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AO Forum :: > Competition Archives > AOBC IV Rosters/RP Thread

Posted by: Myrtannia Dec 23 2006, 01:40 AM

After a long delay, welcome back to the United Isles of Myrtannia, for the Fourth Atlantian Oceania Basketball Championship. The tournament bosts a new name and new faces added into the mix, including 95X, Ereeland, and Milchama. We expect the competition to be exciting, filled with memorable moments roundball fans will remember for days at least. No nation has ever won the men's title more than once, though two previous winners are featured in AOBC IV. The first winner, Lamoni and the most recent winner, Myrtannia, both look to add the elusive second title to their trophy case. Plenty of challengers lurk in their groups, though, and perhaps another new champion will be crowned. The same holds true for the women's division. Only Myrtannia has experience, but three new challengers stand in the way of their lifting a second title. Tune in for all the exciting action of AOBC IV!

Posted by: Az-cz Dec 23 2006, 08:18 AM

The Gnomes will be entering the exact same players they entered last time around. Coach: Mk-Mnty The coach of the Sandcaster Sorcerers from the - Basketball Association, the current defending champions. He believes in a complete full court press style of basketball, which is why he chosen to coach the team. There are other coaches with more experience, but the only chance Az-cz has to win is to press the other team into the ground, so that's what they will attempt. Back again to try to lead the Gnomes to their first ever win Players: PG: Gy-Pt 5'1 140 lbs Age: 28 Team: Lost Soul Minotaurs Gy-Pt is known as the best on the ball defender in the -League. He is incredibly quick and uses that to try to get to the whole. He has a good all around game, but can struggle against players as fast as him. SG: Rn-Mndez 5'5 140 lbs Age: 23 Team: Pyramid Dragons Rn-Mndez is the sharpshooter of the team. He can drill shots from anywhere over half-court. He is a decent defender, but needs help getting open for his shots. SF: Sh-Bob 5'7 150 lbs Age: 27 Team: Sandcaster Sorcerers Sh-Bob is a balanced player. He is an incredibly intelligent player so he can often rebound against taller players and draws many charges to help his team. He is a brilliant part of the press because he knows always where to be. PF: Dwaty Jones 6'6 220 lbs Age: 25 Team: Necropolis Mummies Due to the lack of height there aren't that many ethnic Az-czzers on the team, but all of the players were born in Az-cz. Dwaty Jones tries to do everything for the team. He doesn't have any incredible advantages, but he also doesn't have any weaknesses. C: Julio Barthez 6'9 245 lbs Age: 29 Team: Castleview Goblins Barthez is a patroller of the paint. He isn't that tall but he has incredible strength that helps him battle against taller players. He has a suprising touch for a big man. Bench: PG: Duk-Fn 5'2 130 lbs Age: 32 Team: Necropolis Mummies Duk-Fn's role on the team is to be the shooting PG. If more outside shooting is required from the PG spot, then he is called upon to play. G: Je-Do 5'4 140 lbs Age: 31 Team: Sandcaster Sorcerers Je-Do can play either guard position. He specializes in defense and can really play havoc against other teams guards. He is the starting PG for his team, but will back up both positions in this tournament. SG: Ap-Or 5'4 145 lbs Age: 30 Team: Sandcaster Sorcerers Ap-Or starts along Je-Do for Sandcaster. He is an incredible slashing player, and considered by most to be the best dunker in the -BA. SF: Kiz-Fa 5'6 160 lbs Age: 31 Team: Castleview Goblins Kiz-Fa is another solid small forward. He doesn't specialize in any one area, but generally can listen to what the coach needs and provide that. His biggest weakness is that his shot is streaky. When he's feeling it he's dangerous to the opponent, but when he's off he's dangerous to his team. SF: Mk-Fk 5'5 145 lbs Age: 29 Team: Olympus Gods Mk-Fk is another player on this team for purposes of shooting. He isn't expected to see much court time except when Az-cz is trying to rally from huge deficits. PF: Rt-Lng 5'7 175 lbs Age: 27 Team: Lost Soul Minotaurs Rt-Lng is a player that Az-cz uses when they are trying to draw the other team away from the basket. He has a solid shot and a good court sense, such that he has to be guarded all the way out to three point line. This can free up other players, so is his use. PF: Brethur Knee 6'9 235 lbs Age: 30 Team: Pyramid Dragons Knee's role on this team is for defensive and rebounding strength inside. His offense isn't as strong as other players but he is a strong defender. C: Eafo McMichaels 7'4 270 lbs Age: 28 Eafo McMichaels is far and away the tallest player on the Az-cz team. Like many players of his height he has some maneuverability problems, but he is a strong defender, has good stamina, and is a big help to the press. However his awkwardness can cause him problems at the offensive end.

