6'2"-35 Overextending his welcome years. Only used as a mentor for the young ones. Like Gary Payton
PF Michael Commodore-6'7"-18 Feisty-and a great prospect. Like Greg Oden
F Harry Quetin 6'5"-32 Just used to fill out the lineup. Nothing really

Schedule:

Yet to be released.

Stadium:

The Poiuytrewq Coliseum (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Palace_of_Auburn_Hills.jpg)

Purple Knights Basketball Roster

PG Aaron Beliew #12 20
PG Deliua Greftoy #41 21
SG Alice Coopen #30 22
SG William Force #7 27
BG Phil Greggs #57 23
BG Fred Murphy #36 22
PF Qcraig Golchin #21 21
PF Cill Siss #9 20
C Ilchyin BaKER #28 20
C Baxter Baily #30 30

Manager Craig Yicly

Home Court-Fadron Arena 60,000

In terms of popularity in Newmanistan, basketball has struggled to really compete with some of the Empire's biggest sports. This often led to Newmanistan entering regional tournaments and finding themselves having a hard time against very physical inside teams. The Rockets adjusted this and started playing its own system of aggressive three-point shooting. Newmanistan will shoot the three constantly all game long, and in fact in Newmanistan, there is also a four-point line that exists six feet behind the three-point line. This could help in this tournament as teams may be surprised to see where our guys are not afraid to just pull up and shoot from. (OOC: The moral of the story is that I want you to think of our playing style as like that mid-major NCAA tournament team when they try to knock off a top team from a power conference!)

Here is the team:

Manager- Phil McDowell

PG- Connor Crawford (28, 6'6")- A prototypical point guard, he is a field general with the ball, and does a good job in recognizing which of his teammates will have the best three-point opportunity. He can hit them himself, too, of course. Crawford is also very good defending the three.

SG- Kory Klassen (29, 6'7")- This is the guy who will likely be the leading scorer for the Rockets. His three point shooting accuracy has led the EBA for four consecutive years, and he also can shoot the Empire-unique four-pointer as well, leading the way in 4-pointer average for six straight years. While that doesn't mean anything here, it does mean to watch out, because he will shoot from just about anywhere!

C- Tank Nelson (30, 7'1")- Well, someone's got to try and get the rebounds, right? Nelson will generally be doing just that, but every now and then, the Rockets will play it down low and give him a shot in the paint. Nelson is especially valuable defensively, though. He is fearless to the opponent, and never backs down from a challenge. For a center, he does a good job staying out of foul trouble.

PF- Reese Fraser (25, 6'8")- Fraser is really more of a power forward by default then what you traditionally expect from someone at this spot. Fraser will unload threes just as much as the guards, but unlike them, he will take it inside. He is the most physical player in the lineup.

SF- Garrett York (28, 6'6")Small fwrd or a second shooting guard? You decide what you wanna call him! While listed as a forward, he plays like a guard.

Bench (bios to come if I have time)

G- Raphael Lachance
G- Michael Lessard
C- Edward Dennis
F- Amar Rowe
F- Dennis Norton
C- Tyler Hanlon
G- Scottie Jordan

Stadium (for all games): Tundra Falls Proving Grounds (capacity 19,700 for basketball)

FRONTENAX GRIZZLIES

VENUE
NAME Level Arena
LOCATION Anchorage, Frontenax
CAPACITY 20,000
IMAGES Exterior (http://graphics.fansonly.com/confs/pac10/graphics/staples-center-700.jpg) Interior (http://k41.pbase.com/g3/79/646579/2/57273676.FedExForum.jpg)

NATIONAL ROSTER
MANAGERYuri Sholokhov
COACHSvetlana Sholokhova

STARTERS
C #2 Noah Eliyahu
PG #8 Aleksandr Emelianenko
SG #20 Dirk Petrov
PF #32 Adam West
SF #12 Ali Ammar

RESERVES
C #24 Fyodor Rotislav
C #14 Derrick Grant
G #16 Marco Santori
G #4 Alexander Karelin
G #10 Hassan Jouhaud
F #30 Elian Elhaj
F #26 Alain Hanin
F #22 Manuel Daho

*BOLD DENOTES TEAM CAPTAIN

Just like in the World Baseball Classic, the people representing Secristan are not the best basketball players in the country. Instead, they are the ones that bid the highest for each position. That said, that doesn't mean they are a bunch of bums off the street. In order for their bids to be valid, they needed to be between 18 and 38 years of age, pass a general fitness test, and have played at least one full year of competitive basketball in some capacity. The team is nicknamed the Millionaires.

You can RP any theme you want against us. Keep in mind that because our players are young and filthy rich, they have a tendency to be very stuck up and arrogant.

Here are the winning bidders:

Coach: Andrew Cowan (49)
Asst Coach: Brett Cavosie (33)

Starting Five:
PF: Dennis Stafford (32, 6'8")
SF: Nolan Bauer (31, 6'4")
C: Dane Kallner (30, 6'11")
SG: Stuart Wright (26, 5'10") This guy is awesome behind the arc.
PG: Andrei Peters (28, 6' 1")

Bench:
F: Nathan MacDougal (27, 6'6")
F: Lucas Camerson (27, 6'8")
C: Vaughn Lee (34, 7'2")
G: Terrence Montgomery (21, 6'2")
G: Josef Dawson (25, 6'0")
C: Todd Berry (24, 6'10")
Util: Evan Knudson (28, 6'5")

Stadium: Monopoly Court (17,233 capacity) Tickets for games are sold via an auction three days before game day.

Gerainia - Basic Roster

PF: Dave Parson
SF: Ateni Dvengar
C: Xavié Allin
SG: Thomas Bellwig
PG: Frederick Charles

Reserves - We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Stadium - Cross Court, picture coming soon.

Geran Ministry of Culture and Media

I would post a roster right now, but this dang computer won't accept my flash drive. :sniper:

THE ROCKET REPORT

BASKETBALL COMPETITION SET TO BEGIN

Pocono City, Newmanistan- The inaugural International Basketball Championship is set to begin, an interregional competition that is being hosted by Dancougar. There are 14 teams participating, and they have been grouped into two groups of seven. We'll get into looking a the competition in a moment, but the question on the minds of Newmanistanians is just how will the Rockets do on the hardwood?

Traditionally, basketball has not been one of the Empire's strong suits. That's not to say it doesn't have a following, because it does, it just ranks behind several other sports in terms of popularity. Early on in regional basketball competitions, this led to the Rockets being one of the less successful teams, as they were often overmatched in the paint, and inside the arc, in general. Why this was the case, is something the Empire has not been able to comprehend, but they just had a hard time matching up, even though they didn't give up much height or physicality to the opponents. As there is no sense in continuing with something that doesn't work, the domestic game shifted to shooting the three pointer over and over and over again. Yes, Newmanistan will take it inside on occasion, because you can't get too predictable, but there should be no mystery for the opponents on how Newmanistan intends to play. Because shooting the three became so popular in the Empire Basketball Association, the commissioner established a "four point line" in order to mix things up. The four point line is located six feet behind the three point line, and thus has led to many Rockets shooters not afraid to pull up and take a shot from behind it. (Newmanistan home courts are a bit wider, we must add, in order to accomodate the additional six feet along the sides of the court. However, in our home games, we will set up the court to be of normal customary dimensions.) Although the four point line will not be used in the International Basketball Championship, the effect that it is used in Newmanistan will still show in the confidence that our players have to shoot from a longer distance, and that is probably the biggest adjustment that our opponents will have to make when playing us. With this new philosophy, Newmanistan gradually improved its basketball status against regional oppoents, therefore they hope to have success at this level.

There could be nothing greater for basketball to rise in popularity within the Empire then for Newmanistan to have success in the IBC. It is the latest sport for the Rockets to take to the interregional level, and while they have won competitions such as the Di Bradini Cup and the Baptism of Fire, a major sporting championship could do absolute wonders for the sport's image within the Empire. It worked for the world's football, as the Empire now has a full scale Premiership on its hands. With success, it could happen on the hardwood as well. Without success, then basketball will likely fall back and take its place once again on the sporting ladder.

As for the details of the IBC, as we mentioned, there are 14 teams, which have been split up into 2 groups. Right now, it's anyone's guess who the top contenders will be, so in a wide open competition, Newmanistan will look to make a statement. The Empire has been placed in Group A, and is joined familiar and unfamiliar nations alike. Kura-Pelland, Dancougar, and Secristan make up the familiar opponents, while Corivia, Gerainia, and Frontenax are the unfamiliar ones. In an interesting twist, Newmanistan will play its first ever interregional game against Kura-Pelland on the road. Does that sound familiar? It should. Newmanistan played their first interregional World Cup qualifying game against Kura-Pelland, on the road. Perhaps that is a good omen, but if nothing else, it is a very ironic coincidence. The Rockets have generated a good world football rivalry with Dancougar, and would love to have the same kind of success in the tournament that they host that they had in the tournament that we hosted. Also familiar, is Secristan. How so? Well, it's good to have a fellow One Big Island nation involved. Newmanistan and Secristan have battled it out on the regional level, and it will make for bragging rights, we're sure, to see which team will come out on top of the other. Corivia and Gerainia are complete unknowns to us, but still must be respected. Frontenax will be a first time opponent, but we caught a glimpse of their nation in BoF 28, and if they play hoops with anywhere near the passion that they play football, they should be a strong contender.

The teams in Group B, we want to mention are also a mixture of familiar and unfamiliar. They are as follows: Arroza, Cafundeu, Kenavt, Kose and The Turkomans, Lovisa, Taeshan, and Xaristan. We expect that to be a hotly contested group as well. Teams will play each other twice, once at home and once on the road, but Newmanistan will not play on their homecourt until Matchday 5. Starting off with three away games and a bye, when Corivia comes to town on that Matchday, you better believe the home fans will be pumped and ready for action.

The Rockets schedule:

GD1- @ Kura-Pelland
GD2- bye
GD3- @ Dancougar
GD4- @ Secristan
GD5- vs Corivia
GD6- vs Frontenax
GD7- @ Gerainia
GD8- vs Kura-Pelland
GD9- bye
GD10- vs Dancougar
GD11- vs Secristan
GD12- @ Corivia
GD13- @ Frontenax
GD14- vs Gerainia

All home games will be played at the basketball court @ the Tundra Falls Proving Grounds.

News article: Resurgens Journal:
Ball ‘Till You Fall, Drink ‘Till You Can’t. (Part I – Knowing your IBC Squad.)


Style: They’re not a big team. They’re not the most physically imposing team. But they can shoot…wait, what do you mean they took that idea already? So the idea of the sniping team is gone already? Dang, so now what am I supposed to do with all these short people?

Style?: Play drunk, foul egregiously, maybe use cheerleaders as human shields, we have no idea. Oooh, we might play some of that street-ball that’s so popular in the inner cities! That’s the ticket, streetball with stunts, and high-flyers! I wonder if we can bring our announcer with us too?

Starters:
P/G: Joshua Staten - 6’0” – 24 – Nickname: Ignition
S/G: Steven McClellan – 6’2” – 19 – Nickname: Jetstream
S/G: LaQuinta Carter – 6’1” – 22 – Nickname: Sniper
P/F: Keyron Doaks – 6’7” – 25 – Nickname: Lights Out
C: Jeremy Saffore – 7’1” – 26 – Nickname: Big Country

Reserves:
P/G: Jane Wesley – 5’10” – 20 – Nickname: Queen Bee
P/G: J.J. Toles – 6’1” – 22 – Nickname: The Jet
S/G: Matt Winston 6’4” – 28 – Nickname: Helicopter
S/G: Erwin Bedwell - 6’4” – 21 – Nickname: Misanthrope
S/F: Talib Greenway – 6’5” – 24 – Nickname: Tropical
P/F: Zachary Robertson - 6’6” – 23 – Nickname: High Z
C: Anson Bol – 6’11” – 19 – Nickname: Windex

Due to Jolt being flaky (and the fact that I can RP from work, but not scorinate :-D), the gameday 1 RP cutoff will be some time this evening between 6-7 PM EDT, so you've got about four more hours or so to get those final posts in!

To get back on schedule, gamedays 2 and 3 will BOTH be scorinated on Friday night, and the RP bonus you accumulate for gameday 2 will also apply to gameday 3. Hopefully that all made sense.

Jolt can try to stop us, but GAME ON, I say!

SECRISTAN READY TO SHOOT SOME HOOPS

With the baseball competition not going well, the hopes of Secristan now point to the International Basketball Championships. Twelve of our richest young men have bought the right to participate in this event, which will see them play twelve games in fourteen gamedays. In the tournament, there are fourteen nations, so they were split into two groups of seven. Seems logical enough. Teams were seeded by a random draw, so there was no purchasing which group you ended up in. What a tremendous value, because coach Cowan wanted to be Group A anyway! Monopoly Court in Amherst is the host of each of our home games, and the live auction for tickets will be held three days prior to the gameday, so if you haven't gotten your bids in yet you better not delay much longer!

Secristan's schedule!

Gameday 01 (Wed, June 11): OFF
Gameday 02 (Thu, June 12): @ Kura-Pelland
Gameday 03 (Fri, June 13: @ Frontenax
Gameday 04 (Sat, June 14): vs Newmanistan (Minimum bid: 25R)
Gameday 05 (Sun, June 15): vs Gerainia (Minimum bid: 15R)
Gameday 06 (Mon, June 16): @ Corivia
Gameday 07 (Tue, June 17): vs Dancougar (Minimum bid: 25R)
Gameday 08 (Thu, June 19): OFF
Gameday 09 (Fri, June 20): vs Kura-Pelland (Minimum bid: 20R)
Gameday 10 (Sat, June 21): vs Frontenax (Minimum bid: 15R)
Gameday 11 (Sun, June 22): @ Newmanistan
Gameday 12 (Mon, June 23: @ Gerainia
Gameday 13 (Tue, June 24): vs Corivia (Minimum bid: 10R)
Gameday 14 (Wed, June 25): @ Dancougar

Okay, gameday 1 cutoff NOW!

Corivia 98 @ Dancougar 93
Gerainia 94 @ Frontenax 97
Newmanistan 101 @ Kura-Pelland 108
Arroza 79 @ Cafundeu 93
Kose and the Turkomans 105 @ kenavt 91
Taeshan 97 @ Lovisa 111


GROUP A W L PF PA
Kura-Pelland 1 0 108 101
Corivia 1 0 98 93
Frontenax 1 0 97 94
Secristan 0 0 0 0
Gerainia 0 1 94 97
Dancougar 0 1 93 98
Newmanistan 0 1 101 108

GROUP B W L PF PA
Lovisa 1 0 111 97
Kose/Turkomans 1 0 105 91
Cafundeu 1 0 93 79
Xaristan 0 0 0 0
Taeshan 0 1 97 111
kenavt 0 1 91 105
Arroza 0 1 79 93


Gamedays 2 and 3 will both be scorinated in 29 hours, I won't try to squish another one in today. RP you earn in that period will determine your bonus for both games.

CAFUNDÉU RELEASES NAMES OF THE PLAYERS... FINALLY

Finally, the CBC-U (Confederação de Basquete Cafundelense - Unissex) released the names of the players. They were late, and in the first game the classic purple-yellow shirts of the players won't have their names written on it. The confusion happened because an employee of the CBC send to Dancougar by fax a list with only the names of the male players... and the ones that have played in the last Olympics! So, a completely wrong list, that had to be corrected. Now this is done:

Starters (use the names in bold - don't put their names in RPs entirely in capital letters, please):

Number- Name (position - team - gender)

1- LEANDRO LOBO (C - Cafundó do Juta - M)
5- MICHEL de Andrade Couto (PG - 25 de Maio - M)
7- ANDRÉ Lumar Valgário "TORRE" (SG - 25 de Maio - M)
10- Heloísa Nascimento "HELÔ" (PF - Real Lasft - F)
13- JUNO Polack (SF - Universidade Católica - F)

Bench:

2- Fágner Olivares "XORORÓ" (SF/PF - ICE - M)
3- Miguel ORTEGA (SF - Real Lasft - M)
6- DANIELA Barnel Mocco (PG - Universidade Católica - F)
8- GABRIEL Antônio Morales (C - 25 de Maio - M)
11- Carolina Moraes "LINA" (C - Legião Titã - F)
17- CÉSAR Oscar Frigini (SG/PG - Cafundó do Juta - M)
19- Ana Luiza Nassau "ANINHA" (PF - Guaraense - F)
22- Kelson Moreno Silva ROLDEN (SG - Guardas do Presídio - M)

Home games played in:

Quadra Universidade Católica (cap. 20,000), in Cafundó do Juta
Clube 25 de Maio (cap. 35,000), in Lasft
Cume da Montanha (cap. 17,000), in Central City
Clube Náutico (cap. 22,000), in Porto Lacruz
Centro de Eventos Arlindo Murchid (cap. 15,000), in Dunboor

Kenavt Falls In First International Game

Disappointing Loss to Kose and the Turkomans

Poiuytrewq-The International Basketball Championship team for Kenavt lost their first game at the Coliseum yesterday. The score was 105-91.

Connor da Vincho led all players with 35 points. Thomas Vanek also grabbed twelve rebounds, and had a couple of blocks. However, Kose, led by their tall centerman, just dominated the offensive board and had many second opportunities. Clearly the Kenavt team doesn't have enough experience.

Coach Larry Burble went even farther: "We just didn't have it today. Our shots were going off the rim and then Kose crashed the board. We could shoot from the outside sometimes, but we never really got a run going. We deserved to lose-and practice won't be fun tomorrow."

Here is Kenavt's schedule so far:

Record: 0-1

GD1: Kose and the Turkomans 105 Kenavt 91 L
GD2: Kenavt at Arroza
GD3: Xaristan at Kenavt
GD4: Cafundeu at Kenavt
GD5: BYE
GD6: Kenavt at Taeshan
GD7: Kenavt at Lovisa
GD8: Kenavt at Kose and the Turkomans
GD9: Arroza at Kenavt
GD10: Kenavt at Xaristan
GD11: Kenavt at Cafundeu
GD12: BYE
GD13: Taeshan at Kenavt
GD14: Lovisa at Kenavt

THE ROCKET REPORT

ACES STIFLE ROCKETS IN IBC OPENER

Trilan, Kura-Pelland- Now, basketball and the world's football have something in common, in terms of Newmanistanian interregional history. Just as Newmanistan's football team did in their first official World Cup qualification game, the basketball team went to Kura-Pelland, and found themselves defeated. The final score on the evening, Aces 108, Rockets 101.

It was a contrast in styles in the way both teams went about their business. No surprise for Newmanistan, as they were shooting the three all over the place. Initially, they had quite a bit of success as this, as they nailed a three on six of their first eight possessions, and opened up an 18-8 lead early (the biggest lead the Rockets would enjoy). The Aces were not as willing to shoot from the outside, as even though it is not the forte of their team, they also knew that the Rockets would be vulnerable on the inside. So they took their time, using much of the shot clock, with smooth but crisp passing and solid passing, were able to set themselves up into great scoring positions. The forwards, Ulrich and Grade were, in particular, enjoying success with the Rockets defense. As the Rockets began to get ice cold from behind the arc, the Aces not only chipped away at the deficit, but pulled in front, way in front. Kura-Pelland was also dominating on the boards, getting plenty of second and third chance opportunities in which they capitalized. They did a good job, then, of slowing down the pace of the game, and working their system to the tune of a 49-27 lead with just under three minutes to go. However, a decent Newmanistan run to close out the half put your halftime score at 55-40. Kory Klassen led the Rockets in scoring with 19.

At halftime, Phil McDowell was not happy with the defense. You just can't allow 55 points in one half and expect to win. Coming into the tournament, defense was percieved to be the weakness of the Empire, and it was certainly showing against a team like Kura-Pelland, whose players always seemed to be in the right spot at the right time. They would have to hope for the Aces to cool down, but they also knew that they, themselves, had to improve from behind the arc. After the initial 6-for-8, the Rockets shot 23% from behind the 3-point line the rest of the half.

When shooting threes is your custom, you get very predictable when trying to overcoming a deficit like the Rockets were in. Kura-Pelland had always been playing tough perimeter defense, but they were even more aggressive with it at the start of the half, and Newmanistan continued to have trouble. The Aces continued to shoot as they had all game long, and quickly established their huge lead again, going up at one point, 83-56, their biggest lead of the game. Then came a turning point. Kory Klassen nailed a long three, and was fouled, setting up the four point play. But he missed the free throw, which was rebounded by Tank Nelson. Nelson kicked it out to Garrett York who nailed a three. Then, using the full court press, York intercepted the pass and set up Klassen for another three. Klassen was fouled, again, and this time made the free throw. In a span of about ten seconds, the Rockets had cut 10 points off the deficit. Gradually over the next six minutes, the Rockets were chipping away at the lead, and The Unity Arena faithful were starting to get antsy. With 1:19 remaining, Newmanistan had closed all the way to 99-97. The Aces aren't known for three point shooting, but Michael Melbridge hit a clutch one to put his team back up by five. Down the stretch, the Rockets sent Aces players to the line, but Kura-Pelland nailed the free throws they needed to, and scored what ended up being a 108-101 result.

It's a defeat that really showed what Newmanistan's tournament experience will be like. Loving to shoot the three, but being vulnerable on defense. But they showed some heart and character, despite being down by 27 points at one time, they battled back to come to within two before the big shot by Melbridge. Upcoming, the Rockets will have their bye, and then travel to Dancougar.

MILLIONAIRES READY TO BALL

In short time twelve of Secristan's richest young men who have spent hard to purchase their spots on the team will be looking to show the world that you can indeed buy a championship. After the first gameday, the Millionaires are in fourth place without even having to have played a game, ahead of the likes of Dancougar and Newmanistan so already they are off to a good start. Now, they will try to move up the standings by their performances on the court and from what we have heard the team is looking good in practice as they prepare for their first game in Kura-Pelland.

According to coach Cowan, the team is "looking like they may actually deserve to be here on merit. Wright and Peters are showing good form and in watching the tapes of the Aces first game we saw that they could be suspectible from outside the arc. That might just get incorporated into our gameplan."

News article: Resurgens Journal:
Ball ‘Till You Fall......Done.