Posted by: Az-cz Dec 23 2006, 08:29 AM

Az-cz Scroll Myrtannia Dr-J Another AOBC rolls around. Gnomes back to compete. The time has come for another Atlantian Oceania Basketball Championship. Last time around the Gnomes were whipping boys. While they still expect to struggle they at least aren't the least experience team going. Milchama, 95X and Ereeland are all competing in their first AOBCs. So Az-cz might have the edge on them. Although there was a hope from the players that basketball would take off between the last tournament and now it simply hasn't happened. Soccer has sky rocketed while the big four remain popular. Even weird sports like curling and surfing have become popular. But basketball hasn't. That also means there hasn't been that great of an infusion of new blood to the league. There are of couse new players in the league, but none good enough to steal any of the spots from players from last time around. That also means the Gnomes will still have significant height problems. We'll see if they've learned lessons from last tournament and are a better team. We'll see.

Posted by: Milchama Dec 23 2006, 12:06 PM

12 man roster here we come: PG: Stan Lofo 5'9 PG: Marian Stacey 5'11 PG: Oman Nisili 6'0 SG: Navin Hamilt 6'3 SG: Ootaman Gephard 6'5 SF: Charlie Ford 6'6 SF: Das Vadon 6'7 SF: Devin Hestershire 6'6 PF: Akbar Borasi 6'8 PF: Miller Foon 6'7 C: Eric Fifini 6'10 C: Sunni El Gadaf 6'9 Starters: PG Marian Stacey SG: Navin Hamilt SF: Charlie Ford PF: Miller Foon C: Eric Fifini

Posted by: 95X-Scottfire Dec 23 2006, 01:08 PM

From University City News Daily newspaper, a few days ago 95X To Compete In First International Competition Teams hope to draw on their youth and eagerness Pacific City - 20 years after a bribery scandal led to the eventual folding of every sports league in the country, basketball rises again, with 95X sending both a Men's and Women's team to Myrtannia for Atlantian Oceania Basketball Championship IV. "I never thought I'd coach another game," says Men's Team coach Frank Lester. "Then, I get the strangest call - it's from this kid saying 95X is gonna have a basketball team and needs a coach." The 'kid' was 16-year old starting point guard Ryan Powell, who made the presentation to the 95X Board of Directors that allowed for the country's participation in AOBC IV. Lester, now 61, left his coaching job with the Pacific City Express for the auto mechanic industry 18 years ago, the year before 95X's National Basketball League folded for good due to low attendance and no government support. He was not in any way involved with the illegal side of the game. Coaching the team was an opportunity Lester couldn't pass up, mentioning he's followed the sport though TV and the Internet all these years. For potential players, however, "only the young ones who weren't around or didn't remember the trials wanted to play," Lester commented about team tryouts. "In one city, a man in his late 20s stopped by, hit a few baskets, only to say 'any kid could do this, I'm going to my hard-working man's factory job.'" As a result, only four players in the lineup are over 19, and they will be coming off the bench. Lester claims the young starting lineup is one of the hardest-working groups he's seen. This will be well tested, as 95X will play top-ranked Lamoni, as well as Bazalonia and Milchama, in the first round. 95X is also fielding a Women's team, coached by Mark Walters. It'll play other women's teams from Bazalonia, Ereeland, and Myrtannia. Support for the teams by the general public is another story, as the announcement was cheered by many who either watched the announcement on TV or heard it on the radio. "Our phone lines went crazy," Says SuperTalk 107 Program Director Fred Yardley. "All the calls were people wanting to know how to get to Myrtannia, what bus to take, will the station carry the games...." The teams have another two weeks to prepare, then they will be headed to Myrtannia for the competition. Rosters (OOC: More on the players and teams will probably follow) Men's Team Starters SF 10 Harold Steele 6'7" 18 PF 17 Carl Holgate 6'9" 17 C 75 Logan Lombard 7'5" 19 PG 9 Ryan Powell 6'0" 16 SG 19 Duke Woodstock 6'3" 16 Bench PG 1 Vince Vermont 6'1" 21 C 11 Daniel Lancaster 6'11" 18 PG 13 Lansing "Lan" Claxter 5'10" 16 PF 14 Kyle Hawthorne 6'8" 22 SG 15 Blake Belmont 6'5" 17 SF 20 Eric Burnside 6'7" 21 SF 35 Mike Greeley 6'6" 20 Coach: Frank Lester Women's Team Starters SF 24 Janelle Foxwood 5'9" 22 (SG-SF) PF 42 Kristin Hazel 6'0" 17 C 11 Danielle Hazel 6'0" 17 PG 14 Jessica Whitney 5'5" 18 SG 13 Ashley Maranz 5'8" 20 Bench PG 4 Shenika Telford 5'7" 21 SG 10 Dena Stoltz 5'7" 20 PG 20 Amy Linden 5'2" 17 SG 22 Marscilla Phelps 5'10" 16 (SG-SF) SF 23 Shelly McPadron 5'9" 21 PF 32 Hallie Burns 5'11" 22 (PF-C) C 34 Shannon Kellogg 6'0" 17 Coach: Mark Walters