Quadra Universidade Católica - Cafundo da Juta, Cafundeu
Tonight the Tar Hornets scored the least points of anyone in the tournament. The team's power failure is blamed on the team's announcer being sent off after 2 technicals for failing to leave the court, and subsequently cursing out the referee. And of course, without an announcer to tell the players exactly how great they were and to tell them about things that any veteran basketball player would know like shot clock infractions, the team lost several possessions after continuing to play tricks on the opponent instead of shooting the ball. And I'm drunk. Good thing the editor never reads sports.

Leading scorer Laquinta Carter had this to say about the team's abyssal loss. "Yeah, of course I'm dissapointed that the team lost, but I got 28 points, and I was 7 for 12 from behind the arc. I did my job, ---- everyone else. Although it was cool that Cafundeu had a spare locker room for us girls. I ddn't necessarily like the fact that we had to pay to open it up, but that's Cafundeu."

And right there sums up the problem of this game. The lazy a-- know-nothings at the Ministry of Sport didn't even try this time. At least you could say that Angola State was actually the best soccer team in the states. This team looks like they've never practiced together, and was assembled by going to some of the slums of Atalanta and Resurgens and throwing 12 guys...well 10 guys and 2 ladies into a van. Until this "team" plays like a team, they'll have some cute dunkes and get onto "Sport Cannon Tonight!" but they'll probably lose by 15 every game.

Also, the Ministry of Sport finally announced where the games would be played. The first 5 games will be played at Airline Road, Evangeline (16,420). The second half will be played at The Crimson Sea (The Arrozan National Indoor Arena), Atalanta. (17,244)

The Geran Governor

Gerrrers take defeat from Grizzlies

Today, the nation is saddened by the defeat of the Gerrers by the Grizzlies (Frontenax) at the International Basketball Championship in Dancougar.

Gerainia entered the tournament half-heartedly, taking few players and not attracting much media coverage, but the beauty of basketball has just become noticed, and we are predicted to become better. Otto Vulliamy, of the Geran Basketball Association, has asserted that as ethnic homogenisation continues, basketball will become more popular.

Centre Xavie Allin said today "...while the championships go on, we will go on to surprise victory. We're just saving the best 'till last."

The game goes on.

Richard Hopkins, Dancougar

Gameday 2 and 3 RP cutoff!

Gameday 2
Frontenax 107 @ Corivia 109 (OT)
Dancougar 80 @ Gerainia 120
Secristan 91 @ Kura-Pelland 78
kenavt 94 @ Arroza 98
Cafundeu 101 @ Kose and the Turkomans 94
Xaristan 87 @ Lovisa 92

Gameday 3
Corivia 88 @ Gerainia 93
Newmanistan 90 @ Dancougar 84
Secristan 102 @ Frontenax 104 (OT)
Arroza 97 @ Kose and the Turkomans 69
Taeshan 116 @ Cafundeu 79
Xaristan 88 @ kenavt 101


GROUP A W L PF PA
Gerainia 2 1 307 265
Frontenax 2 1 308 305
Corivia 2 1 295 293
Secristan 1 1 193 182
Kura-Pelland 1 1 186 192
Newmanistan 1 1 191 192
Dancougar 0 3 257 308

GROUP B W L PF PA
Lovisa 2 0 203 184
Cafundeu 2 1 273 289
Arroza 2 1 274 256
Taeshan 1 1 213 190
Kose/Turkomans 1 2 268 289
kenavt 1 2 286 291
Xaristan 0 2 175 193


We now return you to your regularly scheduled tournament!

Kenavt Is Fifth In Group Play

We Have a Win

(newspaper headline)

"Have you seen this newsline, Cassie?"

"No I haven't Harry."

"It looks like our basketball team is in some sort of IBC?"

"And they got a win!"

"I'm sure they did. Stop pulling my leg. It's not like anyone plays around here!"

"But we're in the country."

"Ohhh."

"Either way, let's try to watch the next game on KMN!"

"Sure, why not?"

THE ROCKET REPORT

ROCKETS WIN DEFENSIVE BATTLE

Dancougar- Lately, whenever Newmanistan and Dancougar have been getting together, the results have been favorable for the Rockets. Sadly, the victories have taken place after the powers of the penguins have long left. Now, on the hardwood, the nations have come together, and the Rockets have defeated their rivals, with a much better defensive effort, by the score of 90-84. The win evens Newmanistan's record up at 1-1, while the hosts have gotten off to a very slow start, at 0-3. In fact in their game prior, the Black Wings were absolutely destroyed by Gerainia by the score of 120-80. Ouch, that one had to hurt!

The hosts played better today, but to keep their nation excited about hosting the event, things will have to change in Dancougar. Again, the Black Wings struggled to score, and did so against the Rockets defense, that is seen as being very vulnerable and not really that good. So it's hard to figure out if they were that good last night, or if the Black Wings were just that bad. Seeing that the Black Wings could be scored upon, coach Phil McDowell decided to experiment a little bit with the notion of actually taking the ball inside, and perhaps even in the paint, instead of shooting threes all day. It worked to varying degrees. Tank Nelson seemed to have some success, but when he drew fouls, he was horrendous at the free throw line. Garrett York was overmatched by his man, but Reese Fraser really seemed to adapt well and scored 10 points in the first five minutes. In fact, the Rockets only attempted one three-pointer on their first eight possessions, which has to be some sort of record. Coach McDowell seemed as though he wanted to send the message that you must respect the Rockets inside game. Though as we pointed out, this only had limited success. Newmanistan was somewhat sloppy, and seemed to be outmuscled by the Black Wings, and as a result, the scoreline was close the whole way. Towards the end of the first half, the Rockets did begin to open it up more from behind the arc, but their shooting was simply average. At the break, Newmanistan led 43-40.

At the start of the second half, Dancougar showed some signs of life behind the arc, and opened on a 15-3 run to take a 55-46 advantage, getting the home crowd into the game. For the next few minutes, the teams played pretty even with one another as the Rockets just were not connecting from behing the arc. Fortunately, Tank Nelson was getting the rebounds, and finishing off several possessions with two points to keep the Rockets in the game. With about five minutes left in the game, the Black Wings enjoyed a 73-66 lead. Suddenly, the Rockets caught fire. Kory Klassen and Connor Crawford would see to it that the next six possessions would end in three pointers, and the Rockets poked in front, 84-81, with just over a minute left to play. Down the stretch, the Black Wings tried to put the Rockets on the line, and preferably, have Reese Fraser be the one taking the free throws. But that plan didn't work as Newmanistan was sure to keep the ball in either Klassen or Crawford's hands, and the free throws were made down the stretch, leading to your eventual final score of 90-84.

As mentioned, the Rockets are now 1-1, and have one more road game before playing their first home match, but they will be returning to One Big Island regardless. They will be at regional rival Secristan, and then hosting Corivia. We hope that several Rockets supporters have gone through that extremely annoying bidding process of Secristan. In fact, we've just got word that even journalists must bid for the prime positions in the press box.

The Geran Governor

Two more victories at Cross Court

Well, Allin was right after all. On Thursday, Gerainia slammed Dancougar at the nation's basketball stadium in Lokta. The next home-game on Friday lead to another victory, this time against Corivia, pushing Gerainia to No1 in the group.

Due to the amount of uncertainty surrounding the league, this is pretty much all that can be reported.

Richard Hopkins,
Lokta.

Announcer 1: Big shot by Petrov. And the Millionaires call time out. 2.7 seconds left here in regulation. Petrov's shot gives the Grizzlies a 94-92 lead. Will that be enough time for the Millionaires to send the game into overtime. (Commercial break)

Announcer 1: Alright, those important messages were brought to you again by (runs through list). Because we know if you're watching this game right now in this situation the only thing you really care about is what company will deliver your package the fastest overnight.

Announcer 2: Or the three car ads. Which financing arrangement did you like best?

Announcer 1: Damn, we're not going to be able to talk about that exciting cash back offer because the game is ready to resume.

Announcer 2: Bummer.

Announcer 1: Here's Peters now. Quick pass to Wright, for three he shoots, scores at the buzzer!! Millionaires win it 95-94!

Announcer 2: Dude, pay attention. It was a two. The game is tied.

Announcer 1: Yes but we're sure that coach Cowan is talking to the official now about buying an extra point because it was reasonably close. And look, there he is now.

Cowan: Hey ref! Get over here!

Ref: What?

Cowan: That was a three and you know it. We win!

Ref: He was a clear step over the line. Not a three, sorry.

Cowan: Maybe but how much for you to say it was a three?

Ref: Wait, what?

Cowan: How much money do you want to say it was a three and declare us the winners?

Ref: You're trying to bribe me?

Cowan: Everyone knows basketball officials take bribes. The over/under for this game was 192. Right now we are under, overtime surely sends it to be over. Take the offer, 40,000, or I'll come out and say you bet on under and cheated us out.

Ref: This is ridiculous. Basketball officials do not gamble on basketball games. We don't rig results to favor the over/under. Ever. Now go back to your bench before I give you a technical and report you to the IBC. Besides, it is obvious it was a two, there's not even a question of it.

Cowan: You would never make it in Secristan. (returns to bench)

Announcer 1: Oh no it appeared the official is not taking the bribe.

Announcer 2: What an idiot. We're actually going to have to earn it.

Announcer 1: That sucks but I know what can cheer everyone up!

Announcer 2: What?

Announcer 1: More commericals!! And an exciting new offer from another car company.

Announcer 2: Oh boy! Let's get to it, hurry!

CBC.COM - ALL ABOUT CAFUNDELENSE BASKETBALL
NEWS OF THE AURI-ROXOS (PURPLE-YELLOW TEAM)

After three rounds in the International Basketball Championship, the Auriroxos are having a satisfactory performance. After the confusion involving the names of the players (an employee sent the names of the last Olympic team instead of the actual one - a list that included even the actual coach, Mário Siqueira), everything seems normal now. The fast, balanced and tactical team of Cafundéu is playing well, at least until now, as things didn't seem so good in the last game.

First, the Auriroxos faced Arroza at home, in Cafundó do Juta (the court of Universidade Católica). Cafundéu produced a good game, showing the world that they can be dangerous, but they were helped by the fact that Arroza was far from having a good performance. They simply couldn't find the right way to play, and ended with the least number of points scored in the first matchday... of course a title that nobody wants to have. This first victory motivated the Auriroxos.

The second game was more difficult, and obligated Cafundéu to make an outstanding performance in order to defeat Kose and the Turkomans. Lead by Leandro Lobo and Juno, the Auriroxos were able to overcome a difference of fifteen points which was built before the third quarter, and ending winning the game by the result of 101-94. Surely a magnificent game, as both teams played very well. The sad note for Cafundéu was the injury of Helô, who was substituted by Aninha.

The third game wasn't good for the Auriroxos. Leandro Lobo, considered by many the key player of the team (although others like Juno and André Torre are popular too... even Lina, the substitute of Leandro Lobo, is very popular, but in the other way [among men]), failed to shine in this game, and Taeshan could easily defeat our basketball team. Now, after three games, we are in the second place of the group, which is a good position. Confidence is still high and the team is ready for more victories.

Gameday 4 RP cutoff!

Gameday 4
Kura-Pelland 87 @ Corivia 88
Dancougar 84 @ Frontenax 102
Newmanistan 89 @ Secristan 84
Lovisa 89 @ Arroza 102
Cafundeu 118 @ kenavt 113
Taeshan 83 @ Xaristan 101


GROUP A W L PF PA
Corivia 3 1 383 380
Frontenax 3 1 410 389
Gerainia 2 1 307 265
Newmanistan 2 1 280 276
Secristan 1 2 277 271
Kura-Pelland 1 2 273 280
Dancougar 0 4 341 410

GROUP B W L PF PA
Cafundeu 3 1 391 402
Arroza 3 1 376 345
Lovisa 2 1 292 286
Xaristan 1 2 276 276
Taeshan 1 2 296 291
Kose/Turkomans 1 2 268 289
kenavt 1 3 399 409

THE ROCKET REPORT

ROCKETS BEAT REGIONAL RIVAL

Amherst, Secristan- Our supervisors did a good job in allowing us some extra money to be sure we could successfully land a prime position in the press box in the auction for such rights at Monopoly Court. This was a big game, not just for regional bragging rights, but in the standings as well. Both sides entered play with identical 1-1 records.

The start of the game was tightly called by the officials, and every time there was a whistle, the Secristan coach, Andrew Cowan, seemed as though he was trying to talk, or perhaps, buy, his way out of the call. At one point, the official did change his mind on what would have been a third foul on Stuart Wright before halftime, and it makes you wonder just why the call was taken back. For all of Cowan's actions, you would think he would have had a technical called on him, but no such call would ever happen. In fact, when Rockets coach Phil McDowell questioned the official for a call that went against the Rockets just once, he slapped McDowell with a technical. As the game progressed, the calls did seem to be a bit one sided, working against Newmanistan. The first half, bogged down in contast whistles, was rather sloppy and lacked any real good flow. Both teams played some solid defense, but poor shooting on both ends also plagued the start. At halftime, Newmanistan trailed Secristan by just a point, 36-35. Neither coach seemed all too pleased with the efforts of their players, but the fans seemed to be about as into it as they could.

At the start of the second half, the Rockets found their best form behind the arc, and went seven consecutive possessions by knocking down a three pointer. Connor Crawford hit four of those seven threes, and the Rockets, opening on a 25-8 run, took firm control of the game by the score of 63-44. With many players in foul trouble due to the first half whistle barrage, McDowell gave the bench players solid playing time with the 19 point lead and things being under control. But the reserves hadn't played as a unit like this for so long, and Secristan tried to claw their way back, though iffy shooting on their part kept it from being that big of a rally. The score became 75-68 when McDowell, with around five minutes left to play, decided he better get the starters back into the game. They did just enough to secure an 89-84 victory in which the Millionaires never really mounted the kind of thread that made you think the Rockets would blow the lead. However, some pushing and shoving with 17 seconds left to go took place. Apparently Dane Kallner did not appreciate a Reese Fraser hack on the arm, and they exchanged words before Kallner shoved Fraser. Fraser then appeared to try to punch Kallner, but was held back by teammate Tank Nelson.

With the win, the Rockets are now 2-1, and guess what? They will now be having their first home game! At Tundra Falls against upstart Corivia, who is leading Group A with a 3-1 record despite being the one team in the group using the secretive roster approach. Can they continue their run, or will the spirits at Tundra Falls end their fast start and send the Rockets to 3-1? We shall soon find out!

Random Household in Kenavt

"Honey, there was a Kenavt basketball game last night in the IBC."

"Really? But we didn't get it on KMN."

"We didn't turn on the telly last night, silly!"

"Oh, yeah. So-is Kenavt at .500?"

"Ummm... no. They lost by five to Cafendeu."

"Cafendeu? Who the heck are they and why do they think they can beat us at basketball? We're awesome!"

"But we're 1 and 3 in the tourney, Bob."

"Sarah, what is Kenavt's point differential?"

"minus 10."

"I can guarantee you that that is the lowest point differential among all the other losing teams."

"That's not true."

"What?"

"Yes."

"Well, then, Sarah, what's Connor da Vincho doing all day in the tourney?"

"According to the article, playing his heart out. He had another forty points to give himself 112. That has to be the tournament lead!"

"Oh well. The Kenavt Basketball organization better start making results soon or they're through!"

CBC.COM - ALL ABOUT CAFUNDELENSE BASKETBALL
NEWS OF THE AURI-ROXOS (PURPLE-YELLOW TEAM)

The last game of the Auriroxos was really a difficult and close one. And, once again, both teams had an excellent performance. Maybe our opponents play so well against us because they dream of winning some money for playing in our league. After all, Cafundéu is known for giving a good amount of money for athletes, and for being a very rich country. This time, the opponent was kenavt, and both teams were able to score more than 100 points, in an intense game in the 25 de Maio court in Lasft.

This time, the key player of Cafundéu was André Torre, who helped the team to get this important victory. He can be, together with Leandro Lobo and Juno, considered one of the main responsibles for the fact that Cafundéu is now in the first place of its group. But there are still many games to come, and the Auriroxos will have to keep this good performance. The other players, like Michel, Aninha, Lina, Xororó, Ortega and company, can help the stars to give the victories to Cafundéu.

Gameday 5 RP cutoff!

Gameday 5
Corivia 94 @ Newmanistan 111
Kura-Pelland 85 @ Dancougar 98
Gerainia 85 @ Secristan 88 (OT)
Arroza 100 @ Taeshan 96
Lovisa 93 @ Cafundeu 83
Kose and the Turkomans 91 @ Xaristan 104


GROUP A W L PF PA
Frontenax 3 1 410 389
Newmanistan 3 1 391 370
Corivia 3 2 477 491
Secristan 2 2 365 356
Gerainia 2 2 392 353
Kura-Pelland 1 3 358 378
Dancougar 1 4 439 495

GROUP B W L PF PA
Arroza 4 1 476 441
Cafundeu 3 2 474 495
Lovisa 3 1 385 369
Xaristan 2 2 380 367
Taeshan 1 3 392 391
Kose/Turkomans 1 3 359 393
kenavt 1 3 399 409

THE ROCKET REPORT

HOME OPENER A SUCCESS

Tundra Falls, Newmanistan- Playing in front a sold out crowd at the Arena at the Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Newmanistan defeated their opponents from Corivia by the score of 111-94, improving to 3-1 on the campaign and dropping their opponents to 3-2. The win puts the Rockets in a first place tie with Frontenax, who also just happens to be their next opponent.

The Rockets came out firing, and the spirits of the Proving Grounds were friendly with their shots, as Newmanistan connected with three pointers on five of their first six possessions, and that sixth possession was your traditional two point play. It was another great start for Kory Klassen, who sunk four of those early threes. Corivia tried to keep up early and shot pretty well themselves to start the game off. But throughout the first part of the opening half, just about everything was falling for the Rockets, from both inside and outside the arc, quickly opening up a 39-16 advantage, which got the home fans going crazy. Then the Rockets got a little sloppy as they tried to be too cute in front of their fans. Alley-oops? Not something you'd expect to see from the Rockets, but they tried two, and both showed just why it is something you normally don't see from the team as both times the passes were errant. They tried fancy passes and highlight reel dunks, and while a couple dunks did go down, it was just not their style. The good start began to go to waste, and gradually Corivia chipped away at the lead before a furious McDowell called a timeout with 2:18 left in the half, and the lead trimmed to 47-42. He then responded by putting in the reserves, to let them remind the starters about what the game plan was. The reserves tried to shoot threes, but they only went 1-for-7 in the remaining time from behind the arc, and at the intermission the scoreboard read the unthinkable: Corivia 52, Newmanistan 50.

At halftime, McDowell simply ripped into his team, going on a tirade to remind them about the fundamentals. A successful basketball team, he told them, wasn't about the plays that get on Sportscenter, but about smart passing, and wise shot selection. Plus, a team has to play within themselves. The Rockets are about outside shooting, and while it's good to show future opponents that you need to respect their inside game, you can't get away from your true strength. Also, the defense got very sloppy. It was unacceptable that they were losing at halftime, and they needed to do something about it.

Kory Klassen tried to tell his teammates, on a personal level, that trying to be all fancy just was not working as he carried on coach McDowell's message. Also, they needed to take care of the defensive side of the court. Corivia was simply getting too many open and uncontested looks. The Rockets tried to shoot the threes, but they were cold, and Corivia began to extend their lead, at one time pulling ahead by the score of 64-53, and another time out by McDowell. He lashed out again, but this time, he got results. Newmanistan started getting hot, and Klassen was leading the way. He would end up scoring 32 of his 50 points in the second half. Tank Nelson also was doing an outstanding job getting the rebounds of missed three pointers then kicking the ball back out the outside for another opportunity. Reese Fraser also became a rebounding machine in the second half. Normally he gets outplayed on the boards, but in this stretch he was having his way. While Corivia was making a bucket here and there themselves, this allowed the Rockets to take control of the game, and surpass the century mark. Ultimately, the final score would be 111-94. McDowell's tone certainly changed in the second half, and now he has a game he can use as his model for the rest of the tournament of why the Rockets need to play within themselves, and not try to be something they're not.

CBC.COM - ALL ABOUT CAFUNDELENSE BASKETBALL
NEWS OF THE AURI-ROXOS (PURPLE-YELLOW TEAM)

A loss that shouldn't have happened. In the fifth game of the competition, the Auriroxos played against Lovisa, disputed the victory until the end, but the game ended in a loss for Cafundéu. It was more because of bad luck than lack of quality, as both teams played with equal strength, and any of them could have won the game. Bad for the Auriroxos, good for Lovisa. But this can't destroy the confidence of our players, as there are still many games to be played.

So, the hopes of the players are being concentrated in the next games. The first half of the group stage of the competition will end soon, and after that the favourites for the title will appear. The Auriroxos will want to be one of these teams, so they'll battle until the end for victories. But it won't be easy. As it could be noticed in the game against Lovisa, Cafundéu will need much more than good performances to get the desired results... it'll need luck, and this can't be practised.

Gameday 6 RP cutoff!!

Gameday 6
Secristan 81 @ Corivia 76
Gerainia 95 @ Kura-Pelland 103
Frontenax 91 @ Newmanistan 121
Xaristan 86 @ Arroza 105
Kose and the Turkomans 76 @ Lovisa 75
kenavt 64 @ Taeshan 86


GROUP A W L PF PA
Newmanistan 4 1 512 465
Frontenax 3 2 501 510
Secristan 3 2 446 432
Corivia 3 3 553 572
Kura-Pelland 2 3 461 473
Gerainia 2 3 487 456
Dancougar 1 4 439 495

GROUP B W L PF PA
Arroza 5 1 581 527
Lovisa 3 2 460 445
Cafundeu 3 2 474 495
Xaristan 2 3 466 472
Taeshan 2 3 478 455
Kose/Turkomans 2 3 435 468
kenavt 1 4 463 495


After gameday 7, there is an off day before the second half of qualifiers begins.

THE ROCKET REPORT

EXCELLENT SHOOTING LEADS ROCKETS

Tundra Falls, Newmanistan- A game after being chewed out by coach McDowell for trying to be too cute, the Rockets stayed with their fundamentals, and rocked Frontenax, 121-91 in front of another sold out crowd at the Arena at the Tundra Falls Proving Grounds. Newmanistan now sits all by themselves atop group A with a 4-1 record, leading the Grizzlies of Frontenax and their regional rivals Secristan by a game in the standings. A game in Gerainia will close out Newmanistan first half of qualifying, which for the time being, should be seen as a successful effort.

In previous games, the Rockets had gotten off to fast starts, and then slowed down, for various reasons. Today, was no exception as the backcourt of Kory Klassen and Conor Crawford continue to light up the floor from downtown. Not all the possessions ended up with three pointers though, as Tank Nelson was doing a fine job of rebounding, and instead of kicking it back out, and he was putting the shots up and connecting. The Rockets opened on a 17-4 run, and just simply did not let up, as midway through the first half, they had built up a 32-12 cushion. McDowell then wanted to give the reserves some playing time. He had done this before, but every time he did, they seemed to struggle. With an early 20 point lead, they were given several minutes on the court to try and find their game and build some confidence that they too could play at this level. While the reserves around him continued to struggle with their shooting, Michael Lessard actually found a pretty good grove, going 3-for-5 behind the arc. The rest of the bench players shot a combined 2-for-8, and the Grizzlies closed the gap somewhat. But with the starters back on the floor in the final two minutes of the half, the Rockets again pulled away, and led 57-40 at halftime.

The game was for first place, but it almost seemed as though the Rockets could do just about anything they wanted with the Grizzlies. Coach McDowell was very pleased with the effort, though it would have been nice to see a little more from the reserves when they had their time on the court. Eventually, their struggles could be costly down the road. But things seemed under control, and as long as they could weather a forthcoming ferocious Frontenax frenzy, it looked as though Newmanistan would win.

As expected, the Grizzlies came out for the second half wanting to press the issue. Knowing that, the Rockets simply played very patient and opportunistic and let their opponents make mistakes. The attempted full court press was handled fairly easily, and once they got through it, the Rockets had some easy buckets at the other end, getting both two and three pointers. They passed the ball around a little more, and the scoring became a little more balanced, as a nice 85-54 lead opened up. From there, the teams seemed just to play out the remaining time, and once again coach McDowell tried to get his reserves going. He got better results this time, especially from Amar Rowe and Dennis Norton, who had shot a combined 30% in the tournament thus far before their minutes in the second half garbage time. Rowe was 4-for-6 and Norton a perfect 5-for-5 down this stretch as the Rockets continued finding the net all the way until the games conclusion, en route to a final score of 121-91.

SECRISTAN WINS AGAIN

The Millionaires are doing a good job so far proving you don't need a bunch of talent to succeed at this level, you just need to be wealthy and have the desire to get a good return on your investment. After defeating Gerainia at home in overtime in an exciting game, the Millionaires went on the road to play a bunch of no names from Corivia and shut them down by the score of 81-76. Secristan has been doing it with defense, holding Corivia to just 37% shooting from the floor, and it didn't help that they were awful from the stripe either. Further showing the team's defense prowess is that fact that the Millionaires have given up a combined 432 points over their five games, which is the lowest point total allowed in the entire International Basketball Championships. Arroza has given up 527 points in six games, but that is an 88.67 points allowed per game average, compared to our 86.4. If it is true that defense wins championships, then the Millionaires could just have a shot at this.


In other news, we are proud to report that the Secristan Department of Sports racked in a record profit for a basketball game when totalling up the bids from the game against Newmanistan. They say that greater demand, especially from Newmanistan fans, caused the bidding to reach unprecedent levels, including center court floor seats going for 7200R as the highest bid received. With this money, higher ups on the SDOS hope to begin construction on their sixth mansion, this one in North Amherst! Congratulations to them!

The profits have continued for today's game against Dancougar, with the highest bid being 6600R for the same seats that went for 7200R against Newmanistan. The final auction totals have not been added up yet. At the Gerainia game, some fans who are probably Gerainia were disappointed to find out that they also had to bid for preferred parking spaces at the arena, so if anyone is coming from Dancougar or any other nation during this tournament we remind you that just about everything has an auction attributed to it so be sure to check online for auction times. Thank you.

KMN Around the World with Bob Burnstein! *jingle*

"Hi, I'm Bob, and the first event that we have Around the World is in Taeshan.Once again, Kenavt's b-ballers have lost in the International Basketball Championships-which is quite a blow to the success of basketball in Kenavt. Kenavt lost in a blowout-86 to 64, the lowest score by a team in the tourney so far. Connor da Vincho, as always, was strong, but our center Thomas Vanek just wasn't there today. He was completely dominated by Taeshan's big man Ilchyin Baker, who clearly had a stand out game from what I hear in Taeshan. Now, we're in Taeshan at where the game was played last night-Fadron Arena-with basketball reporter Cassie Campbell. Cassie?"

"Hello Bob. Yes, I'm here at Fadron Arena with Kenavt's big man Thomas Vanek. Vanek, what happened last night?"

"I really don't know. It was just a bad day for me-as I thought Baker would be an easy guy to play with. But, clearly Yicly, their manager, really got him excited for the game-messing up our gameplan and scouting reports."

"Well, as always, Connor did good. What do you think about that?"

"Cassie, that's pretty good for him. Connor has become pretty steady lately, which is great for our future. But right now everyone besides him sucks. I suppose we should start giving him the ball more. He's just waaayyy to generous."

"Thank you Thomas. Now back to Bob."

"Thank you Cassie! Now, we're off to just down the block at Granderson Stadium where Kenavt played Kansiov last night in World Cup 41 action. A recap will be following just after these commercial messages."

All right, the Celtics are done spanking the Lakers, and this is your gameday 7 RP cutoff!

Gameday 7
Dancougar 74 @ Secristan 75
Newmanistan 90 @ Gerainia 86
Frontenax 101 @ Kura-Pelland 86
Cafundeu 94 @ Xaristan 77
Taeshan 104 @ Kose and the Turkomans 89
kenavt 99 @ Lovisa 100


GROUP A W L PF PA
Newmanistan 5 1 602 551
Frontenax 4 2 602 596
Secristan 4 2 521 506
Corivia 3 3 553 572
Kura-Pelland 2 4 547 574
Gerainia 2 4 573 546
Dancougar 1 5 513 570

GROUP B W L PF PA
Arroza 5 1 581 527
Lovisa 4 2 560 543
Cafundeu 4 2 568 572
Taeshan 3 3 582 544
Xaristan 2 4 543 566
Kose/Turkomans 2 4 524 572
kenavt 1 5 562 595


The second week of qualifiers will begin on Thursday, so it's an extra 24 hours to prepare for your run to the finals...

OOC: Man, I wanted the Lakers to win. Meh. But you're 1-5, so that makes up for it.

BTW, so my guys are about to start taking steroids to win, because there appears to be no drug policy at the IBC. However, they haven't started yet. And if anyone wants to propose a drug policy, go right ahead.

Kenavt Basketball Assocation Headquarters, Poiuytrewq, Kenavt

"We are having problems with our basketball team in the International Basketball Championships." The Head of State, Premier Duke Andrew da Vincho said simply.

The other man cowered below him. "Well, I'm doing what I can..." KBA head Grayson Smith said, scared by the Premier.

"Is there anything else we can do to ensure that our players preform at their peak?" demanded Andrew.

"Well... there is one thing."

"Spit it out."

"There's steroids."

"Steroids?"

"You banned them a couple of years ago from sports."

"Oh, yes. So, with them, our team should do better."

"Should."

"Well, send letters to all the players, asking them if they want to do steroids. Except my brother, Connor."

"Yes, sir. Your wish is my command."

OOC: The official policy on steroids is that if you RP them very well, you'll see an increase in performance according to some probabilistic model...

OOC: Sweet.

THE ROCKET REPORT

ROCKETS ESCAPE IN GERAINIA

Gerainia- It wasn't a thing of beauty, but Newmanistan will take it. On a night when the shooters went cold, the Rockets still had the ability to prevail, thanks in part to good defense when it mattered. Such is the problem with the live and die by the three approach. Sometimes, you will die. Unless you fight until the very end, and scrap it out. That is what happened as Newmanistan improved to 5-1, leading Group A all by their lonesome by a game over Frontenax and the rich kids. Gerainia is 2-4, better then only Dancougar, who is 1-5. Man, have the hosts been a disappointment on the court.

Last night the Rockets fast start wasn't there. In most of their games thus far, Newmanistan hit a bunch of threes right out of the gate to enjoy early leads, and then it just came to a question of whether or not they would hold on. But Kory Klassen missed his first four attempts from downtown and Connor Crawford was a mere 1-for-3, and if not for a few points down low, the Rockets could have found themselves down in quite a hole. After five minutes, it wasn't that bad, as Gerainia led 12-7. Their fans were happy they were in front, but this is where they really needed to put the game away. Newmanistan was doing just enough on defense, and was surprisingly good on the boards. As more time passed on, the threes still weren't coming, though the Rockets were doing a good job adjusting by taking more balls inside. Perhaps this confused Gerainia, as all their scouting may have been focused on stopping the Rockets downtown, which they were, but they didn't know what to do about this inside game, led especially by Tank Nelson, who at halftime led Newmanistan in scoring with 16 points. The home team led at half, but with the Rockets only 3-for-17 from behind the arc in that timeframe, Gerainia could not have been happy to only have a 39-32 lead.

Things had to start balancing out. There was no way the Rockets could continue being this cold from behind the arc, could it? Klassen and Crawford talked it out amongst themselves, trying to figure out what went wrong. From what coach McDowell and assistans could see with their own eyes, there was nothing wrong with their mechanics. Gerainia was playing well on defense, but it wasn't as if they were completely in your face to the Rockets guards where just that could be the reason things were not going right. Something was amiss.

To start the second half, Klassen and Crawford tried to find themselves from the outside, but they began 1-for-6, so the struggles continued. Even with that, the Rockets scored on all six of those possessions thanks to great rebounding by Nelson, who is our player of the game. Nelson had what would be a career high 40 points in the game if the game were counting in their domestic league totals. Tank has shown the ability in this tournament to really pick up his game to another level, and has been a pleasant surprise to McDowell and his coaching staff. As long as he is playing well, opponents can not exclusively defend the outside and must respect his presence in the paint. That will be important when the games get more meaningful and will play a big role if the Rockets can translate their positive start after six games into a run at capturing the championship. In this game, Nelson kept the Rockets in it, trailing just 76-70 when the threes started falling. There was no way Klassen and Crawford were going to be horrible all game, and with the next five possessions leading to threes, Newmanistan poked in front 85-82, and they would not fall behind again. The remainder of the game was Gerainia players sending the Rockets to the line, and Newmanistan did what they needed to do to secure an 90-86 victory.

We have now reached the midway point of the group stage. Newmanistan, like everyone else, will have a day off, and then return home as they try to avenge their opening day loss to Kura-Pelland back at home in Tundra Falls. A win would break the 3-0 advantage that Kura-Pelland over Newmanistan teams in any sport.

Sky Sport Lovisa

Lovisa won one more time, this time with Kenavt 100 - 99.

It was very hart match, an we won only one point in last 5 second to finish - said Tony Malcolm a Lovisan coach. We still have a big chance to advance, but we must playing carrefully and control a results.
Now the second week begin nearly, then we need a short recovery, and all players will be ready to play in next match. - he add

THE ROCKET REPORT

MID QUALIFYING REPORT CARD

Tundra Falls, Newmanistan- We are now halfway through qualifying in the International Basketball Championships, and the Rockets are off to an excellent start, having won five in a row after an opening day loss to sit at 5-1. That mark is good enough for first place in Group A, and only Arroza equals the record. It's not about illegal (in most nations) substances or being the highest bidder. It's about heart and desire, and right now, the Rockets are showing it. Here now, is our mid-qualifying report card for the team, and as you could probably assume, they graded very well.

McDowell- Phil has done a great job in staying with the system and making sure the players stay true to it. Remember how he blasted them during the Corivia game when they tried to be all cutesy. The team appears to have very good chemistry, which is becoming a staple of all Newmanistanian teams. Grade: A+.

Kory Klassen- Klassen has not just been the top player on the Rockets, he has been one the best players in the entire tournament. He has been fearless in shooting the three, and even though he has been a bit streaky with it, that's something that can tend to happen to tall the great outside shooters. As much as the defense knows that the three is coming, they still can't stop it. Grade: A.

Connor Crawford- Crawford has been every bit as good as Klassen, and also has to be seen as one of the best players in the tournament this far. The backcourt has carried the team, and when you look at way that Klassen and Crawford are continuing to nail down the threes when the defense knows that's what they're going to do, it makes it all the more impressive. Grade: A.

Tank Nelson: The unsung hero of the team. Inside play and rebounding was supposed to be the weakness, and a pretty big one of the team. But Tank has been in the zone, and has not only evened up the edge on the boards, he has in fact, tilted the advantages to actually favor the Rockets. He then does a good job following up the shots and nailing it down, or sending it back outside to give one of the guards another chance. Grade: A+.

Garrett York: York is one starter that the Rockets would like to see a little more from. He has been inconsistent, and hasn't been as much of a factor from downtown as he probably should be. It hasn't really mattered that much, but when he is playing well, it allows Klassen and Crawford all the more room because defenses must respect York. So far Garrett hasn't given them that much to fear. Grade: B.

Reese Fraser: This is the spot on the floor where the Rockets were supposed to get absolutely manhandled, and while the opponents have tried to take advantage of him while they are looking for a good shot chance, Reese has held his own. He hasn't been great, and the Rockets could use a true power forward. It's just a position that in general, Newmanistan lacks. Fraser has at least made it manageable, and deserves credit for it. Grade: B.

Reserves: We are going to give the reserves a collective grade, and they're not going to like it. In three games, the Rockets built up a considerable lead, and allowed their bench players to get more then ample court time and they have been absolutely atrocious. Every time they have been in as a group, the opponent has cut into the lead signficiantly. They showed some signs against Frontenax, and that's what keeps them from getting an F. If the Rockets sustain some injuries, this could become a real issue. Grade: D.

Sure, it's not about steroids. It can be about heart and grit.

But sometimes, it's just about bouncing the ball off an opponent's head, getting it back, and throwing the no-look alley oop to the man doing a 540 in the air.

Sonned.

Gameday 8 RP cutoff!

Gameday 8
Dancougar 81 @ Corivia 95
Frontenax 113 @ Gerainia 81
Kura-Pelland 99 @ Newmanistan 88
Cafundeu 79 @ Arroza 75
kenavt 98 @ Kose and the Turkomans 83
Lovisa 71 @ Taeshan 100


GROUP A W L PF PA
Newmanistan 5 2 690 650
Frontenax 5 2 715 677
Secristan 4 2 521 506
Corivia 4 3 648 653
Kura-Pelland 3 4 646 662
Gerainia 2 5 654 659
Dancougar 1 6 594 665

GROUP B W L PF PA
Cafundeu 5 2 647 647
Arroza 5 2 656 606
Taeshan 4 3 682 615
Lovisa 4 3 631 643
Xaristan 2 4 543 566
kenavt 2 5 660 678
Kose/Turkomans 2 5 607 670

THE ROCKET REPORT

KURA-PELLAND: OFFICIAL NEMESIS

Tundra Falls, Newmanistan- Last night we kicked off the second half of qualifying for the International Basketball Championships with Kura-Pelland making their way to the Arena at the Tundra Falls Proving Grounds. Since losing the opener to Kura-Pelland, the Rockets won five straight. After winning the opener over the Rockets, Kura-Pelland won just one of their next five. You would have to had thought that things seemed good for the Rockets to win. But just like World Cup 40 qualifying, Kura-Pelland won both of their games against the Rockets. In four sporting contests between the nations, the Rockets have lost all four. After losing 99-88, a fan by the name of Margaret (she did not give her last name) pointed out to us her theory, "When I line up the names Newmanistan and Kura-Pelland there's only one result I can ever see fitting." Maybe that's it.

But there's supposed to be spirits at the Proving Grounds, too, right? As a noted expert on this matter pointed out, "You can't use your knowledge of the unknown to expect victory. If you're using it, and expecting them to help you, then they will not. And in fact, they may go against you. And if their are mutliple spirits at one venue wanting different outcomes, instead of fighting it out, they will just say, let the people decide it, not us. Or they may flip a proverbial coin." Another expert on the unknown reminded us that, "Kura-Pelland won the first ever interregional contest played at the Proving Grounds. Therefore, they must like them." Interesting.

Yeah, there was a game we're supposed to be talking about in this space. Well, here's a brief summary of the opening: "Rockets player for three, off the rim. For three, no good, et cetera, et cetera." The visitors weren't shooting the lights out at the Arena, but they did just enough to slowly pull away, and that's essentially what this was all about for the Rockets. A slow, painful buildup to a tough loss. Newmanistan never led in the contest. Not much else to say. Off day tomorrow. Let's relax.

SUCCESS TO MEAN HIGHER PRICES AND PROFITS

Are things falling into place for the Millionaires? While everybody else was playing, and our heroes were enjoying a two day bye period, the second half began. A Newmanistan loss to Kura-Pelland while our boys were on the beach enjoying the warm summer sun and seeing how many women they could get meant that Secristan is only a half game back, and they are even in the loss column. This is pretty cool and we can proudly report that our players are beginning to see some reward for their investment, other then in terms of women. Andrei Peters landed a lucrative deal with a car company that will pay him 15 million rusas and Stuart Wright, with a sneaker company that gets him an incredible 25 million rusas, all to star in some exciting new commercials that will soon be gracing your airwaves.

Folks at the Secristan Department of Sports remind you that this success will lead to higher bids for tickets. The minimum bids will remain the same, however, with more success comes more demand and with supply staying the same, higher prices are in the works. Maybe we can make it to Dancougar even though at that point the SDOS will have to figure out a new way to profit from it. We trust that they will come up with a master plan!

Lock the doors and hide the children, it's the Gameday 9 RP cutoff!

Gameday 9
Corivia 65 @ Frontenax 68
Gerainia 77 @ Dancougar 90
Kura-Pelland 71 @ Secristan 103
Arroza 80 @ kenavt 114
Kose and the Turkomans 83 @ Cafundeu 105
Lovisa 89 @ Xaristan 99


GROUP A W L PF PA
Frontenax 6 2 783 742
Newmanistan 5 2 690 650
Secristan 5 2 624 583
Corivia 4 4 713 721
Kura-Pelland 3 5 717 765
Gerainia 2 6 731 749
Dancougar 2 6 684 742

GROUP B W L PF PA
Cafundeu 6 2 752 730
Arroza 5 3 736 720
Taeshan 4 3 682 615
Lovisa 4 4 720 742
Xaristan 3 4 642 655
kenavt 3 5 774 758
Kose/Turkomans 2 6 690 775

CBC.COM - ALL ABOUT CAFUNDELENSE BASKETBALL
NEWS OF THE AURI-ROXOS (PURPLE-YELLOW TEAM)

The team is now in excellent form. After a rest matchday, when the players were able to play for their teams for a bit before returning to wear the purple-yellow shirt, the Auriroxos were able to win two games, which sent the team to the top position of the group, with now less than half of the games to be played. Surely a good position, but this is not the time to relax.

In the first game, played during matchday 7 of the competition, the Cafundelenses played at home against Xaristan. The game was easy for the Auriroxos, who were able to control a good advantage during the whole game, in a solid and efficient presentation, which was very praised by the sports articles and magazines of the country.

The second was the game against Arroza. Playing against direct rivals in the group (as Arroza is also fighting for the leadership of the group), the Auriroxos had to overcome a good defensive strategy of the opponents. In the end, a close result, but one positive for Cafundéu, which could take the win home.

THE ROCKET REPORT

BACK TO THE COURT

Tundra Falls, Newmanistan- The Proving Grounds will be a happening place tonight as both World Cup football and the International Basketball Championships will be on the premisis. Not that that's a problem for the unique facility. And while one of those two teams looks as though they are now just playing for pride (and yet that will draw the bigger crowd), the team that has a chance at winning something will be hitting the hardwood as the Black Wings of Dancougar come to town. Last time a Dancougar team was at the Proving Grounds? They were winning the World Bowl over Arroza. Dancougar in basketball is a mere 2-6. Our Jason Richards is in Tundra Falls, and he had the opportunity to discuss things with coach McDowell about how things have gone, and how things might go.

JR: Good morning fans, I'm here with Newmanistan's basketball coach Phil McDowell. Coach, thank you for your time.

PM: Not a problem. Good morning, Jason.

JR: At the beginning of this tournament, there was a lot of question about how the Rockets would perform, as regionally, basketball hasn't been the Rockets best sport.

PM: It hasn't, but I think you and others are basing too much of the past when you say that about our national basketball program. Recently, we have made great strides in the sport, particularly in getting more young kids to play it.

JR: Does it bother you that the Rockets are very dependent on a particular system?

PM: It doesn't bother me, because it is who we are. Our kids are taught to be long distance shooters, it's just something we value as a nation more then other nations value it. While I know that the concern is that we are very predictable, its not really as a big of a deal as you think, because we pull up and shoot from areas that most teams wouldn't think about, so it still creates something different for defenses to respect.

JR: Forces them to make adjustments, and to cover more ground.

PM: Exactly, Jason. We make them defend areas of the court tightly that they might not usually, so it creates additional gameplanning from their coaches.

JR: Should the IBC institute the Newmanistanian four point line?

PM: Selfishly, yes. But no, they shouldn't, it would be very unfair in how it would favor us. Not that other players on other teams can't hit the shot, but being as our guys put it up regularly from that distance, our percentage from outside that line would be much greater.

JR: On the inside, Tank Nelson has done a great job. Your thoughts?

PM: Well, he's the best center in the country, so his effectiveness should not surprise anyone. I think people are surprised because traditionally, we've been outplayed on the boards in competitions like this, but Tank has done a great job. Not only are we level with our opponents in rebounding, we've held the advantage in four of our seven games and I think that says alot about how good the Tank has played.

JR: At 5-2, how far can the Rockets go?

PM: Our goal is to win the championship, but what we are seeing is a very level tournament, with some very competitive teams. Anything can happen, so it's anyone's guess right now as to wins it, but we're a contender, for sure.

JR: A journalist from Dover City noticed that the Kenavt players have seemed to have suddenly bulked up and have raised some suspicions about steroids or H2H. Your thoughts on that?

PM: You can't see results that quickly from steroids or H2H. The muscles don't just suddenly pop up in a day or two. Drugs are illegal in any Newmanistan locker room regardless of the sport, so while the respective sporting agencies may permit it, it is illegal for a Newmanistanian too.