Posted by: Lamoni Dec 24 2006, 03:10 AM

Lamoni Hawks Head Coach - Darren Ruddock Asst Coach - Moshe Beriya Asst Coach - Joshua Bennett Starters: 11 PG Mark Riviera 6'5 22 SG Max Stromberg 6'6 20 SF John Carroll 6'5 54 PF Marvin Hughes 6'6 40 C Hugh Humber 6'2 (his last AORBC) Bench: 15 PG Allan Gregory 5'9 23 SG Gregory Symbus 6'1 34 SF Oliver Cabezas 6'7 41 PF Mark Daimler 6'9 55 C Donald O'toole 6'10 33 G Markez Franco 6'1 25 F Joachim Suzuki 6'6 Reserves: F Micheal Coldman 6'7 C Kelvin Riall 6'10 OOC: Yes, this is the same roster as the last AORBC. Too tired right now to make up new names.

Posted by: Lamoni Dec 24 2006, 03:11 AM

Almost forgot my team's kit:

Posted by: Milchama Dec 24 2006, 01:54 PM

"So what are our chances in this basketball thingy?" "Well our guards are all ridicoulously short and ridicoulously talented. The small forwards are all pretty good also." "And the big men?" "Big white stiffs. None of them over 6'10 and they all really don't have much talent outside of the fact that they are tall. Fifini can shoot a bit and Foon is decent on the post but they are really on the team because they are tall." "So then do we stand a chance?" "Probably not, basketball is still a small sport here, we don't even have a league, although it is scheduled to start next year, check YOUR! cable listings for more details!" "Why do I care?" "Well you kinda brought it up" "Ummmmm.......... so, your point being?" "I thought you would care." "Ok, why didn't you just get a man on a horse and win that way?" "Because the horse did terrible in AOCAF" "Oh don't worry he'll do great in the World Cup." "What?! He's competing in the world cup? Wait how did you know that, we didn't even realease the roster yet." "Ummmmm........ don't worry about it."

Posted by: Ereeland Dec 26 2006, 05:57 PM

Basketball? Alrighty then... It's not really the major sport for the Republic of Ereeland. That would be football, which happens to be the region's most popular sport as well. No, this is basketball, which most Errish people are still somewhat familiar with. Not since the Sociliast Union days have any Errish played for a national team, but they're willing to give it a shot this time. While the Football Association of Ereeland (FAE) prepares in advance for the next AOCAF - long in advance - the Errish Basketball Association has hastily assembled Ereeland's first national teams ever. Well, the EBA and the WEBA, but that's beside the point. Point is that Ereeland's men look to get clobbered in a group that features the hosts and reigning champions. "We're not figuring to be a factor in this go, but maybe we can be a spoiler all the same. We'll put up a good fight and see what happens," said men's coach Tim Meddaugh. The men's roster looks something like this: Ereeland Green Wave Head Coach: Tim Meddaugh Projected Starters: 13) PG - Dean Pidgeon, 6'2" 10) SG - Shane Wunderlich, 6'6" 24) C - Robert Harring, 6'11" 05) PF - Shane Moore, 6'10" 19) SF - Zachary Zwilling, 6'7" Bench Roster: 02) SG - Vernon Geib, 6'5" 40) SF - Tim Gros, 6'11" 32) PF - Sam Bolander, 6'9" 20) C - Dan Kleine, 7'0" 03) PG - Wesley Messick, 5'10" 11) SF - Gordon Pigott, 6'6" 24) F - Greg Guinan, 6'8" Our women's team might fare a little better, considering that only one team (Myrtannia) in their division has any tournament experience. However, don't get hopes up too high. The SUNA women went winless and were the only team knocked out of the group stage. "We've got a chance to do something memorable this time around. That means we can't afford to blow it," said the women's team coach, Mr. Gordon Bob. The women's roster, as approved by the WEBA: Ereeland Shamrocks Head Coach: Gordon Bob Projected Starters: 03) PG - Elva Pressnell, 5'6" 07) SG - Daphne Angelo, 5'8" 11) C - Carolina "Cari" Warburton, 6'4" 30) PF - Rachelle Mahony, 5'10" 50) SF - Glenna Bibee, 5'9" Bench Roster: 01) SG - Keri Corning, 5'8" 10) SG - Joni Bornstein, 5'7" 23) SF - Candy Rohrer, 5'9" 25) PF - Fern Sleeper, 5'11" 31) C - Ina Dargan, 6'0" 05) PG - Patricia Tingley, 5'5" 12) F - Rosetta Kazmierczak, 5'10"