JR: Is it unfortunate that your game will probably be overshadowed by another game at the Proving Grounds tonight, the World Cup qualifying game with United Hetzel, especially when, you got the better performing team? Also tonight, the deciding third game of the best-of-three with Taeshan in the semifinal of the World Baseball Classic. Newmanistan-Dancougar in the IBC is #3 in the pecking order tonight, does that bother you?

PM: Honestly, we see it as fortunate. We like being under the radar of the soccer team and of the baseball team. You have to give them props too by the way. Our games are sold out though, so it's not as if we are ignored. And on that note, I wish Christina Sanders and our baseball team the best of luck in Green Wombat, and our soccer players the best of luck against United Hetzel. Those guys aren't dead yet.

JR: Do you ever talk with Brian Carson? Ask him for advice at this level?

PM: We had breakfast together this morning since we're both playing here tonight. We coach different sports but can relate to what the other is going through because we both understand what coaching is all about.

JR: Alright, coach, that's all the time we have this morning. Thank you, good luck and hopefully we can do this again sometime.

PM: Thank you!

Costa Rica escapes embarrassment! But does my basketball team? RP cutoff for Gameday 10!
Edit: NO! The power of RP bonus cannot... should not... must not be denied! BOOM GOES THE DYNAMITE!

Gameday 10
Gerainia 75 @ Corivia 100
Dancougar 75 @ Newmanistan 111
Frontenax 72 @ Secristan 89
Kose and the Turkomans 82 @ Arroza 87
Cafundeu 81 @ Taeshan 78
kenavt 78 @ Xaristan 81


GROUP A W L PF PA
Newmanistan 6 2 801 725
Secristan 6 2 713 655
Frontenax 6 3 855 831
Corivia 5 4 813 796
Kura-Pelland 3 5 717 765
Gerainia 2 7 806 849
Dancougar 2 7 759 853

GROUP B W L PF PA
Cafundeu 7 2 833 808
Arroza 6 3 823 802
Xaristan 4 4 723 733
Taeshan 4 4 760 696
Lovisa 4 4 720 742
kenavt 3 6 852 839
Kose/Turkomans 2 7 772 862

Ateni Dvengar has had to return home for family reasons. He will be replaced by Martin Frihmann.

THE ROCKET REPORT

HOSTS ROCKED

Tundra Falls, Newmanistan- At the beginning of the tournament, it was assumed that Dancougar would be a force in the International Basketball Championships. As the host nation, they'd be bound to have talented people, and given their strength in both the World Cup and World Bowl, surely they'd be good on the hardwood, too. Well, that's not the case. Newmanistan easily handled Dancougar last night at the Arena at the Proving Grounds, by the score of 111-75. The win puts Newmanistan in a tie with, who's that? Our fellow One Big Island rivals? Secristan is also 6-2, and the teams will battle it out here at the Proving Grounds in their next game.

Dancougar has been giving up points, and only Kose and The Turkomans (they're in this?) has surrendered more points then the Black Wings have, so it would seem like a good matchup for Newmanistan. And indeed it was. The Black Wings have had a trouble defending the outside shot all tournament, so this game couldn't have been one they were looking forward too. Over the last two games, the Rockets have been relatively cold from behind the arc, and today that changed. A fast start, seeing three points on eight of their first twelve possessions gave the home fans something to cheer about as it opened up a big lead, 24-6 in favor of the home team, and the Black Wings called their first timeout. During it, the scoreboard flashed the final score of the decisive third game in the World Baseball Classic semifinal from Green Wombat: Newmanistan 4, Taeshan 2, sending the arena into another real loud cheer. Back on the court, the Rockets continued to control the game as Phil McDowell tried to slow the tempo of the game down somewhat, just to change things up. Fraser and York got inside chances, and Newmanistan remained in contol of the game. At the other end, the Black Wings offense was beginning to pick it up, to keep the deficit in the teens, though never really mounting a real comeback bid. Trading baskets, we went to halftime with the score 55-38.

At halftime, coach McDowell just had the sense that the game was locked up. You never want to admit that, but the fact that the Rockets could play relatively conservative and still hold a lead that ranged between 14 and 20 over the entire first half. Connor Crawford led the Rockets in scoring with 21, and Kory Klassen was not far behind with 19 of his own. Tank Nelson and even Reese Fraser were doing a fantastic job grabbing the rebounds and setting up second chance buckets. McDowell wanted the team to come out firing a three point onslaught to start the second half, and to put this game to bed, knowing that Secristan was next on the schedule.

His team obliged both in effort, and in results. The threes were being put up, and they were either falling, or being rebounded by Nelson or Fraser to set up another shot from downtown, and the game was getting real ugly, real quick. Not helping matters was the fact that Dancougar's shooting to begin the second half was awful on their side of the court. About midway through the second half, McDowell basically applied the mercy rule with his team up by 48, 99-51. Out came the starters, for good. The leading scorer on the day would be Klassen, nailing down 37 points, four better then Crawford's 33. The reserves came in for yet another chance to show what they could do, because they had really been awful in the tournament. They would get plenty of time against a team that had been beaten, to just run the remaining minutes off the clock. But still, McDowell would have liked to have seen better results, as once again they struggled, and the Black Wings, also playing their reserves at this point, managed to chip away at the lead a little bit, to close out the deal at 111-75. So, starters beat Dancougar by 48, reserves lose to them by 12. Don't mean to be a cloud in what was practically a perfect game by the Rockets, but this deal with the reserves continues to loom as a potential problem for a very meaningful game down the road. But for now, let's not worry about it. Newmanistan was impressive and dominant at the Proving Grounds, and now gets set for their next opponent, their regionmates from Secristan.

Cafendeu: New Official Rivals?

I'm tired of these [radio edit] Monopolists!
On my [radio edit] basketball court!

Wait, so you're telling me that we've only lost three games, and two of them are to a team of stinking capitalists! And the last one was to a team of dope boys. Heck, they still had the needles sticking out of their butts. I mean if this is the way that we're going to be regulating our sport, then we might as well quit trying to get the best team of actual basketball players, and just get a team of basketball playing, homicidal bunny rabbits.

STRONG RUN CONTINUES

Two more wins, over Kura-Pelland and Frontenax have put the Millionaires up on top of Group A, sharing the spot with Newmanistan. The Millionaires are off to a stunning 6-2 record and remain the top defensive team in the tournament. In their last two games, Secristan gave up just 71 and 72 points, including a destruction of Kura-Pelland, 103-71. Newmanistan is the next opponent, at their highly overrated Proving Grounds place.

Because it is expected that some fans may actually decide to cross the Penthoria River into Newmanistan to attend the game, the Secristan Department of Sports has decided that they cannot allow this without reaping some kind of profit from it. Therefore, all vehicles or people attempting to cross into Newmanistan will be stopped at a checkpoint and required to pay a 25R fee, per person, for the next 24 hours. Furthermore, the SDOS is very proud to announce that we will no longer broadcast our road games and possible games from Dancougar on free television. Instead these games will be made available, for your convenience of course, on a pay-per-view basis of just 39R per half, or 77R for the game, and incredible savings of 1R over purchasing each half separately. Act now because this incredible offer may not last long.

(Players gather at the Proving Grounds prior to the meeting with Secristan)

Fraser: Man, those people are pissed.

Crawford: Well, I don't they are particularly happy that our football team allowed United Hetzel to just come in here and take three points.

Klassen: Football? You mean soccer.

Crawford: Whatever, you know what I mean.

Nelson: We need to make it up to them. Look at all those people who are so upset, they should come out and support us.

Crawford: The game is sold out, so we'll have our support.

Fraser: Do you think they'll bring their fans from across the river?

Klassen: Maybe, it's probably cheaper for them to travel to the Proving Grounds to watch their team since the stupid bids over there get so high.

York: I don't think there's a country in the world with a greater rich-poor divide then them.

(Coach McDowell enters)

McDowell: Good evening team, man those fans are pissed off.

Crawford: Yeah, and they all walked by me too. I think maybe five people recognized me out of about a thousand.

Klassen: I think that's just because they were to pissed over losing to United Hetzel, at the Proving Grounds, that they probably just didn't stop to look at you.

Crawford: Probably.

McDowell: Well, this game against Secristan is big, and it is a true test.

Nelson: That it is, coach.

McDowell: They are the top defensive team in the tournament. And they know us. They know we like to shoot deep from downtown.

Klassen: You wanna change it up, coach? Reese and I were working on this sweet 360 super behind the back alley-oop, you wanna see it?

McDowell: No. Wait, no go ahead, I'd rather see it now then in the game.

(Klassen and Fraser work the play to perfection, team applauds)

McDowell: Very nice, now don't let me ever see that in a game, got it?

Klassen: Awwww

Nelson: That was sweet.

McDowell: Yes, it was sweet, but its a lot harder to do when there are five men in another color jersey out there trying to stop you.

Crawford: All about the threes, Kory.

Klassen: Yeah, yeah. Don't we get a little boring sometimes?

McDowell: I don't care how boring we are, I care about results. And anyway, I find a fast tempo three-point shooting team exciting to begin with.

Fraser: So even though they have a great defense, and we've played the country before, we still do the same thing?

McDowell: Yes.

Crawford: You got it!

Klassen: Can we at least try the alley-oop in warmups?

McDowell: No. Your warm ups are from behind the three point line.

Klassen: Awwww.

CBC.COM - ALL ABOUT CAFUNDELENSE BASKETBALL
NEWS OF THE AURI-ROXOS (PURPLE-YELLOW TEAM)

More two games in this important International Basketball Competition, and more two essential wins for the Auriroxos. The team seems now one of the strongest of the entire tournament, and the opponents have started to fear when the men and women wearing purple and yellow enter in the court. The speed and tactical knowledge of the team are now known around the world, and the team wants to keep this fame. If Cafundéu keeps the good form, can win the competition.

The first of these two games was against Kose and the Turkomans. Their basketball teams seems far from good at the moment, and the Auriroxos could grab a necessary and easy win. Without any Sinan Kose in their basketball squad, the Turks failed to make a good performance. Juno made a wonderful performance, helped by the precise assists of Michel. Leandro Lobo didn't have a good day and didn't play in most of the game, seeing Lina taking his place.

The second game was a bit more complicated, against Taeshan. As Cafundéu's basketball team's reputation grew with the good performances, the opponents played a defensive game, which worked during the first two quarters of the game, when Taeshan was leading. But in this game Leandro Lobo could shine and, with his help, the Auriroxos were able to win the game, which now puts the team in the first place in the group, alone. Few games remain in the group stage.

Look out! There's a gameday 11 RP cutoff heading your way!

Gameday 11
Corivia 77 @ Kura-Pelland 110
Frontenax 83 @ Dancougar 93
Secristan 72 @ Newmanistan 102
Arroza 88 @ Lovisa 108
kenavt 85 @ Cafundeu 99
Xaristan 107 @ Taeshan 95


GROUP A W L PF PA
Newmanistan 7 2 903 797
Secristan 6 3 785 757
Frontenax 6 4 938 924
Corivia 5 5 890 906
Kura-Pelland 4 5 827 842
Dancougar 3 7 852 936
Gerainia 2 7 806 849

GROUP B W L PF PA
Cafundeu 8 2 932 893
Arroza 6 4 911 910
Xaristan 5 4 830 828
Lovisa 5 4 828 830
Taeshan 4 5 855 803
kenavt 3 7 937 938
Kose/Turkomans 2 7 772 862

THE ROCKET REPORT

RICH KIDS BEATEN UP

Tundra Falls, Newmanistan- Last night on the hardwoord, our ballin' heroes gave the nation something to smile about. The soccer team? Well, lets not go there. The baseball team? Well they're still doing a great job, but in being shut out in the opener of the finals didn't spread much joy around the Empire. The International Basketball Championships is continuing to go very well, and the Rockets notched a huge win last night, both in terms of its meaning, and its margain. Playing our neighbors to the East of the Penthoria River, the Rockets cruised to a 30 point win over Secristan, 102-72, at the Arena at the Proving Grounds. That's triple digits against the team that entered play as the leading defensive squad in the competition. The win puts the Rockets at 7-2 (or 7-0 against everyone not named Kura-Pelland), and in sole possession of first in Group A. They clinched, at least, a tie for advancement, and a win tonight (or a Kura-Pelland) loss will officially clinch a spot in Dancougar for the Rockets. Just three group stage games remain, and the Rockets will be on the road for the next two in Corivia and Frontenax before heading home against Gerainia to round it all out.

Secristan, who's 6-3, and probably happy with their qualification so far was unable to stop the Rockets from behind the arc. If it sounds like a lot of our game reports are repetitive, we're sorry, but the Rockets just keep going out and beating teams the same way, including the likes of the Millionaires. Their defensive strength didn't matter, the Rockets challenged them and made them have to beat them at their own game, and the Millionaires simply could not. Kory Klassen started somewhat cold, missing 5 of his first 6 three-pointers, but Connor Crawford did not, hitting his first five. Great play on the boards again by Tank Nelson enabled Newmanistan to get second chance buckets on some of those Klassen misses, and the Rockets were out in front early by a respectable 21-12 tally. Then when Crawford got cold, missing his next five, Klassen got hot, going on a 5 for 8 streak. Their balancing act meant that the home team kept having productive trips in their end of the court on most occasions, and led to a general build up of the lead, going up 43-28 at one point before the Millionaires made a bit of a comeback effort to close out the half on an 11-4 run to make the halftime score 47-39 in favor of the Rockets.

At the break, especially with the Millionaires having closed the gap towards the very end, it appeared as though this was going to be more of a game then it ended up being. Due to that, coach McDowell was a little concerned about things and knew that Newmanistan had to thwart the Millionaire momentum and get off to a good start. While he did tell the team to keep up a high offensive tempo, he wanted to do this more through defense, then by offense.

The team responded using a full court press in the first four minutes of the second half that completely took Secristan by surprise, and forced them to have to burn two timeouts very early. The press was successful, and because of the location of some of the turnovers, the Rockets found themselves with some quality inside shooting opportunities, so the second half didn't necessarily begin with a three point barrage. Newmanistan widened the margin to 63-45 early on, when the Millionaires began to get frustrated and sloppy. They continued turning the ball over, and also taking some bad fouls, allowing the Rockets to completely take control of the game. They didn't need to be outstanding from behind the arc, and in fact, but they were solid enough. The lead eventually opened up to a peak of 93-56. Secristan hit some threes very late in the game to close to the eventual final score of 102-72, but it they knew it was a sound beating.

After the game, coach McDowell was really pumped up after the win, "We laid 102 on the best defense in the IBC and shut them down! We are really playing real well now, our confidence is at a record high!" Kory Klassen, who had 36 points to lead all scorers talked about some different motivation, "We saw how pissed off alot of our fans were when they left the Proving Grounds after our soccer team got upset. We rallied together and wanted to make sure that there was no way another team was going to come here and beat us, especially those spoiled brats from Secristan."

FANS MUST PRIORITIZE

In a game for regional bragging rights, the Millionaires headed to that overrated Proving Grounds place and were defeated by 30 points. Newmanistan officials may say that this happened because there are supernatural forces that supposedly exist at that arena and that they did not appreciate us calling it overrated. Whatever, they won, so let them all go crazy. Didn't help them with United Hetzel, did it? Anyway our team is now 6-3 and in second place.

Unfortunately in related events, the Secristan Department of Sports is concerned that our fans aren't looking at the big picture. Reportedly some fans are actually getting excited with the fact that our team is doing pretty good in these group stages and may have a chance to go on a run in Dancougar and are therefore blinded by the reality. Sadly, we need to tell such fans to get their priorities straight. Secristan's intention in the International Basketball Championship is to make money, whether by auctions, outrageous television contracts, or other advertising deals. It's not that we don't want our fans to support the team, because we do. But when that support leads you to think that you don't have to pay for things and have the right to question governmental decisions when it comes to our trying to make a profit, then that is unacceptable. Such a sad display of fan behavior was witnessed in downtown Amherst when some fans actually had the nerve to protest the fact that the SDOS announced that all non-home games would be taken off of free TV and provided on a pay-per-view basis. What nerve! Don't worry as the police reported the arrest of 19 people, and they have been charged with offenses such as Attempted Freeloading, and Disruption of Profit Efforts. These sentences, if convicted, face a sentence of 15-20 years in jail, at a rate of 1000R per month to be charged to their estate for housing them in our fine prisons. Failure to make a payment, if you do not know, results in execution to the prisoner.

(Hmm... Jolt servers were down last night, and I leave for work, soon. So... double gameday time!! Gamedays 12 and 13 will be done tonight, and the RP bonus you accumulate before then will be used for both games. With the final tournament approaching, this is an opportunity to try and lock up your spots in the next round!)

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!

Kenavt Will Not Make it to the Next Round

Poiuytrewq-It has just been revealed by the Confederacy's best mathematicians that there is no way for the Kenavt basketball team in the International Basketball Championships to advance past the qualifying round.

"Yes, it's true..." said the coach of the team. "I guess we're out... there's no reason to continue. Thought we will try."

In other IBC News

Secristan-The Secristan government just reminded the general populace that fans of the IBC team must "prioritize". They reminded the public that the team exists to make money, and some crazy fans are trying to get into the way. They are protesting the fact that the Secristanian coverage of the IBC games have been moved to pay-per-view television.

When asked for a comment, Kenavt Basketball Organization head Travis Grey had this to say: "That is sad of the Secristan government. They only want the bottom line, not what cares for their people's happiness. Now, if you excuse me, I'm going to get into my tenth Mercedes-Benz from the cuts I get from the pay-per-view viewings of the Kenavt Major League Basketball league."

(Rockets players gather in locker room as the start of the game is delayed)

Klassen: This sucks!

Nelson: What sucks?

Klassen: The ugliness of Corivian women.

Nelson: Hey now, you just haven't gone to the right places. Here, check out these hotties. (pulls out digital camera)

Klassen: Let's see them, I have to see it to believe it.

Nelson: Damn it! It's not working!

Klassen: All it says is database error.

Nelson: I hate this camera sometimes.

Klassen: That just proves that Corivian women are butt ugly; they broke your camera.

Nelson: Hey coach, is the game going to start soon?

McDowell: There's some kind of problem with lights in the arena. I don't know when we're going to play.

Klassen: Yet another reason why Corivia sucks.

Crawford: Can we watch the live feed of the World Baseball Classic Finals Game 2 from Green Wombat while we wait then?

Klassen: Our baseball team. Now there's some hot women.

McDowell: No, sorry.

Crawford: Why not?

Nelson: Yeah really, why not?

McDowell: I would be more then willing to let you, but...

Klassen: But what?

McDowell: There's some kind of problem with the feed, its down. Hopelessly down.

Nelson: (Screaming) Isn't anything gonna work tonight?

Ugh... Jolt servers lately have had a tendency to work all day and then stop when I go to scorinate. At least they're consistent. Well, here's the gameday 12/13 RP cutoff I promised you nine hours ago.

Gameday 12 - AKA Revenge of the Visitors
Newmanistan 98 @ Corivia 85
Dancougar 103 @ Kura-Pelland 77
Secristan 107 @ Gerainia 84
Taeshan 80 @ Arroza 83
Cafundeu 97 @ Lovisa 91
Xaristan 84 @ Kose and the Turkomans 102

Gameday 13 - AKA Day of the Thirty Point Blowout
Corivia 88 @ Secristan 92
Kura-Pelland 70 @ Gerainia 100
Newmanistan 102 @ Frontenax 73
Arroza 69 @ Xaristan 104
Lovisa 82 @ Kose and the Turkomans 74
Taeshan 70 @ kenavt 106


GROUP A W L PF PA
Newmanistan 9 2 1103 955
Secristan 8 3 984 929
Frontenax 6 5 1011 1026
Corivia 5 7 1063 1096
Dancougar 4 7 955 1013
Kura-Pelland 4 7 974 1045
Gerainia 3 8 990 1026

GROUP B W L PF PA
Cafundeu 9 2 1029 984
Arroza 7 5 1063 1094
Xaristan 6 5 1018 999
Lovisa 6 5 1001 1001
kenavt 4 7 1043 1008
Taeshan 4 7 1005 992
Kose/Turkomans 3 8 948 1028


Group A qualification scenarios:
* Newmanistan, Secristan, and Frontenax qualify.
* Kura-Pelland holds the head to head tiebreaker with Corivia (1-1, 197 PF/165 PA), and thus qualifies with a gameday 14 win @ Frontenax. Else, Corivia qualifies during their bye.
* Corivia holds the H2H tiebreaker with Dancougar (2-0), so the hosts are eliminated even if they win.

Group B qualification scenarios:
* Cafundeu qualifies and clinches the 1 seed in group B.
* Arroza, Xaristan, and Lovisa qualify.

With the final field almost set and with one game left to play, expect tournament information (including the RP bonus minigame!) to appear within the next day or so. There will be, eh, maybe a two-day break between gameday 14 and the start of the finals. There will also be a mini-league for the eliminated teams held concurrently, so all nations will remain involved.

Gameday 14 will be pushed back one day. RP cutoff will be Thursday at 11:59:59 PM (GMT -4). Ish.

THE ROCKET REPORT

MEANINGLESS? WELL, YEAH

Tundra Falls, Newmanistan- Admittedly, tonight's Newmanistan vs Gerainia basketball game will not win the ratings battle between sports events that the Empire is involved with tonight. Out in Green Wombat, Newmanistan's baseball team plays the decisive fifth game of the best-of-five finals of the World Baseball Classic. The basketball team plays a meaningless game. Newmanistan has wrapped up everything they can heading into the game, there is nothing more that they can accomplish here tonight. Their 0-2 vs Kura-Pelland, 9-0 vs everyone else is enough to wrap up first place in Group A. They have the tiebreaker over the regional rich kids due to beating them twice. The basketball game of interest tonight is more the Kura-Pelland at Frontenax contest. Because if Kura-Pelland wins, Newmanistan will have to deal with their nemesis in the first round. So yeah, go ahead, watch the baseball game tonight. But when its over, support your team on the hardwood like never before. Not much else to say about this one, but we'll be back with more coverage at the conclusion as the Rockets head for the playoffs.

Announcer 1: And Wright lays down another bucket, he has 26, Millionaires up 90-88.

Announcer 2: Nice shot I love how these guys are playing with so much heart.

A1: 20 seconds left, Corivia needs to tie, but they should have plenty of time. What do you think, two or three here?

A2: I think that 3.6% is an incredible offer from Tripletree Financing for your next mortgage.

A1: I agree, and timeout here with six seconds to play. Here's some more commercials. (commercial break)

A1: Alright sorry we couldn't make it back in time but in those six seconds Peters stole the inbound pass and had an easy lay up at the buzzer and we won by four.

A2: Great Value Life Insurance really lives up to its name though in that final ad while all that was going on.

A1: So with this win the Millionaires are 8-3 and have clinched 2nd place. They can't win the group and they can't finish 3rd. I agree though, I love the talking squirrel in the GVLI spot.

A2: Well back to basketball.

A1: Squirrels!

A2: No, back to basketball, the Millionaires go to Dancougar before every one else, which hotel chain do you think will give them the best rate since they can have an extended stay there longer then the other countries?

A1: What a great pressing question, I'd have to think the Millionaires should get a good rate.

A2: Alright, times up. Don't complain if you don't like that multiple times you missed action while we are in commercials. This was the last free game you got since it was out last home game. You get what you pay for.

CBC.COM - ALL ABOUT CAFUNDELENSE BASKETBALL
NEWS OF THE AURI-ROXOS (PURPLE-YELLOW TEAM)

Another three rounds had been played since our last update about the International Basketball Championships. And, in these three rounds, Cafundéu had two games. With an amazing form, the Auriroxos won both and could guarantee the first place of the group, with a campaign that impresses the whole world. The players are showing all their quality, and Cafundéu is now surely fighting for the title. Only one game is left in the group stage, and a win can give to the team the motivation to keep the good form.

The first of these two games was the one against kenavt. Not one that the Auriroxos expected to be difficult, and maybe that's why it was. The opponents playing willing the victory, while Cafundéu took some moments to wake up and decide the game. The strength necessary for the victory came from the hands of Xororó, surely the man of the match in this game. The team could open a nice but not huge lead over the opponents, and commemorate the victory.

The second game was against Lovisa. And this was one that everyone expected to be a difficult one, as Lovisa was (and is) fighting for qualification. And they were right. The opponents pressured the Auriroxos a lot, and the game was intense and exciting. Hopefully for us, the Cafundelense players were able to hold the pressure and reply in the right way, getting the necessary points to get this important victory. Now, Cafundéu is already qualified in the first place of the group.

Holy crap... THIS IS IT! Gameday 14 cutoff!

Gameday 14: AKA Day of the Upsets
Secristan 85 @ Dancougar 93
Gerainia 93 @ Newmanistan 89
Kura-Pelland 78 @ Frontenax 98
Xaristan 96 @ Cafundeu 93
Kose and the Turkomans 91 @ Taeshan 88 (OT)
Lovisa 78 @ kenavt 112


GROUP A W L PF PA
Newmanistan 9 3 1192 1048
Secristan 8 4 1069 1022
Frontenax 7 5 1109 1104
Corivia 5 7 1063 1096
Dancougar 5 7 1048 1098
Gerainia 4 8 1083 1115
Kura-Pelland 4 8 1052 1143

GROUP B W L PF PA
Cafundeu 9 3 1122 1080
Xaristan 7 5 1114 1092
Arroza 7 5 1063 1094
Lovisa 6 6 1079 1113
kenavt 5 7 1155 1086
Taeshan 4 8 1093 1083
Kose/Turkomans 4 8 1039 1116


Newmanistan, Secristan, Frontenax, and Corivia advance from Group A.
Cafundeu, Xaristan, Arroza, and Lovisa advance from Group B.
The remaining teams will be entered into the Best of the Rest Mini-League.

Tournament information and schedule to appear shortly...

Announcing... the first International Basketball Championships final tournament to be held in Dancougar! Teams which have survived the qualifying rounds will proceed immediately to a bracket of eight, while the six defeated teams... well, they get to play a mini-league of no consequence so the hosts don't feel left out :-)

The venues:

http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_menu/past_future/pictures/future_stadiums/gdansk_hala1.jpg
King Daniel III Athletic Center
Capacity: 19,000
Location: Yuki City
Description: Located west of downtown, this modern arena was constructed before the tournament to serve as its centerpiece. It will host all games in the final round, as well as most of the mini league. It has been the host of all Dancougar home games throughout qualifying, but the ticket sales have been less than stellar. The city is anxious to get a return on its investment...

http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_pictures/europe/russia/moscow_khodynka1.jpg
Leonard Sweetwater Arena
Capacity: 17,500
Location: Port Royal
Description: Located at the waterfront of this eastern port city, the arena, named after the man who brought basketball to Port Royal University, is within walking distance of many of the city's prime nightlife destinations. It is also a relatively recent build.

http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_pictures/asia/taiwan/taipei_arena1.jpg
City of Eastport Athletic Center
Capacity: 17,000
Location: Eastport
Description: Eastport and Port Royal are the so-called twin cities of the east, as they each straddle different sides of the Kishin River delta. The City of Eastport Athletic Center does not share the stunning ocean view of Sweetwater Arena, though, as it is located farther inland near the city center.

http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_pictures/north_america/united_states/pennsylvania/pittsburgh_petersen1.jpg
Peterson Events Center
Capacity: 16,500
Location: Stoneridge
Description: Welcome to blue collar Dancougar; the city of Stoneridge sits at the confluence of the Mugen and Gilderome Rivers and once boasted the highest industrial output of the nation. Things have settled down since then, but the Events Center is part of its urban renaissance. (And if you're wondering, this is definitely NOT a reference to the Peterson Events Center at Pitt which is, like, a ten minute walk from my apartment. Nope. Definitely not.)

http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_pictures/europe/greece/athens_olympic1.jpg
Highmark Arena
Capacity: 16,500
Location: Grandborough
Description: Along with the football stadium, it's part of the massive Grandborough Athletic Complex located five miles north of the city. The arena is used year-round by myriad clubs for a variety of indoor sports, so while it's not much to look at, it's certainly been broken in.

Next up, the draw! The matchups will be 1v4 and 2v3, but teams from pools A and B will be mixed together to ensure that all teams play somebody new in the first round. The mini-league will take place concurrently. All games which are "if necessary" are marked with an asterisk.

QUARTERFINALS
Gameday 15 (Mon June 30) (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13802645&postcount=80)
Gameday 16 (Tue July 1) (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13804764&postcount=86)
Gameday 17 (Wed July 2) (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13807627&postcount=88)

SEMIFINALS
Gameday 18 (Thu July 3) (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13810603&postcount=98)
Gameday 19 (Fri July 4) (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13813230&postcount=102)
Gameday 20 (Sat July 5) (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13815093&postcount=106)

FINALS
Gameday 21 (Sun July 6) (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13817589&postcount=109)
Gameday 22 (Mon July 7) (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13820635&postcount=112)
Gameday 23 (Tue July 8) (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13823539&postcount=114)

Gameday 24 (Wed July 9):
F Game4: Newmanistan v Secristan (King Daniel III Athletic Center)

Gameday 25 (Thu July 10):
F Game5*: Newmanistan v Secristan (King Daniel III Athletic Center)

A few more bits of information concerning RP bonus.
* The RP deadline is being moved to 9-10 PM (GMT -4) on the given gamedays. This is because Jolt servers have become notoriously unreliable at the time of night I normally scorinate, while I've had more success earlier in the evening. Oh, and staying awake at work... blah.
* As the "home team," Dancougar will receive the home RP bonus during mini-league. But it'll only be 0.5 points instead of 1.0 because they sucked so bad during qualifying, the fans aren't exactly the most supportive ever.
* Teams that close out their series early will not lose any accumulated RP bonus during their off day. They earned it.
* And... THE BRACKETOLOGY BONUS GAME! Brackets and basketball go together like peas in a pod, and it's simple enough. Forecast the results of the eight team bracket. Games won and lost don't matter, just who goes through. Just submit your picks (e.g. QF1 = team A, QF2 = team B, etc.) to Dancougar via NS telegram before the Gameday 15 deadline. Correct picks are worth 1 point in the quarterfinal round, 1.5 in the semis, and 2 in the finals. At the beginning of each round, the participant with the best bracket so far earns a permanent 0.5 bonus RP points for that round on top of what they normally earn - and it can put you over the 3.0 limit. Second place is worth 0.3, and third is an extra 0.15. In case of ties, everyone concerned gets the points. At the end of the tournament, the "winner" gets to feel special. It should also be noted that you can play even if you're in the mini-league, and your bonus applies to all mini-league games you play during a "round" of regular tournament. Does that make sense? I hope so.
* Dancougar cannot play the RP bonus game.

Following the Secristan defeat to Dancougar:

Peters: Yo coach you can't be doin' that.

Coach Cowan: What?

Peters: I only got eight minutes in this game.

Wright: Yeah I only got nine, this is bull.

Cowan: Guys this was a meaningless game we were going to finish second anyway so I wanted to rest you guys and give the bench players some playing time.

Peters: That's crazy you can't be doin' that.

Wright: We bid on 12 games. Not 11.

Peters: Yeah.

Cowan: You got playing time and you were officially in the starting lineup.

Wright: And you took us out on the first whistle.

Cowan: You guys and the other starters are the key to us winning this championship. Don't you want to win this now? You got your endorsement deals. More will come in with the better we do.

Peters: Still we should get a partial refund.

Assistant Coach Cavosie: Hold on a second guys.

Wright: What?

Cavosie: You bid on twelve games. I'm not a math major. But we'll have at least thirteen and fourteen in Dancougar, will we not?

Cowan: He's right. Even if we didn't count this game, you are all going over.

Cavosie: So I would keep quiet so the SDOS doesn't realize this and demands more money from you.

Cowan: And from us coaches.

Cavosie: Is it a deal?

Wright: Yeah.

Peters: Now that you put it that way. It's a deal.

Cowan: Good now we have to prepare for these guys from Arroza.

THE ROCKET REPORT

RESERVES FALL TO GERAINIA

Tundra Falls, Newmanistan- With the Rockets key players sitting on the bench, watching the action with the exception with a few minutes here and there, the Rockets fell to Gerainia by the score of 93-89. Even though it was a loss, coach McDowell may actually be pretty happy with the performance of his reserves given how poorly they had played up to this point. The result didn't really affect Newmanistan's status. They are 9-3, and only Cafundeu could be that good. The Rockets scored the most points out of anyone in the IBC with 1192, and had the best overall point differential of anyone in the tournament, and by a whopping margain. Newmanistan's differential was a +144. The next closest? Ironically, 5-7 Kenavt at +69. So, we're talking a gap of almost an entire game's production for one team between first and second overall. That +69 didn't get anything for the needle pushers, as they head to the Dancougar Invitational Tournament while the top eight play for the championship.

For a brief rundown of last night's game with Gerainia, it was good to see players like Raphael Lachance and Michael Lessard finally find their game, especially from downtown. Lachance, who has epitomized the struggles of the reserves starting the game with a nice smooth stroke from three pointland as the Rockets jumped out to a ten point lead, 31-21, with just a few minutes to go in the half. Lessard and Rowe hit some nice inside shots, and at the break, the Rockets enjoyed an eight point cushion, 47-39. The second half was more about outstanding Gerainian shooting then it was poor play by the Rockets subs. After exchaning buckets for the first three minutes of the half, the visitors scored on eleven consecutive possessions, making it, in total, a 25-10 run and soon enough they were in front by ten, 71-61. McDowell gave the starters a brief cameo, not necessarily because he wanted to pull out the game, it was more of a simple matter of getting them some court time. Their presence had the affect of a comeback though, as Newmanistan closed the gap, and eventually tied up the game at 84. This is where McDowell made a decision that never would have happened if the game meant something. It was about experimenting, and to see if the "B" lineup could pull out a game in crunch time. While the move was heartily booed by those in the crowd at Tundra Falls, you could understand his thinking, and in our opinion, we liked the move. It however, did not get the results, and Gerainia outplayed the Rockets in the last couple minutes to secure an eventual 93-89 victory.

The Rockets now head to Dancougar where they will be looked at as one of the favorites to win the championship, if not the top choice. We will have more in depth coverage in our next report, but the Rockets will be playing Lovisa, the team that finished fourth in Group B, with a 6-6 mark. The nations have only clashed once in anything, and that was in this past World Baseball Classic, a game won by Newmanistan. The other quarterfinals see Secristan battle Arroza, Xaristan play Frontenax, and Cafundeu, perhaps the biggest threat to Newmanistan, take on Corivia.

THE ROCKET REPORT

PLAYOFF TIME

Port Royal, Dancougar- We flew into Port Royal this morning and were immediately impressed with the city, it's got a bit of a Putnam Lake feel to it if the home fans want something to relate it too. Many bars and clubs here to distract a journalist from their work duties, and they were all full in this afternoon. Surely, they couldn't be all in anticipation of a game between Newmanistan and Lovisa, but I had to go inside to see what all the fuss was about and to land some interviews with the Dancougarans about why this game was generating so much interest in their country. Then it hit me. The big crowd had nothing to do with Newmanistan or with Lovisa. The World Cup Group Draw was going on. Ahhh, the World Cup. Easy to forget about it, seeing how horribly our own team did in qualifying and the likelihood that the Cup of Harmony is coming to the Empire.

Tonight, these fans crowding the bar will need something else to get excited about. One can only interest themselves with a draw for so long. We could analyze their draw, and that Dancougar faces both teams that advanced out of Newmanistan's qualifying group (You think Charles DuPont has asked Brian Carson for some additional scouting reports? Nah, probably not, since the Rockets didn't do much in qualifying). Tonight it will be about basketball, and many of these fans bought tickets well in advanced hoping that the host country would not be in the Cup of Hardwood Harmony. Also here are a lot of people from Newmanistan, who have made the trip, bought tickets off of the Dancougarans (and we hope that if any Secristan fans are in Stoneridge that the Dancougarans make them have to bid, too). There are probably some Lovisans around too, but most of the presence here in Port Royal are either the home folk, or Newmanistanian visitors.

Lovisa, in Group B, went 6-6. It was good enough for fourth in the group, but let's face it. Newmanistan expects to win. The main thing Phil McDowell and the team need to guard against isn't as much their opponent as it is their own overconfidence, because while Newmanistan should win, it doesn't mean they are going too. We are confident in their confidence, because they have a chance to do something that the Empire hasn't experience much of, and that's basketball success. It's happened in spots, but here they are the betting favorite. They have pressure on them for the latter stages as lately Buffalo Bill-itis, which in Newmanistan refers to the phenomena of reaching a final and then losing has taken over the Empire. Despite initial success in the 4th Di Bradini Cup and the Baptism of Fire, Newmanistan has made a recent habit of getting to a final and then losing, regardless of the sport being played. It's an accomplishment to get to the finals though, and it must start tonight.

It would also be good if Newmanistan could get through this series, quick and easy. Winning the first two games and then earning a day of rest would really hit the spot. I expect the Rockets to win here, they are just too good to be knocked out by Lovisa. It's a new dream for us fans. We almost got it in baseball, now maybe we can grab it on the court.

I don't have to post until tomorrow, right?

Because this hotel I'm staying at tonight is hella scary, and I think I'm going to put the laptop in the safe. I mean I've seen 5 hookers in like 30 minutes. God bless Atlanta.

READY FOR THE PLAYOFFS

So the Millionaires are in Dancougar now with a chance to actually win the championship. While our team stays at a most luxurious hotel, more of a resort really, reports are that the Arrozan team has been relegated to a dingy place with hookers running rampant. And not the attractive kind of hookers either, we've heard that these are disease-laden, overweight and unattractive crackheads. Such is something that our Millionaires will never have to worry about.

But do you believe? Seriously? That Secristan actually has a shot to do more then just make money but to actually win this thing. They are placed in Stoneridge and will play at the Peterson Events Center, an arena that makes you think about Panthers. We bring that up, because the Panther, after all, is the most sacred animal in all of Secristan. Is this an omen? For this brief moment, our attention is going beyond money and it just feels a little weird. Outsiders may ridicule our way of doing things, and the manner in which our team was selected, but they were the top defensive team in the tournament with a point differential that, amongst the teams playing for the championship, ranked behind only Newmanistan. A championship will bring money and more lucrative endorsement deals, but maybe it will bring a little something more. Maybe a feeling of patriotism throughout this great land, that we can more then that nation on the other side of the Penthoria River.

Arroza enters with a record of 7-5. If it seemed like they were doing better then that at one point, they actually were. They were 5-1 at halfway, then just won two of their final six games. They could be ripe for the picking.

OOC: You have no idea how close to the truth this quote from Secristan is, "And not the attractive kind of hookers either, we've heard that these are disease-laden, overweight and unattractive crackheads." The things I do to see my family / attend my one soccer game of the year. I mean, going to the Motel 6 was 2 steps up.

"Coach, why are we staying at a Motel 16 on the outskirts of town?" Asked Jane "Queen Bee" Wesley at the team gathering inside room 155 of the StoneRidge Motel 16.

"I'm teaching you guys a lesson. It's called humility. All the time you spent dunking over people and having me out there telling you and the crowd how great you were on the loudspeaker, you forgot to stay humble. At one point...before the tournament, what were you guys?"

"We were..."

"Shut the frick up Jetstream, that was a rhetorical question. You were a bunch of nothing streetballers. Sure you had skills, any fool could see it but after you got to 21, you went back home and lived the same life as everyone else in the hood. You, Ignition. What was your real job before this?"

"I drove a taxi, sir."

"And you, Queen Bee?"

"Stripper, and I worked at a daycare center in the daytime."

"What about you, Big Country?"

"I worked at a hardware store."

"You get the picture, here? You came from nothing, we all did. And just that easily we could all be returned to being nothing, just that easily. We could all be back driving taxis and hauling fertilizer tommorow. So you all need to realize that you are not as important as individuals, as you think you are. But as a team...as a team you guys could beat anyone. Look at the first half of the tournament, when you were hungry for it. We went through the group like a chainsaw through candied yams. Everyone wanted it, so bad. To get out there on the stage in front of the world and show everyone that this was out time to shine. To show everyone that thought that we weren't shite that we were worthy of respect.

Now those Secristanians...they don't fear us. They're in the news mocking us, for where we're staying."

"I'd mock us for where we're staying too, if I wasn't scared a dopeboy would shoot us."

"Shut up, Jetstream. They're calling us poor, disenfranchised, they say we're falling apart. They think we're ripe for the picking. They have the same problem you have. They have no sense of humility, and thet's what can beat them. They have their millions, and think that because they're rich that they can't lose. Just remember, what they think about you while you're in here tonight. One more thing. If we win tomorrow, we're going to the 4 Seasons, screw this place."

THE ROCKET REPORT

ROCKETS GEARED UP FOR LOVISA

Port Royal, Dancougar- Alright, hope everyone has got those brackets filled out and their office pools made, because the playoffs for the International Basketball Championships are set to begin. For your Newmanistan Rockets, the journey begins at Leonard Sweetwater Arena, located here in Port Royal, on the eastern side of Dancougar. The Arena is a modern facility, and architecturally stunning with a capacity of 17,500. Many of those seats will be filled by faithful Newmanistanians that have found their way to Dancougar. Newmanistan is expected to beat Lovisa, but they still know they need to go out there and take care of business. Jason Richards sat down with coach Phil McDowell to discuss this series.

JR: Good evening everyone, I am joined by coach McDowell here in Port Royal. Hello Phil.

PM: Hello Jason, great to be here!

JR: You’ve made it Dancougar, what are your first impressions?

PM: It seems like a nice place, but we’re on a business trip, not a vacation.

JR: You just stole Brian Carson’s (football coach) favorite line from the Di Bradini Cups.

PM: Maybe, it worked for him, did it not?

JR: Indeed, so being that the Rockets are on this business trip, does it concern you that you are playing in Port Royal, a nice city, but one with many prime nightlife spots within walking distance that could serve as a distraction.

PM: Not really, we came here a couple days early and I told the guys on that first night that they could explore the clubs. That’s over with now, and we need to maintain our focus, and that needs to be Lovisa.

JR: Most non-Lovisans are predicting Newmanistan to win the series, and even coast through it, does that concern you?

PM: We are not a team that can win games by coasting through them. We have gotten to where we are through hard work, and we’re only going to stay there if we continue working hard. We have to pick it up a notch, all eight teams remaining have a shot.

JR: Newmanistan recently has contracted Buffalo Billitis, reaching finals, then losing, how will you combat that?

PM: I didn’t know playing Lovisa is the final.

JR: Well, I was just.... nevermind, my producer insisted I ask that, I knew you wouldn’t like it.

PM: Your producer is obviously not a professional athlete and probably never was.

JR: Nope.

PM: Exactly, tell the man in the suit and tie that we have a long way to go and a lot of hard work to do before we even think about final, or else we’ll be watching it on TV back home in Newmanistan. Lovisa is coming to play, this is a fiercely patriotic nation, and they will do whatever it takes to come out and knock us off.

JR: What about.... no... Jim I am not going to ask him this. This is worst then the last one.

PM: Very good, assert yourself.

JR: Alright, before my producer annoys me anymore, and while I still have a job, let me say good bye to coach McDowell and wish him the best of luck against scrappy Lovisa.

PM: Thanks Jason, and if they have a problem with you, let me know.

JR: Thanks coach. Alright, I’m Jason Richards, that’s Phil McDowell. Goodbye from Port Royal!

PM: So long, thanks to the fans for their continued support.

Gameday 15 RP cutoff! The big time is NOW!

Quarterfinals (Best of 3)
Newmanistan 96 v Lovisa 89 (Newmanistan leads 1-0)
Xaristan 83 v Frontenax 85 (Frontenax leads 1-0)
Cafundeu 86 v Corivia 87 (Corivia leads 1-0)
Secristan 80 v Arroza 96 (Arroza leads 1-0)

Mini-League of No Consequence
Dancougar 83 v Gerainia 80
Taeshan 78 v Kose and the Turkomans 92

W L PF PA
Kose/Turkomans 1 0 92 78
Dancougar 1 0 83 80
Kura-Pelland 0 0 0 0
kenavt 0 0 0 0
Gerainia 0 1 80 83
Taeshan 0 1 78 92

CBC.COM - ALL ABOUT CAFUNDELENSE BASKETBALL
NEWS OF THE AURI-ROXOS (PURPLE-YELLOW TEAM)

A shame what happened in the first game of the quarterfinals in Dancougar. The Auriroxos, which had an excellent performance on the first stage, failed to repeat those in this game against Corivia. With many offensive and defensive mistakes, the team let the opponents open a gap of more than ten points, something that surprised all the supporters, who were expecting another win of Cafundéu.

The team was able to show a nice reaction power, transforming which was a 12-point lead to a 1-point lead. But it ended there. The Auriroxos lost a game and were surprised by the opponents, and now it's time for them to react. The team is a strong one, capable of defeating Corivia, and everything that the supporters expect now is to see the team showing this ability in the next game.

A Segment of the Arroza – Secristan game broadcast for free on Channel 4 (Arroza National Public TV)

Wes: We’re back, Wes Durham on play by play, and the color man “Silky” Johnston with you. 1:17 left in the Arroza – Secristan game here at the Peterson Events Center in downtown Stoneridge, and the Tar Hornets are really taking it to the Millionaires, up 90-70. They’ve finally played like a team again against Secristan, moving the ball around nicely, setting up isolation for drivers like Jetstream, Queen Bee, and Lights Out. Ignition’s also been on point, playing maybe the first selfless game of his career, dishing 12 dimes so far.

Sniper...inbounds pass to Ignition after the TV Timeout. Ignition dribbles up court, stopped at the top of the key by Peters. Nifty dribble juke by Sniper, throws the pass to Jetstream, isolated on the right flank. Jetstream…guarded by Wright, Bauer to help coming from the baseline to stop the drive. Jetstream, back to Ignition. Ignition, oh my lord! Spinning behind the back alley oop pass to Sniper, who actually gets up and finishes strong! Oh my!

Silky: Forget all the hype about women not being able to go strong to the hoop! Sniper gets the oop, and elevates for the two-handed flush!

Wes: And she was left open because Secristan, had to try to stop the isolation plays, they were getting owned. So Bauer goes to put the double team onto Jetstream, and leaves Sniper open, she goes straight to the hoop, and gets the emphatic basket.

Secristan calls the timeout, and the Arrozan fans that trekked to Stoneridge are going nuts in the crowd. This has got to be the loudest crowd we’ve seen in the championships yet, and they’re starting to get a chant going…

CAN WE PLAY YOU EVERY WEEK? CAN WE PLAY YOU EVERY WEEK?

Ha ha ha, the crowd is showing their pleasure at this lopsided game. And at the end of the 30 second timeout, Coach Cannon’s put in an entirely new team, to the applause of the fans. The Hornet fans know that this one is done and dusted, and all that’s left to do is run out the clock. The new line-up is Queen Bee, Helicopter, Tropical, High Z, and Windex for the Arrozans. And the Arrozan fans are winding up the millionaires, chanting over and over again,

TALENT IS BETTER THAN MONEY! TALENT IS BETTER THAN MONEY!

Cavosie, off the bench, up in the referee’s face about the crowd, and he gets his second technical! Cavosie’s out of the game. And wow, the Millionaires have fallen apart in this one!

Silky: They’re just too rich and pampered. They have no idea how to take a loss and handle adversity.

End Live feed from Arroza National Public TV

ARROZANS MOCK US; REFS DO NOTHING

What we witnessed in game one against Arroza was hard enough to deal with on the court, but off the court came the truly despicable actions by the Arrozan fans and even some people from Dancougar. These jealous losers had the audacity to say things like talent is better then money towards our players. Such is something that would only ever be chanted by people who have very little of it, and probably should have spend the money that they do have a little more wisely then going to Dancougar to watch a basketball game. There were many more Arrozan fans in the stands because Dancougar simply allows anyone to buy a ticket for a game at set prices, which are very low, thereby allowing just about anyone to attend.

Assistant Coach Brett Cavosie did his best to get the referee to attend to the crowd to get them to stop chanting such insulting remarks towards our players. But the referee had none of it, then even decided to slap him with two technical fouls and toss him from the game. Head Coach Andrew Cowan said of the ejection, “Brett was just trying to get the lowlifes in the crowd to stop saying such crazy things that could encourage people to think that they can achieve things without being rich. That would not be tolerated here, but the referee didn’t seem to care. I think they did get to our players a little bit.”

It is a best of three series, and Secristan must win to force a third game. We have the confidence that they can get back as they are very fired up, heavily inspired to get back at the crowd. Said Dennis Stafford, “They had their day, but we’ll show them that while talent is nice, you get no where without money.” We shall see what transpires in game two. Secristan fans are going to be in greater numbers too, and they are encourage to flaunt their riches at every opportunity. And to laugh in the face of someone who thinks $7 is too much for a single bottle of beer, and then order one of their own and tip the vendor 20 bucks.

THE ROCKET REPORT

ROCKETS PREVAIL OVER PESKY LOVISA

Port Royal, Dancougar- At the end of the day, it was a win. It didn’t matter if it was by 7 or by 37. The end result was what was needed, and Newmanistan takes a one game to none lead in the series. What happened in that timeframe served as both a reminder and a reality check that just because the Rockets may have looked dominant in the group stage, it doesn’t mean anything anymore. Lovisa showed a ton of heart and character, and they weren’t about to just play along with the script that said Newmanistan was supposed to win. Fortunately for us, our team was also able to show great resolve, and pulled off a 96-89 victory over their resilient opponent.

Early on, the Rockets seemed to be a little tentative to put up their shots, leading to one to many passes at times, and then forced shots as Lovisa’s defense played tough, and seemed to sense that for whatever reason Newmanistan seemed hesitant. Some buckets were picked up here and there, but on the other end, Lovisa was shooting fairly well, and matching the output of Newmanistan, and at one time opening up an 18-13 lead, their biggest of the game. Suddenly, a loud roar erupted at Leonard Sweetwater Arena. The jumbotron displayed, for everyone to read, FINAL: Dancougar 2 Sqornshelous 1. A big win for the host nation, and Phil McDowell noticed it, and used the moment to call a timeout. Why, you ask? Motivation, a message that it didn’t matter how highly ranked or highly touted you are, the team that works harder will be rewarded. And in this game, that team was Lovisa. It seemed to work, as the Rockets showed a lot more composure, and most importantly, more confidence in their game. The threes started coming, with four possessions in a row ending with one, and while Lovisa still played hard at their end, Newmanistan started to assert themselves, and took a slim lead into the break, at 44-42.

McDowell, overall, wasn’t that pleased with the way that the game was going, as the longer that the opponents hung on, the longer that visions of upsets would dance in their heads. And you better believe that there was no way, no how, that Newmanistan wanted to go down one game to none in a best of three series. With the way that Lovisa was playing, it wasn’t going to come easy, and he knew the team would be in a dogfight. Newmanistan, would have to play just as scrappy.

Also needing to improve in the second was the team’s play on the boards. Lovisa held a considerable rebounding advantage after the first. Even though this is something that Newmanistan has traditionally struggled with, they had done a very good job at the end of the group stage, so the potential was there. Tank Nelson was shut down, and would need to improve. At the start of the half, the Rockets shot the ball pretty well from behind the arc, with Kory Klassen leading the way with 25 points, and it was a good thing. Newmanistan pulled ahead in the contest at one point, 72-56, their biggest lead of the game. This time, it was Lovisa’s turn to call the timeout and get a momentum boost from it. They went on a run, and closed to 82-80. Fortunately though, Connor Crawford took over, drilling a key three, stealing an inbound pass, then drilling another three to put the Rockets up by eight. That, was your key moment, and what Newmanistan needed. Lovisa put the Rockets on the line for the rest of the game, but Newmanistan made the shots they needed to, to hold on to an eventual 96-89 victory. The Rockets take a one game to none lead in the series, but with the way that Lovisa played today, they certainly would love to take care of business tomorrow just to do away with this pesky team.

GAME 2 NOTE

The Secristan Department of Sports has announced that tonight’s second game of the series against Arroza will be present on a 30-minute tape delay to its fans. This is in response to the disgusting chants that were heard at the Peterson Events Center and the fear that they could be even worse tonight if Arroza were to win. This way, the SDOS can delete out such messages so that they are not heard by our citizens. Due to this, the SDOS has lowered the rate to tonights game to 38R per half as opposed to 39R, an incredible savings of 1R for the inconvenience of our fans not being able to see the game live. The game remains only viewable on a pay-per-view basis. The same will hold true for those wishing to pick up the radio signal.

Unfortunately the success of our team has inspired some people to try and get around the law. The Secristan Department of Law Enforcement reports that 53 people were arrested throughout the country for their attempt to steal the signal of last night’s game without paying for it. Of those 53, two of them were bar owners who then tried to use the “free” telecast to show to patrons, thus allowing more people to see it for free. Those bar owners will be executed, while the others housed in our fine correctional facilities. Furthermore, we have heard reports of people living around our national borders of either traveling to another country for the sole purpose of watching the game for free, or trying to steal the signal from their nation. We advise such people that even though it will be harder for us to catch you, if we do, you are committing a felony.

The good news is that most of our people who wished to view the game did so properly, by purchasing the telecast. The proceeds taken in for game one were among the highest ever for a single event, reports the SDOS, and they expect a similar amount to be generated tonight for game two. They are especially hoping for a win tonight, to force a third game of revenue generation.

Gameday 16 RP cutoff is now!

Quarterfinals (Best of 3)
Newmanistan 91 v Lovisa 86 (Newmanistan wins series 2-0)
Xaristan 95 v Frontenax 98 (Frontenax wins series 2-0)
Cafundeu 80 v Corivia 72 (Series tied 1-1)
Secristan 115 v Arroza 108 (OT)(Series tied 1-1)

Mini-League of No Consequence
Kura-Pelland 84 v Taeshan 92
kenavt 107 v Gerainia 96

W L PF PA
Kose/Turkomans 1 0 92 78
kenavt 1 0 107 96
Dancougar 1 0 83 80
Taeshan 1 1 170 176
Kura-Pelland 0 1 84 92
Gerainia 0 2 176 190

Newmanistan and Frontenax win an off day! Gameday 17 in 24 hours, and the three of you who played the bracketology game will begin earning your bonus the day after (although, the unfortunate reality is one of you won't get to use it)...

Announcer 1: Jetstream from 12 feet, makes it. Seventeen seconds left, Arroza up 101-95.

Announcer 2: There go the fans. This is sickening.

A1: Quickly the Millionaires inbound, Peters a quick three. GOOD!!!! Wright fouls Queen Bee. Eight seconds, 101-98.

A2: It's a one-on-one situation on the line, all Queen Bee has to do is knock this one down and it's over.

A1: Off the rim, Millionaires rebound. Quick timeout, 6.2 seconds to go.

A2: And now let's go to commercial.

A1: Screw the commercials, this is getting good. For once let's be like a normal country and savor this moment. We've shown the ones we've needed to in this time segment.

A2: But, man, I hope everyone knows this was his idea and not mine.

A1: What's Cowan planning to do here?

A2: What?

A1: You're an analyst, analyze.

A2: Uhmm... (whispering) They really only want me to analyze commercials. (speaking into mic) Probably go for a three.

A1: I figured that, but how.

A2: Well the timeout is over.

A1: Here they come. Wright, quickly to Peters, back to Wright. The three. It's GOOD!! And there's the buzzer.

A2: Oh my...

A1: What a comeback! Millionaires force overtime! See that Arrozans, you need more then talent.

A2: That just took talent.

A1: That's right, we're more then just rich, we're talented, and we just tied your, well I can't say that on TV.

(Fast forward: 10 seconds in overtime remaining)

A1: And the Millionaires are going to win!

A2: I hear a new chant.

A1: What talent? What talent? Queen Bee's got no talent!

A2: Getting on her case for missing that free throw.

A1: We'll be back for Game Three. This is getting exciting.

Gameday 17 RP cutoff!! An epic battle in Stoneridge...

Quarterfinals
Cafundeu 91 v Corivia 81 (Cafundeu wins series 2-1)
Secristan 105 v Arroza 103 (OT)(Secristan wins series 2-1)

Semifinals (Best of 3)
Newmanistan v Frontenax
Cafundeu v Secristan

Mini-League of No Consequence
Dancougar 84 v Kose and the Turkomans 89
kenavt 67 v Kura-Pelland 78

W L PF PA
Kose/Turkomans 2 0 181 162
Dancougar 1 1 167 169
Taeshan 1 1 170 176
Kura-Pelland 1 1 162 159
kenavt 1 1 174 174
Gerainia 0 2 176 190

The semifinals begin tomorrow. Here are your bracketology leaders:
4 - Newmanistan
3 - Arroza, Secristan

So Newmanistan has a permanent +0.5 RP bonus for the next round, and Secristan has a +0.3.

Tar Hornet Especial!
The Battle of Stoneridge Isn’t Over Yet.

Stoneridge, Dancougar – The Tar Hornets and the Millionaires of Secristan may have just got done playing the most intense game in IBC history, but the final score ended up being 115-108, Secristan after overtime at the Pete. The first quarter started off where game one ended yesterday, with the Hornets on fire, charging out to a 29-18 lead at the end of the first quarter. A lot of the lead was attributable to the super guard play of Ignition, Sniper and Queen Bee, who drove to the hoop at every chance and gave the Secristani defense big problems early. The crowd was a big factor early as well, starting up with their talent over money chant, but late in the first the Secristani crowd, enlarged by the knowledge that the tickets in Dancougar were actually cheaper than watching the pay-per-view, responded. The sound of coins and expensive car keys jingling, provided a counter-point to the raucous stomping and chanting of the Arrozans.

But in the second the Millionaires start cutting away the 9 point lead. The biggest problem was the Hornets’ complete lack of defensive morals at times, which allowed Stu Wright to find his groove from beyond the arc, scoring 37 points tonight and being named star of the game. The Hornets looked to slow it down in the second, playing a down-tempo game that’s the exact opposite of their normal high-flying style. When asked, the Coach said, “We’re letting them, and everyone else know that we can play small ball too. We’re multi talented. We don’t just posterize people with dunks, we can play the finesse game as well as anyone in the tournament.” But at the half, the slow game was only mildly successful as the score was Arroza 48, Secristan 44.

If you can’t beat them, foul them seemed to be the motto of the third quarter, as the Secristani’s tried to get the smaller Arrozans to get their points from the line, instead of from easy lay-ins, and open shots. As you might guess, a few of our players weren’t very happy about that, especially Queen Bee, who picked up her first Technical after complaining to the ref about a particularly nasty foul committed by Montgomery only got her a trip to the charity stripe instead of the flagrant foul. It was a flagrant foul, but you’ve got to be smart enough not to stay in the ref’s face that long and argue. Just make them pay for it at the other end. The fouls had their negative effects on the millionaires though, as Montgomery and Peters both fouled out late in the game. In the fourth, the Arrozans looked to be cruising to the victory, up 6 with 6.8 to go. We all know what happened then. Peters with 2 threes in 6 seconds, Queen Bee’s complete lack of ability to hold up in the clutch and make a free throw, and the Secristani’s come back in OT to beat the demoralized Tar Hornets 115-108. I really would give the second half the respect it deserves, but looking at the highlights is making me sick.

Game 3 is tonight at the Pete, and the Tar Hornets look to close out the series with authority.

Tonight’s victory mantra: Money can’t buy you wins.

Gameday 17 RP cutoff!!

5 minutes? Please?

HALP.

Buzzer sounded before it left his hands, would-be double OT focring shot no good. We win! :p

You've got to be [radio edit]ing me. :headbang:

A Segment of the Arroza – Secristan game broadcast for free on Channel 4 (Arroza National Public TV)

3 days of ridiculous basketball. 3 days of some of the best competition that the world's seen. And what do we have to show for it? Not a red baht. The fans of both countries are showing their love, they know the spectacle of what they've just watched, the immensity of the situation. And the fans have taken the Secristani custom of throwing money at the feet of their team after a splendid performance. The sky is filled with Golden colored 5-Real notes, Silver 10-Real notes, Blue 20-Baht bills, and the Yellow and black currency of Dancougar. All falling to the feet of victor and defeated, bith who have played their hearts out. It's maybe the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in modern sports.

Tomorrow, on the way out of town I'm sure our fans will be mocked mercilessly with screams of "Cash rules everything aroung me!" (OOC: For your own sake, I hope you get this reference.). But tonight, just soak up the atmosphere.

THE ROCKET REPORT

LOVISA OUSTED; FRONTENAX NEXT

Port Royal, Dancougar Many people expected the Rockets to advance past Lovisa, and to do so in two games. They did that. It was just supposed to be easier. After outlasting their opponent in the first game of the series, the Rockets found themselves in a battle again in game two of the series. The underdog Lovisans doing everything they possibly could, it was an effort to be admired, and an effort that can pull of an upset. But for that to happen, the favorite has to play along. When Newmanistan needed to dig down deep, they did, showing their own heart and character in securing their 91-86 victory.

To win a championship, you first obviously need talent. If you are from Secristan, you also must have riches, though the true importance of that is up for debate. You also must be battle tested and show resolve. What we saw in the first two games from Lovisa was the kind of play that could have brought down a favorite. The way that Newmanistan responded when they needed to, when they had too, is what is most impressive, and quite frankly, makes this series win even more impressive in the way that it was done then if the Rockets had won by 20-30 points in each game. Leading the way for the Rockets in the second game was Kory Klassen, with 29 points, including 19 in the second half as the Rockets overcame a deficit which was as large as eight points in the final seven minutes. Connor Crawford added 19. Somewhat was concerning was the play, or lack of it, of the Rockets on the boards, being considerably outrebounded by Lovisa in the contest. But that doesn’t really matter, it was a win for the Rockets, and a much needed off day, where the players could enjoy the nightlife of Port Royal. No one had too much fun, we hope.

So what we have now is a team that the Rockets have seen twice, in the Frontenax Grizzlies, beating them both times. Three of the final four teams came from Group A, overall. There is a real sense that Newmanistan should cruise over the Grizzlies the same way they were expected to cruise over Lovisa. The lesson was learned though from the quarterfinal, and we must expect a much better Frontenax side, because they can taste the championship just like we can. Newmanistan will remain in Port Royal at the Leonard Sweetwater Arena, where the first two games of the series are scheduled. However, if a third game is forced, for some reason, they have us moving to Grandborough. Quirky, but both teams would have to do the same traveling, so its alright. On the other side of the Kishin River Delta, we’ll have the other series between the Monopolists and the Millionaires. Ok, so Cafundeu’s not the Monopolists in basketball, but these countries almost seem like long lost relatives in ways.

CBC.COM - ALL ABOUT CAFUNDELENSE BASKETBALL
NEWS OF THE AURI-ROXOS (PURPLE-YELLOW TEAM)

After a bad performance in the first game of the quarterfinals against Corivia, the Auriroxos could show once again the same performance that resulted in an excellent campaign on the first stage. They replied to Corivia with two wins, eliminating the opponents from the competition and going to the semifinals. This is what the supporters were expecting, and now they must be happy that the team was able to meet their expectations. Key player Leandro Lobo and stars Juno and André Torre once again led the team, while Michel, Aninha, Lina and Xororó helped the team a lot.

Now Cafundéu will face Secristan in the semifinals, a team called the Millionaires. Well, nothing could be better. If they're millionaires, this shows that they have good taste, and that they must be nice people. We always welcome people with money. Maybe their fortune isn't at the level at ours (something that we don't know, but that's probable), but any fortune is welcome and can result in good business deals with our businessmen and women. We are already expecting an enjoyable game for both teams - after all, we are all class people and don't get involved in fights or arguments.

So, now the Auriroxos play the Millionaires in the semifinals. Surely the Auriroxos will have the support of many millionaires (and billionaires and two or three that are even more than billionaires) from Cafundéu, which are investing in this team and willing to see if the results that the team got will turn into profits. I'm sure that this will be a great game, and that everyone watching it will be sure that both teams are composed and supported by the most respectable people that exist: the rich ones, the ones that control the economy of the world.

MONEY BEATS TALENT

Against Arroza we saw why so many businesses line up to sponsor basketball events and purchase commercial airtime during the game. There actually can be some great entertainment value involved that can keep people on the edge of their seat, regardless of their demographic market. Last night, our Millionaires defeated the team from Arroza in overtime by the score of 105-103, helped out when a shot by a person known as Jetstream did not release what would have been a double overtime forcing shot in time. His shot was good, but waved off by the official. Andrew Cowan did not have to bribe the referee to have him make the call, he did it on his own. It was an entertaining series, and wish economic success to those from Arroza. Despite some of their chanting, they seemed to be pretty nice people in the long run.

More importantly, the Secristan Department of Sports and our team continue to rack in profits at level that could never have been imagined before since our team has reached a level in this tournament that could not have been expected. The game last night on pay-per-view became the most watched sporting event of all time, allowing the members to donate so much of their earnings to various special interest groups. Even the players are benefitting, all of whom, are earning endorsement deals that are far surpassing the amounts of money that they spent on their bids in order to play for the country. In a sense, this also must give you a sense of national pride. We can compete with the best nations of the world. Only four nations remain, and we are one of them.

With Arroza eliminated, the next opponent for the Millionaires are the Auriroxos of the Monopoly of Cafundeu. It’s a semifinal series that proves to all people that in case there was any doubt, you do need more then talent to get by, you must also have wealth. In fact, we honored to be on the same court with this economic powerhouse of brilliant business ideals and are sure that will be an enjoyable experience with nothing but high class citizens in the stands supporting their teams. Those neutral Dancougarans that may attend, we hope can hold themselves up to this high status. It should be a most excellent series.

Schedule alert! Tonight's and tomorrow's games may be scorinated later than usual! Consider these as potential informal RP deadline extensions, although we should return to your regularly scheduled program after that without any recovery period.

Consider this your gameday 18 RP cutoff!

Semifinals (Best of 3)
Newmanistan 103 v Frontenax 99 (Newmanistan leads series 1-0)
Cafundeu 90 v Secristan 96 (Secristan leads series 1-0)

Mini-League of No Consequence
Dancougar 77 v Taeshan 88
kenavt 83 v Kose and the Turkomans 78

W L PF PA
kenavt 2 1 257 252
Kose/Turkomans 2 1 259 245
Taeshan 2 1 258 253
Kura-Pelland 1 1 162 159
Dancougar 1 2 244 257
Gerainia 0 2 176 190

CBC.COM - ALL ABOUT CAFUNDELENSE BASKETBALL
NEWS OF THE AURI-ROXOS (PURPLE-YELLOW TEAM)

In the first game of the semifinals, the Cafundelenses weren't able to get the victory. It was a very good game, as both teams had a good performance. But, in the end, the Millionaires of Secristan that commemorated, winning with an advantage of six points. The Auriroxos battled for a positive result until the last minute of the game, and are probably very frustrated that it didn't come, but there is still space for a reaction. And, if inside the court it wasn't a good day, outside it was an excellent day.

During the game, important business people could discuss about future deals, which of course involved a lot of money. One example of it was the talk between Sarah Azevedo, president of Naturale Cosmetics, and a Secristan businessman. In it, it was agreed that Naturale will open stores in Secristan. Also, the president of Velog Automobiles, Gérson Cunha Brandão, could sell many units of the Velosenna, the most expensive Velog car, only for true rich people.

Probably many of the supporters from Dancougar that were watching the game were embarassed with the fact that they weren't wearing a suit (or formal clothes in case of women).

THE ROCKET REPORT

ROCKETS FIGHT OUT A CLOSE ONE

Port Royal, Newmanistan- In Dancougar the series is being billed as the “series for the common person.” With Monopolists and Millionaires going at it in the other bracket, fans can relate more to Rockets and Grizzlies. In Port Royal, last night these two teams kicked off their series, but it wasn’t the first time that they had meant. Newmanistan had not just defeated Frontenax in each game, they handled them with relative ease, leading to an abundance of confidence on the Newmanistan locker room. As Frontenax was defeating Xaristan, their scouts undoubtedly took a look at how Lovisa handled our Rockets, and seemed to have a much greater gameplan for the opening game of this series. Fortunately, just like in the Lovisa series, when Newmanistan realized they were in for a fight, they didn’t back down, they put on their gloves, and went toe to toe. The end result saw the Rockets outlasting the Grizzlies 103-99, and taking a one game to none lead in the series.

At the start of the game, the Grizzlies tried to take a page out of the Rockets book, as they attempted threes on their first six possessions, and made four of them, three of which by Aleksander Emilianenko, to give them an early 12-6 advantage. After the onslaught, Frontenax tried to take it more inside and seemed for a little while to be able to do whatever they pleased, passing the ball around, and finding a shooter in a great position. Emilianenko had a great opening 10 minutes all over the floor, but also effective where the guys down low, in particular Adam West, who scored a quick 10 points in the first part of the opening half. While the Rockets were not shooting lights out, they were doing just enough to keep the Grizzlies from opening up too big of a lead. With six minutes to play in the first, Frontenax managed their biggest lead of the half, 36-26, and kept within that range for the rest of the half. West was beginning to take control of the game, and it was clear that Newmanistan had to find an answer for him, or they could find themselves on the wrong end of this one. At halftime, the Grizzlies led, 51-42.

During halftime, McDowell was obviously concerned with his team’s performance, and stopping Adam West. They had been able to do it before, and this was the same person after all, so he didn’t feel a big systematic change was needed, and it was more going to be about execution. Reese Fraser would need to get much more physical, and Tank Nelson would have to do more to gain control of the inside. Eventually, too, the Rockets would have to get hot behind the arc. Klassen and Crawford had not been hitting the shots with any consistency, mainly due to the defensive pressure of the Grizzlies. More ball movement would be needed to generate more chances, and Garrett York would have to get more involved in the outside game in order to begin to free up more room for Klassen and Crawford. Now, they just had to make it happen.

The Grizzlies were a confident group as the second half began, and scored on their first five possessions, to eventually balloon their lead to 61-46, the biggest advantage of the contest. Then a light just seemed to go off. A steal by Klassen leading to a powerful dunk by Reese Fraser seemed to wake Reese up, and even though it was just two points for the Rockets, he began to dominate Adam West, and ultimately frustrate him. West picked up fouls three and four within minutes, and with him off the floor for a while, the Grizzlies struggled on offense, and struggled to control the boards on defense. Kory Klassen and Connor Crawford began to heat up from downtown, and before you knew it, the Rockets were off and running, showing that you may be able to get the Rockets down, but keeping them down is a whole other story. Newmanistan went on a 17-4 run with West off the floor, and when Adam returned, it didn’t matter. The Rockets were still running, ultimately having it be a 29-8 run. Soon that 61-46 disadvantage was a 75-69 lead in favor of the Rockets, and they would never trail again. Klassen and Crawford both had four three pointers apiece in that stretch. The Grizzlies would eventually stabilize the contest, but with the Rockets fans going crazy in the stands, Frontenax never closed to more then within three. When the Rockets needed the buckets, they got them, keeping their lead between three and eight for the rest of the game. Then when they needed free throws, they got them too. The Grizzlies tried to send them to the line to close the game, but Newmanistan going 10-for-10 in the closing stretch from the charity stripe meant that there would be no comeback here for the Grizzlies. Your final score, 103-99. A win that truly showed the character of the Rockets as they take the opening game of the series and hope to take on one of those rich countries. No offense to Cafundeu, but many Newmanistanians can’t help but be excited about the potential for the “Penthoria River War” of a final that could happen between us and Secristan.

MORE ACTION TONIGHT

In one of the greatest sporting environments ever seen, Secristan defeated Cafundeu by the score of 96-90 to lay claim to the opening game of the series. But this game was a lot more then just what took place on the court, as some of the most meaningful deals took place in the stands. In a truly high class crowd, fans of both nations saw this as a networking event, and business cards were exchanged with greater frequency then passes on the court. It has already been announced that a couple of highly profitable businesses from Cafundeu will expand into Secristan, with the reverse also likely to be true. It’s just so great to see something so important and so meaningful like this come from this basketball series.

Members of the Secristan Department of Sports have been overheard that they will use some of their profits from last night’s pay-per-view receipts to purchase a Velosenna, one of the world’s most expensive cars, for themselves. Make no mistake that this vehicle would make a terrific addition to the cars already in their garage. With game two forthcoming, one can only imagine what will take place in the stands in a second day of networking, and during the telecast of the game, our television crews will attempt to interview some of our businessman to get a sense of what is going on during the event. When it comes to the game, the Millionaires could advance to the final with a win where they would play either Newmanistan or Frontenax. Do you really think Frontenax is going to win the last two games? Perhaps, if they spelled their name a little better, to say, Fronten-tax they would be having greater luck. We don’t either, so it’s pretty safe to assume that Newmanistan will await either of one our great nations that will be playing tonight.

Gameday 19 cutoff may be late, but CANNOT BE DENIED!!!

Semifinals (Best of 3)
Newmanistan 113 v Frontenax 77 (Newmanistan wins series 2-0)
Cafundeu 80 v Secristan 105 (Secristan wins series 2-0)

FINAL
Newmanistan v Secristan

Mini-League of No Consequence
Gerainia 69 v Kose and the Turkomans 87
Dancougar 80 v kenavt 76

W L PF PA
Kose/Turkomans 3 1 346 314
Taeshan 2 1 258 253
Dancougar 2 2 324 333
kenavt 2 2 333 332
Kura-Pelland 1 1 162 159
Gerainia 0 3 245 277

And both semifinals are closed early. They'll get the day off while the mini-league continues to try and win some attention in the capital, because starting on Sunday, the big boys come to Yuki City for the best-of-five championship final!

While we're at it, here's the latest Bracketology standings:
Secristan (6)
Newmanistan (5.5)
Arroza (4.5)

So the finalists are actually going to exchange their RP bonuses! Secristan will now enjoy the +0.5, but surely Newmanistan can do something with their +0.3... let the rivalry commence!

THE ROCKET REPORT

ROCKETS WIN AND SET UP “PENTHORIA RIVER WAR”

Port Royal, Dancougar- After three close games in the playoffs, the Rockets were due to breakout. It was just a matter of when. That when became a tremendous fireworks display of shooting as Newmanistan jumped out early and never looked back. Coach McDowell had emphasized winning here, as the team didn’t want to have to trek to Grandborough for a third game. They responded, and took it to the Grizzlies all night long, defeating them by the score of 113-77. With the win, and Secristan’s win over Cafundeu, the “Penthoria River War” is set to begin. Newmanistan and Secristan are not just regional rivals, for those unfamiliar with One Big Island geography, they are neighboring nations which share a large border as Secristan is to Newmanistan’s east. The Penthoria River is what separates the two nations.

The Rockets made it a case from the opening tip that they would need to contain Adam West, and they made it very difficult for him early on, double teaming him with Reese Fraser and Tank Nelson. A few times, West was able to get the ball to Petrov, and the Grizzlies captain did everything he could to keep his team from falling behind, but the defensive pressure was way too tight. Then at the Rockets end of the court, the threes were falling. Kory Klassen, in particular found his stroke, hitting the first six threes that he attempted. Newmanistan scored 17 of the game’s first 21 points, and midway through the first half, the Rockets were already dominating the game, jumping out to a 39-15 lead. Many of the Dancougarans in attendance, hoping to see a good game to lift their spirits following that Vephrall disaster, had to settle for watching a very one sided affair, and perhaps joining in to the chants yelled by Newmanistanians towards the Grizzlies, and towards who their next opponent would be. At that time it didn’t matter if it would be Secristan or Cafundeu, and anti-riches chant worked well for both. The rest of the first half just continued on with this theme, and the only question really was whether or not the Rockets would hit 70 by halftime. They did not, and had to settle for 66. But a 66-28 lead was more then enough.

In other games when the Rockets had jumped out to an early lead, we saw coach McDowell give his starters considerable rests on the bench, but not tonight, which was a little odd. Outside of the occasional spells here and there, the starters played the entire first half. McDowell later said that this was because he wanted to “Put this game beyond all doubt and ride the momentum from the early start.” At the break, Klassen had already had 25 points to his name, while Connor Crawford had 19.

As the second half began there was no let up, as the Rockets continued to dominate the game, leaving the starters in, and having them continue to play well. After a little while, we saw them even be able to penetrate the inside very easily against a very deflated group of Grizzlies. With Newmanistan up now by 50, 90-40. McDowell called a timeout, with the intent of putting the reserves in. But it appeared as though Kory Klassen and Reese Fraser wanted to do something. Would it be? The Super behind the back, 360 alley-oop that they had messed around with in practice but were absolutely prohibited from doing during the game? You got it! McDowell looked at his young scorers, but seemed to feel guilty about doing something that would surely show up the Grizzlies, and not really be about the class that Newmanistan had exhibited. But why not? After all, they had listened about never trying such a play in a game even when opportunities presented themselves. The players were ready, and here it comes, the alley, and the.... OOP!!! Executed perfectly! After this blatant kick while the opponent was down, McDowell entered in all his reserves and seemed to try to apologize to the Frontenax bench. From there, the teams simply played out the remaining minutes to Newmanistan’s eventual 36 point victory, 113-77.

So now we get a day off and prepare for a 5-game series with the neighbors in someone else’s yard. Making a final has not been the hard part for Newmanistan, necessarily. First there was the Di Bradini Cup, then the Oxen Cup, and then the World Baseball Classic. All tournaments in which the Rockets made it all the way to the final. And then lost. Those losses, to Daehanjeiguk, Milchama, and Zwangzug, respectively, all could be handled. They were to nations of outsiders, in which Newmanistan has had little history with. A growing history, but still, when compared to history with Secristan, it’s small on the scale. A loss in this final would be much tougher to handle. There is no way that THEY are going to continue our streak. We know that the world has begun to know us, and Secristan has very little recognition at this level. But we’ve played them at the smaller level for decades (OOC: real life years). We can tell you what Secristan was called before it became Secristan. But we won’t. This series is going to be no big deal for nations that come from one big island. It’s the “Penthoria River War”, and it’s going to be good.

The Dancougaran media are more then welcome to use that moniker for this series.

STUNNING VICTORY

The Millionaires just keep on rolling, refusing to be denied, and now a championship could be in the works. With a resounding victory over Cafundeu in the second game of this series by 25 points, 105-80, Secristan is going to play for the world championship of basketball. The only foe left is one familiar, our neighbors to the west. To get there, our team did a great job on the court as they opened up a quick fifteen point lead in the game’s first seven minutes, and never trailed in the contest. Also doing a great job were the business men and women in the stands, locking up contracts with the brilliant minds of Cafundeu, but also some other nations. A clothing deal was reached with a Dancougaran businessman in which they will produce our “World Champion” line of T-shirts and assorted apparel and a cheap cost to us, but not necessarily to the consumer. Leading up to a hopeful line of world champion merchandise will come other apparel with slogans, such as “We’ll gladly play you every week,” “Overtime Warriors cash in!”, and “Yes, money does buy happiness and wins.”

A final series, to be dubbed the “Penthoria River War” is concerning to the Secristan Department of Sports due to the fear of fans crossing the Penthoria River into Newmanistan to watch the games there for free. They can only step up patrols so much along the border, and even though if you are caught, you are committing a felony, not many people fear the offense. It’s admittedly tough to be caught in the act, and tougher to prove that you were going to Newmanistan just for that purpose. Reluctantly, the SDOS has dropped the price of the pay-per-view down from 39R per half, to 39R for the entire game. Even though it’s a reduced price, the fact that it’s a final, lead them to believe it is for the best.

Can Secristan really do it? Can they win the whole damn thing? We know our opponent has this trend about them, of getting to the finals, and then choking. They called it Buffalo Billitis. Well that term arose from four consecutive championship defeats. On our count, they have lost three in a row. Time for number four.

CBC.COM - ALL ABOUT CAFUNDELENSE BASKETBALL
NEWS OF THE AURI-ROXOS (PURPLE-YELLOW TEAM)

What an enjoyable event. This was surely a great day for our economy. The meeting between leaders of important companies, where good business deals could be made. In the previous event, the objectives were to know a bit more of the Secristan companies, and make some minor contracts. But now, it was time for bigger contracts, which will only give benefits to both countries. An example is the deal made by the Governor of the Titã State, Birita Lopes, who signed a contract with an important Secristan mining company, which now can work on the Santo Galvão mines. "We have all the necessary equipment, and we are efficient. So these mines are in good hands" - said the Secristan businessman.

Other deals included the increase in the imports of Secristan products by Cafundéu, especially those products that are destined only to the elite. Cafundelense products also will enter in Secristan with full strength, especially the Velog cars, which really impressed the Millionaires. Tamiris Berrini, president of Berrini Bookstores, said: "We'll open some stores in Secristan. I'm sure they enjoy a good read." Ulman Gerhand, president of the Secristan company Full S/A, said: "Our frozen food will make success in Cafundéu, I'm sure of that." So, as you can see, this was a great day for all the Cafundelense industry.

Oh... was this a basketball game? Well, I'm sorry we didn't give to it the attention needed. As a businessman said: "What? Where are the Auriroxos playing?" When he heard the answer ("behind you"), he said: "Oh, now I see. I don't have time to watch the game now, I need to sign a contract." But maybe it was better for them to not notice the game, as the Auriroxos lost. When hearing these news, the socialite Isadora Diniz said: "How sad. When did they play? Anyway, this is a sad note, but, if you excuse me, I need to talk with that man about buying a house in Secristan."

Gameday 20 RP cutoff!

FINAL (Best of 5)
Media Day
Newmanistan v Secristan

Mini-League of No Consequence
Kura-Pelland 85 v Kose and the Turkomans 95
Gerainia 72 v Taeshan 79

W L PF PA
Kose/Turkomans 4 1 441 399
Taeshan 3 1 337 325
Dancougar 2 2 324 333
kenavt 2 2 333 332
Kura-Pelland 1 2 247 254
Gerainia 0 4 317 356

Although a quirky schedule by the organizers has Kose playing all five of their games before anybody else, it's fitting that they finished their 4-1 run before Newmanistan and Secristan begin their "Penthoria River War" - Kose is guaranteed to finish best of the rest, since they have the head to head tiebreaker over Taeshan. Now, all attention can really be focused on Yuki City, as the main event is finally here!

THE ROCKET REPORT

NOW LET’S WIN THIS FINAL

Yuki City, Dancougar- We’re in the national capital of Dancougar, Yuki City, as the Penthoria River War gets set to begin. A best of five series between neighboring nations being played a long way from their backyard. Both want to make an impression and be crowned as the IBC champion. Recently, Newmanistan has had the kind of success to give you very mixed feelings in other sports, going to three finals, and losing all three. It’s not easy to get to the championship at any level, so to have that track record is something to be proud of. But it would have been nice to have gotten a championship out of it. Now, it’s the fourth final, and Newmanistan goes up against Secristan. When Daehanjeiguk, Milchama, and Zwangzug beat us in the other finals, it wasn’t bad. Those countries are a long way away, they would go celebrate and leave us alone. Will Secristan do that? I highly doubt that. They will rub it in our face for a long time. I, Jason Richards, got the chance to sit down with coach McDowell for an exlusive one on one chat on the eve of the final from Yuki City.

JR: I’m here with the coach, Phil McDowell, as Newmanistan gets set to take on Secristan in the International Basketball Championship Final. Good evening.

PM: Good evening, we have to work on that redundancy, the International Basketball Championships championship, though.

JR: I agree, calling it the IBC Final seems to be the best way to phrase it, or simply, the Penthoria River War.

PM: If we win it, it will sound great no matter what its called.

JR: You guys have done a good job sticking with your system all tournament.

PM: We have to, it’s what we do best. When teams starting changing what they to just because they fear an opponent, then you have already lost. We win games the way that we do, but we have also shown, in my opinion, that outside shooting teams aren’t completely one dimensional.

JR: Yeah, you’ve been able to do more then just shoot threes.

PM: The key is, we’ve rebounded real well, both on the offensive and defensive glass, and have done a fantastic job from the free throw line. While they seem like little things, that’s what wins basketball games. Our ball movement has been outstanding. They might know a three is coming, but they have no idea where it will come from.

JR: Defensively, you guys have been pretty good too. Thoughts?

PM: We’re not a physically imposing defensive team, but we have great awareness, and a lot of times that wins a lot of the one on one battles. We’ve done well on defense, just by playing smart and not getting out of position.

JR: In World Bowl I, Dancougar came to Newmanistan and beat a “new” team to the World scene in Arroza for that championship. Now, essentially, Newmanistan is trying to return the favor. Thoughts?

PM: There are similarities like that you just mention, but this is a completely different tournament right here. But it’s a difference in that Secristan is not new to us. They are new to most everyone else, but not to us. We know them, and how they operate.

JR: You’ve beaten them twice already in this tournament. What’s it going to take to get three more?

PM: We just need to continue to play our game. The Millionaires, as much as they like to flaunt their riches in your face, are actually a very gritty group that plays very hard. Look at how many games they’ve won in overtime.

JR: So there’s a little more to them then just the wealth?

PM: Definitely, money may be what inspires them, but whatever it is, it works. They get results on the court. It’s a good team.

JR: Will having the bye day off help?

PM: It well help just in terms that it lets you catch your breath. We took care of business very quickly against Frontenax, so we’re feeling in top shape. That’s the only benefit to it. Secristan had the day off too, to regroup, and count their money.

JR: What did you guys do on the day off?

PM: We had a morning practice then the guys had the rest of the day of to themselves to soak in Yuki City, and do as they wanted. We will have another morning practice tomorrow.

JR: No hangovers, though, right?

PM: I would hope not. We know what we are here for.

JR: Alright Phil, I’ll let you be going, thanks for your time and good luck.

PM: Thanks Jason.

MONEY GETS THE GIRLS TOO

For a moment we thought let’s do one of those interview things that Newmanistan does with their coaches with Andrew Cowan. We tried to approach him about it, but he refused our bid for his services, and we thought that his demand was a little too ridiculous, so we forgot about that idea. So we tried to look for options, to do things that a normal country might do in this situation, because our Millionaires have gotten Secristan to a level in which it has never reached, but a lot of it just seemed so out of character. Instead on our off day, we took a look to see what our players were doing in Yuki City, a nation that allows people to have fun for free, or for limited expenses.

Stuart Wright seemed to be enjoying himself the most. At a club in Yuki City, he was using his wealth to attract young Dancougaran women and would promise them 100 Rusents for each time they flashed him. The women were lining up, and he paid out the money. Little did the women know that 100 Rusents simply equals 1 Rusa. And you can’t buy much for a single Rusa. Which if you go by dollars, its like someone telling a foreigner that doesn’t know better that they can have 100 pennies. He was seen leaving the club with a couple women on his way back to the resort hotel. Nolan Bauer landed himself a very attractive Dancougaran female by giving her a fake gold chain. Well, he told her it was real. To him, it was a piece of junk he was trying to get rid of, and here he could and get a little bonus from it. Andrei Peters got three women to ride in his convertible he was renting (though told them it was his, getting them to believe he drove to Dancougar from Secristan since the clueless bimbos had no idea where Secristan even was) and they sped off into the distance. The vehicle ended up being in an isolated area in a parking lot for quite some time looking as though it needed work with the shocks. See money doesn’t just buy you wins and maybe a championship. It can buy you women just as well. Our players were all toying with them all night.

The Secristan Department of Sports had a couple officials in Yuki City themselves flaunting their riches and seemed to also have a fun night. But on a more serious note, the SDOS has heard a report that Yuki City is struggling to get a return on its investment. They have therefore offered those in charge a very large sum of money if they allow the SDOS to have their choice of luxury suites, parking spaces, referees for the series, and a notification that Newmanistan cannot televise the games back to their country without it also being on a pay-per-view basis (with a 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 split of the Newmanistan profits to be split between the SDOS, the government of Yuki City, and Newmanistan). This is to prevent people from our country from crossing the Penthoria River and trying to view the game in Newmanistan for free.

This is the gameday 21 RP cutoff!!

FINAL - Game 1
Newmanistan 119 v Secristan 79

Mini-League of No Consequence
kenavt 72 v Taeshan 79

W L PF PA
Kose/Turkomans 4 1 441 399
Taeshan 4 1 416 397
Dancougar 2 2 324 333
kenavt 2 3 405 411
Kura-Pelland 1 2 247 254
Gerainia 0 4 317 356

Dancougar News in Brief

Yuki City - City officials are advising women to "check their world factbook" in response to reports of lewd behavior during the run-up to tonight's game one of the IBC finals. Although it's not the first instance of wild parties alongside sporting events in Dancougar, the sudden influx of Secristan money and high-life into the city is creating a culture shock that the government admits it was unprepared to face.

"We're simply not used to having wads of cash lying around," said magistrate Patrick Dermetti, who issued several dozen citations for disturbing the peace and indecent exposure. "And what seems like nothing to a millionaire from overseas could be seen as something of more worth here. That's why we need to make sure everyone's on the same page over the next week or so." Corporations in Dancougar are tightly constrained by government regulations to limit excessive profiteering, which has a marked effect on salaries and standards of living.

In a related story, city officials have also turned down an offer by Secristan to shoulder much of the existing debt for building and renovating arenas for the tournament. The proposed deal would have involved the exchange of tournament favors, such as luxury boxes and choice of referees before the games. Another contentious issue would have seen television coverage in Newmanistan dropped in favor of the Secristan bid-per-view model, which was harshly rebuffed by tournament organizers. "The networks have already paid their rights fees, and we will honor all existing contracts. The issue of citizens leaving Secristan to access the games is limited to that nation and we refuse to be involved."

THE ROCKET REPORT

STATEMENT MADE IN OPENER

Yuki City, Dancougar- The Penthoria River War began tonight in Yuki City, and it was a completely one-sided affair. We don’t know what happened to the Millionaires, nor do we particularly care, but they were a side that looked as though they did a little too much partying on their bye day. They came out flat and slow, and against a team that moves the ball around the perimeter as well as the Rockets do, that’s a recipe for disaster. Newmanistan destroyed their neighbors in every way imaginable, by the score of 119-79. We’d love to taunt them, but Secristan has been a resilient group, so this series isn’t won yet. But the Rockets certainly made a loud and emphatic statement tonight.

Before we get to the coverage of tonight’s game, we would like to confirm the rumors that Secristan attempted to buy many favors for this series, including choosing their own referees and making the Pocono City Sports Network only be able to broadcast the game on a pay-per-view basis. How they could have gotten us to do is beyond us considering PCSN long since purchased the rights for the broadcasting of the games from Dancougar to Newmanistan. We’re not surprised by this, though, it’s just Secristan being Secristan. Many hotels in eastern Newmanistan have reported a large amount of reservations being made from those in Secristan and are offering a promotion of “stay the week, earn additional free nights”, as well as perks in regards to attending Cup of Harmony games that will be played in the Empire, even though Secristan continues to wuss out of signing up for World Cup ventures. That’s a good thing though, their world football team sucks. Well anyway, on to the game.

While the game was played in Dancougar, it was almost as if it was played in Newmanistan. A large contigent of Rockets fans scooped up tickets for the finals, and most of the Dancougarans felt as though they could relate more to a nation like Newmanistan then the bunch of arrogant snobs next door, so the neutral fans were mostly backing the light blue and white, and right away the Rockets made them get up and cheer. Like normal, we came out gunning. The only thing that changes from the starts of our games are whether or not the threes are falling or not, and early on, we were knocking them down. Coach McDowell mixed it up a little bit and got Garrett York a little more involved in shooting from behind the arc, and in the early portions of the game, York, Klassen, and Crawford went a combined 10-for-14 from downtown, and on the missed shots, Tank Nelson and Reese Fraser were completely dominating the Millionaires on the boards, enabling the Rockets to score on 15 of their first 17 trips down on their end. Meanwhile, the Millionaires were sluggish. Stuart Wright seemed late with his release and missed his first seven shots, though fortunately for them, Andrei Peters and Stafford started pretty well. Maybe it was jitters, maybe they were out enjoying the nightlife a little too much, whatever it was, the scoreboard read a very convincing 40-13 early in the contest. It wasn’t supposed to be this easy, even though we did beat them both times in group play, surely the Millionaires were better then this. With the reserves in, Secristan closed the gap minimally prior to halftime, and when the buzzer sounded to signal intermission, the Rockets still had a comfortable 58-36 lead.

At halftime, there really wasn’t much to say. The game seemed to be in the bag. Everything was going well, the team brought their “A” game and didn’t appear to be on the verge of getting complacent. They knew what was at stake. McDowell’s only concern was that his team wouldn’t cough up the lead. But that’s just a natural coaching instinct. Deep down, he knew this game was his, and the team just needed to play out the remaining minutes.

To quickly put to bed any thoughts of a second half Millionaire comeback, the Rockets remained aggressive from behind the arc, and it continued to work. Connor Crawford had the biggest night, in total, leading the way with 40 points. Crawford went 4-for-6 from three point land as the Rockets opened up their lead during the second half. With the score at 76-40 and the game in firm control, McDowell put in the reserves and they finished up the game. They actually did pretty well as a unit, though they were outscored by four points by the rich kids. At the end of the game, the scoreboard read 119-79, an absolutely huge win, but the Rockets know that they won’t all be this easy, and they will be prepared for the Millionaires to try and save face in the second game. Despite us liking to pick on them, they have done a good job being resilient all tournament, and if any team can rebound from the beatdown that we put on them, it is that group of Millionaires. We’ll see what game two has in store, but right now you have to be feeling good about things. Two more, and the championship is ours.

ITS JUST ONE GAME

The law of averages says everything will balance out. While that will never be true of the gap between rich and poor in Secristan, it is the best way to look at what happened in game one of the series. Newmanistan laid 119 on our boys last night while they could only muster 79. It is not something to be proud of, but no one is throwing in the towel just yet. A team like Newmanistan, which must be effective from downtown in order to win basketball games can be streaky and have games like what we saw last night. Then the next day, things even out, and they can’t shoot. Secristan was handily beaten by Arroza in the first game of that series too, and they came back to win the last two games of that series. A result like this can make you stronger, and make the team that won the game very overconfident. Tonight look for the Millionaires to bounce back and let the Rockets know that what happened in the first game was a fluke.

Even more sickening then the final score was the reported encouragement of Newmanistan businesses to welcome those from our country who crossed the river to watch the games for free, but the SDOS has decided to back down on its aggressive approach. If the idiots are stupid enough to leave the country, spend on the money on gas needed to do so, and then pay for a hotel room just to avoid 40R to watch a basketball game then let them stay in Newmanistan because they are too stupid to reside in our nation. Sadly, we must report that Dancougar turned down our offer to help reduce and eliminate their debt that arose from their hosting of the tournament. That’s their call, but it’s pretty obvious that this nation, while a nice place to visit, needs some wiser businessmen and women.

Gameday 22 RP cutoff!!

FINAL (Best of 5)
Newmanistan 81 v Secristan 97 (Series tied 1-1)

Mini-League of No Consequence
Gerainia 90 v Kura-Pelland 69

W L PF PA
Kose/Turkomans 4 1 441 399
Taeshan 4 1 416 397
Dancougar 2 2 324 333
kenavt 2 3 405 411
Kura-Pelland 1 3 316 344
Gerainia 1 4 407 425

THE ROCKET REPORT

NOT TODAY

Yuki City, Dancougar- It’s not often where we will agree with the Secristan press, but you have to admit that things probably were due to balance out, as they say. Game two was an example of that, as the Millionaires, in their fourth try (including the group stage games) finally defeated the Rockets by the score of 97-81. It was an outstanding all around performance by the Millionaires as they saw to remind us that the Rockets are in for a series. Save all the “Money beats talent” garbage though, Secristan evened up the Penthoria River War not because of their money, but because of the talents of their players, as well as a resiliency to bounce back from their game one defeat.

Right away, it was obvious that Secristan’s Andrew Cowan put a lashing into his players after game one to be much more responsible defensively. The Rockets tried to open up the game quickly again, but the composure of the Millionaires on the perimeter saw them able to read a lot of the passes, and in most cases, they had a hand in the face of the Rockets shooters every time they took a three. Seeing the inside open up a little more, the Rockets did try to get more points in the paint, but Bauer and Stafford were terrific in the middle as well. They also dominated the boards and Newmanistan just had a very difficult time putting points on the board early. Their saving grace was that the Millionaires were only average in terms of shooting, themselves, and after eight minutes or so, what could have been a bigger deficit only stood at 26-16 in favor of the Millionaires. Garrett York then nailed down some clutch shots and it was beginning to look as though the Rockets were going to climb back again, but coach Cowan saw it, called timeout and re-focused his troops. Afterwards, Secristan controlled the game again, making things very difficult for Kory Klassen and Connor Crawford, and they would work out an eventual 46-31 lead at halftime. Was this the same team that Newmanistan so easily handled in the first game, because it certainly didn’t seem like it. The men and women in suits proudly cheered as the normal people in the stands hoped for a Newmanistan comeback.

At halftime, you could see the frustration of the team. They expected Secristan to be better in game two, but their defense was absolutely smothering our shooters, which they came no where close to doing in the series opener. It should not have been a surprise, though. Secristan was the top defensive team in the tournament during the group stages, we knew they had this capability, and at last, they were showing it. Although we would have preferred they didn’t. McDowell though, knew his team couldn’t deviate too far from their norm. They could try to change things up, sure, if the game was closer. But they were down by 15. A situation where teams that aren’t three-point shooting teams become that. It would be the only way the Rockets could make the comeback.

Newmanistan showed the desire to make a comeback as they aggressively took the shots from behind the arc, and were successful for a little while. Klassen went on a streak where he hit four consecutive, and in total, the Rockets hit a three pointer on seven of their first eight possessions of the second half. But it wouldn’t put too much of a dent in the scoreboard as Secristan’s Andrei Peters seemed to be enjoying the fast tempo, and hit five threes of his own in this same stretch. The Rockets seemed better, but they were still down, 63-52, and that was very frustrating. The team began to make mistakes and get sloppy, both in shot selection and with their passing. Two traveling (they still call that?) calls on Crawford in a 90 second stretch symbolized that sloppiness. Secristan took advantage and opened up their biggest lead of the game, 87-62. From there the Millionaires gave their reserves some playing time as surely their bids called for them to see some action once in a while. All Newmanistan could do is close the margin down to about where it stood at the beginning of the half, ultimately losing by sixteen, 97-81.

Maybe this isn’t a bad thing. Well, it is, but it a positive light can be put on it. After game one, the way that the Rockets handled the Millionaires, there would have been plenty of reasons for them to be complacent and overconfident and to think that all they had to do is go through the motions to beat their rich neighbors. Tonight they were given a reminder that this is a series, and that even though they don’t admit under that “we’re rich and your not, you lowlife” facade, the Millionaires are a team that plays with character and heart. Deep down we know they want glory for their nation. Their motivation for such may be different then ours, but it’s a quality team, and the Penthoria River War will remain just that. A war.

Aaaaand this is your gameday 23 RP cutoff!

FINAL (Best of 5)
Newmanistan 93 v Secristan 97 (Secristan leads series 2-1)

Mini-League of No Consequence
Dancougar 71 v Kura-Pelland 94

W L PF PA
Kose/Turkomans 4 1 441 399
Taeshan 4 1 416 397
Kura-Pelland 2 3 410 415
Dancougar 2 3 392 427
kenavt 2 3 405 411
Gerainia 1 4 407 425

Congratulations to Kose and the Turkomans, who, even before all the games were played, took their place at the top of the rest of the hill. The basketball Black Wings were booed off the court in Port Royal after dropping below the halfway line in the Mini-League of No Consequence... at least the rest of the teams in the tournament have been worth watching! Secristan have bounced back from an opening-game blowout to win two close games to take the series lead. Newmanistan will need to answer their challenge to force a decisive Game 5...

ALL HAIL THE POWER OF WEALTH

After the first game of the series, many people probably thought that Secristan was done. That eventually their run would end. Especially against a team like Newmanistan, who is experienced when it comes to world play. Faced with an enormous amount of potential wealth that could be generated from winning this championship, the Millionaires buckled down, and cruised to a victory in the second game of the series, winning it 97-81. Secristan was never tested, and Andrew Cowan even had the opportunity to give some of the backups some playing time. That playing time turned out to be beneficial as Sub Palace, a leading fast food joint in the country signed the “super subs” to a big endorsement deal after the contest to market their line of subs. Now truly, everyone is benefitting greatly from their bids, not just the starting five and the coaches. Then today, in the third game, the poor Rockets got shot down again, as Secristan defeated the neighbors by four, 97-93, putting the Millionaires on the cusp of realizing glory as winners of the Penthoria River War, and International Basketball Championships Champion. Redundant or not, it sure sounds good, no matter how much your individual net worth is. The icing on the cake would be that it would be over them, and we know how much they like losing in the finals. Do we hear another Newmanistan choke job?

The Secristan Department of Sports is excited about being on the verge of a championship, but they know that they still have to win one more game. In a stunning announcement, the SDOS gave the ultimate promise back to the players. We never would have expected to win this championship. Having a great run, yes, we hoped for that, but now a championship is a reality. The Millionaires need to win one of their next two games, and the title will be theirs, and it will be one less title for the neighbors, which will make it twice as sweet. Because of this, the SDOS is offering a most unprecedented move ever. Should the Millionaires win the title, they will receive their bids to represent the team at the beginning of the competition back, in full. The glory and the revenue a championship would bring would make it all worth it. Not to mention, the SDOS has received a far greater profit level then they ever could have imagined through pay-per-view proceeds.

All it takes is one more win in the next two games. With the motivation of getting their initial bids back if they win the title, a great effort is a foregone conclusion. Hopefully, that win will come. We hear the Rockets sputtering, and choking again.

THE ROCKET REPORT

PUSHED TO THE BRINK OF ELIMINATION

Yuki City, Dancougar- Not again. That is thought running in the minds of Newmanistanians that are both attending the games in Yuki City, watching from home with friends and family, or watching at home or at a bar with Secristan tourists. Secristan was victorious in the third game of the series, winning it 97-93, and now what seemed like a nice smooth ride has hit a major obstacle. It’s like a recurring bad dream. Not another final loss. Did we really beat Kose and The Turkomans in the Baptism of Fire final, or was that just a hallucination, and we actually lost that too? It’s not over though. We can salvage this. We’re better then those rich punks. Win two games in a row? It can be done.

The fans saw a great game, it was full of action on both ends of the floor. Yeah, yeah, just great. We enjoyed the 40 point blowout more. Both teams had their best stride early in the game, with the Rockets nailing shots from the outside, as well as taking advantage of some inside shot opportunities. Kory Klassen led the charge, not just with hitting his first five shots, but all in his vision of seeing who had the open shot, and getting them the rock. But on the other end, Andrei Peters was doing the same thing, and lead changes bounced back and forth more then the ball itself, it seemed. This was the first game of the Penthoria River War that was indeed a battle. You could see it on the looks on the faces of the players as the intensity picked up. That led to fouls and a shoving match between Reese Fraser and Nolan Bauer that saw each man pick up a technical. No team could get an edge on the other in the first half, whenever a bucket was made by one of the teams that you thought would give them some momentum, the other team came right back with an answer. This wasn’t about money. It was about talent, and outstanding basketball that got everyone in the arena to their feet, regardless of their match attire. At halftime, the score was as it should be given the action on the court. All tied up, 48 apiece.

The halftime message was basic yet important. Keep fighting and keep it simple. They were playing well enough to win, and they needed to, at least maintain that. Coach McDowell tried to formulate a plan to contain Andrei Peters a little better, as he seemed to be the driving force behind their offense, much the way Kory Klassen was doing it for the Rockets. They’ve contained Peters before, in the first game of this series, and in the two group stage games between the teams. The scouts looked at the game tape from those contests, but finding a solution seemed to be something that would require more time. The Rockets didn’t want to beat themselves, so hopefully they could prevail in this true dogfight.

The second half began with the fans in the stands intently watching to see who would get the upper hand as play resumed. But it would simply be a continuation of the first half, with each team playing well. At one point, Secristan pulled out to a seven point advantage, which was the biggest lead that either team would enjoy during the game, but a 9-0 run by the Rockets quickly erased that and put the game back in their favor. More minutes ticked away, and the fans knew that this would come down, possibly, to the team that had the ball last. Or maybe it would go to overtime, something that the Millionaires have been very familiar with during the entire International Basketball Championships, and they were extremely successful when needing to work overtime. The final two minutes seemed to take an hour with all the timeouts, and endless commercial breaks. Apparently Secristan convinced those in charge to add an extra minute per commerical segment because it really seem like they took forever. But here we were. 35 seconds left. Tied at 93. Nolan Bauer hits a big shot to give the Millionaires the lead and the Rockets go charging up the court. It was there time. Down by two. A timeout was called with 19 seconds left as McDowell contemplated going for the win, or the tie. The plan, would be to go for three and the win. Eight seconds to go. Klassen puts up the shot. Maybe a little too early thought the fans and the Rockets bench, but it didn’t matter. The shot hit front iron and bounced off. Rebounded by Stafford. Fraser fouled him with three seconds to go. Secristan was in the bonus, so hopefully Stafford would miss the free throw and the Rockets could have a last gasp effort. But Stafford lined it up. With confidence and composure. His bankroll? That didn’t matter. This was a true money shot coming up. He made the shot, and for good measure, made the second. Victory clinched for the Millionaires. Defeat suffered by the Rockets. Newmanistan falls behind in the series 2 games to 1 and now faces elimination. And yet another championship defeat. Maybe, it can be different. It’s not over yet.

(Prior to practice on the morning of Game 4)

McDowell: We know what’s at stake, but come on guys, we need this.

Klassen: You see what Secristan is doing? Gonna give them their bids back if they win.

Fraser: I hate them. I can’t (expletive) stand them.

Nelson: We have to keep doing what we have been doing, unless you want to change it up, coach?

McDowell: No, if we change it up then we’re admitting defeat and making this a more difficult task then it is already.

Klassen: I know we can do this.

York: I say we go slash the tires on their team bus. Throw them off their game a little bit because they’ll be late for their warm up session.

Klassen: Where did that come from, Garrett?

York: We did that in Olympia once. A big game against Fairfield City, first we pulled the fire alarm at the hotel they were staying at, at 3am, then we slashed the tires on the team bus, and they were late for the shootaround. We won.

Lessard: Oh really?

York: Damn I forgot you played for Fairfield City.

Lessard: We suspected it was your typical Olympia drunks. We gave you guys the benefit of the doubt. Last time we do that.

McDowell: We don’t need to be doing any nonsense to get the upper hand. We know that we are capable of beating them, we have done it three times before in this tournament.

Crawford: We should be proud of where we got but if we lose all they’re gonna do is compare us to those other bridesmaids.

Klassen: It’s really a reputation our nation doesn’t deserve. We are a nation of champions!

Fraser: (expletive) Secristan.

Crawford: Yeah, so what do you wanna do about it Reese?

Fraser: I want the rock. Coach I can do it, let me play my inside game. I am not saying to abandon the three, but coach I want more looks. They don’t expect me. Me and Tank, man. All day.

Nelson: Coach, we can. Let’s stun them. We can play inside on those punks.

Klassen: Not too much, though, the three is still our money shot.

McDowell: Reese, I like that look in your eye.

Fraser: Let’s do it. We can overpower them.

Nelson: Yeah, let’s take it inside early and then that will open up more space for Kory and Connor, and even Garrett on the perimeter. It’s not really changing things up, it’s making them think that we’re up to something. We then get in their heads, and can jump out on front.

Fraser: We get in their heads coach, then Connor and Kory can shoot (expletive) lights out from downtown all night, man. We do that in game four, we beat them like that in game four, then we’re in their heads again cuz they won’t be knowing what will happen in da fifth game. If we do that again or if we start the game going crazy from threepointland again.

Klassen: I’d go with that.

Crawford: Yeah, it may work.

McDowell: Reese, it makes sense but you’ve always been more of a rebounder then a scorer.

Fraser: I’m a force tonight. Let me do my thang.

York: Reese is in the zone, wow.

Nelson: Yeah, never seen him all like this.

McDowell: Reese, I like your fire. Go for it, but I will pull the plug on it early if it doesn’t work out.

Fraser: Don’t worry coach I won’t let you down. It’s for my country! Long Live Newmanistan!

Klassen: For Newmanistan!

Team: FOR NEWMANISTAN!!!

Gameday 24 RP cutoff...

FINAL (Best of 5)
Newmanistan 92 v Secristan 98

Congratulations to SECRISTAN, the world champions!

The final bracketology standings:
6 - Secristan
5.5 - Newmanistan
4.5 - Arroza

We hope you've enjoyed the International Basketball Championships in Dancougar. Perhaps it shall return, but not until I figure out some power rankings and work those into the scorinator. And maybe do something about the wild variance in the scores...

*bombs Secristan*

Thanks for your work in hosting the tournament, Dancougar. It went well except for your scorinator going crazy there at the end and allowing them to win. ;)

We now really are the Buffalo Bills of the jolt forums.

SECRISTAN WORLD CHAMPIONS

For a moment, we put money aside. In Dancougar’s Yuki City, the Millionaires achieved something they never have before. Winning a title at the biggest of stages, completing an incredible run in the International Basketball Championships, and perhaps being a starting point of more fame, and yes, fortune, for our great nation. Even sweeter of course is who we defeated. No longer is Secristan just that nation to the east of Newmanistan. For on this night, our flag flies high into the night, conquering the Penthoria River War and showing the world that there’s more then just a single One Big Island nation that is capable of winning a world championship. Success achieved, thousands upon thousands of miles away in Dancougar as the clock hit zero on the Millionaires’ 98-92 victory. Secristan, not Newmanistan, were World Champions. Those wearing fancy business attire stood up and cheered and waved the green and white of the nation with pride.

Perhaps this will mean that the country gets more involved in other events. The Millionaires did make an attempt at the World Baseball Classic, but that didn’t go so well. They have expressed their interest in the Wilbury Tennis Championships and the World Bowl, and will be attending the Qazoxian Sports Festival. Maybe, there will be more to come and the SDOS could be convinced to send a representative team to events such as the World Cup and the Third Summer Olympiad. As promised, the SDOS returned the bids of the players to play for the team. Never before had this even been considered, but never before had a national team done this much. In fact, SDOS representatives even did so with a smile, and with a ceremony at Amherst International Airport when the team returned home from Dancougar. And for the hospitality of Dancougar in the event, we thank you. Staying at the finest resort hotels in your nation allowed us to be more then just well rested for our games. There may have been a couple incidents of players using their wealth to reap personal non-monetary benefits, but our experience in Dancougar was most pleasant, and we thank you.

The SDOS expects to continue absorbing revenue from this as merchandise commemorating the even gets sold in stores. They’ve already received an unprecedented amount of revenue from the pay-per-view proceeds of all the games played in Dancougar. So they too, must feel like champions. Victory is sweet. A championship is both sweet and special. A championship by virtue of beating your next door neighbor, is the greatest feeling in the world.