Posted by: Myrtannia Dec 26 2006, 08:05 PM

Myrtannia AOBC IV Rosters Myrtannia Suns - National Men's Team Head Coach: Salim Al-Hakim Asst. Coach: Sigrid Hodges Asst. Coach: Mosezh Immerman Starting Lineup: 8 PG Alec Rivlin 6'1" 21 SG Prince Manolis 6'4" 31 SF Berry Yeeloy 6'6" 30 PF Tad Trentinella 6'10" 51 C Vito Munise 7'6" Bench: 1 SG Irwin Bartmettler 67" 10 PF Hunter Olinick 6'11" 6 SF Trinidad Descamps 6'7" 15 G/F Brant Mellerson 6'6" 21 PG Deon Pastano 6'3" 50 C Dewitt Boluda 7'1" 9 PF Claudio Scheuring Reserves: F Yong Vaneps 6'7" G Rico Petris 6'4" Myrtannia Dryads - National Women's Team Head Coach: Moira Dakkon Asst. Coach: Ok Regensburg Asst. Coach: Zenobia Abdur-Shareef Starting Lineup: 30 PG Cheryle Odmark 5'6" 4 SG Mary Finley 5'6" 3 SF Otylia Stone 5'8" 1 PF Shayna Szczygiel 6'2" 9 C Ping Seek 6'7" Bench: 22 SG Kyra Platko 5'8" 6 SF Mona Vanhannen 5'7" 7 PG Lise Wiede 5'3" 5 PF Tempie Vandenbagh 6'2" 17 C Alanna Antoniuk 6'5" 45 SF Margaret Averbach 5'9" 8 G Rona Lee 5'8" Reserves: F Jenna Hunter 5'9" G Wilhelmina Xanth 5'7"

Posted by: Myrtannia Dec 26 2006, 08:27 PM

AOBC Returns to UIM, Home Teams Prepare for New Tests HALOSEN - It's been a long, winding road to the Fourth Atlantian Oceania Basketball Championship, full of postponements and 'what ifs'. But now at last the region's premier roundball tournament has returned, with a smaller number of participants now. Yet the competition lives, and two past champions are in the mix in the men's division, along with other returning parties, as well as three newcomers. For the men's team, the Suns, preparations for the tournament have been ongoing since AOBC's return was announced. Most of the team that won the AORBC III title in the Socialist Union is back to make another run at the championship. Two notable changes are the rise of Alec Rivlin from reserve guard to starter, as well as the promotion of Prince Manolis to the starting five. The moves are meant to try and give the Suns some backcourt ability. They're also aimed at relieving the pressure on the centerpiece of the team, center Vito Munise. While Tad Trentinella's promotion to the starting lineup might help a little, the big man is the real power in the front court. Munise was the driving force behind Myrtannia's AORBC III title run, and will be the main offensive weapon again. Despite a knee injury that sidelined him from MBL play for a year, Munise made a monster comeback with the Halosen Lasers, being named MVP for the fifth time in his career. Now Munise will be playing on the same floor that saw his return to the MBL, maybe for the last time on the national team. Age and the knee injury may eventually take their toll on the big guy. Which is why such high hopes are attached to Manolis, a flashy guard who's much improved his defensive abilities to go with his offense. On the women's side of things, the Dryads face a women's division in which they are the only team with experience. The AORBC I women's champions will look to lift the title for the second time against a field that includes 95X, Ereeland, and Bazalonia. It could be interesting to see if the Dryads can live up to expectations. Ping Seek will be the leader for the Dryads, having led the team in scoring in each of the last two AORBCs. Newcomer Shayna Szczygiel should provide an extra boost on defense, especially with rebounding and blocking, and can at times put up some points to go with it. However, the primary support for Ping will be Mary Finley, a guard known for her accuracy from beyond the arc. As for the outlook on the divisions? Here's the Halosen News-Times 'Slightly Intoxicated Predictions' for the group stage: Men's, Group A: AORBC I Champion and AORBC III Runner-up Lamoni will dominate this group, as star center Hugh Humber looks to get one last title before he leaves the international stage. The Hawks should easily get past newbies Milchama and 95X, who will be battling it out to not be the bottom team in the group. Bazalonia will have trouble with Lamoni, but should get past the newbies easily too. Men's, Group B: Myrtannia enters as reigning AORBC champions after a 105-103 win in the AORBC III final over Lamoni. Age may be catching up the the champs, though, which may mean that Nedalia might finally make a breakthrough. The Lions have suffered from underwhelming performances in past AORBCs, but this might finally be their chance to shine - even challenge for the group title. Az-Cz will improve and finally get a couple wins - over Ereeland, the team we think will bottom out the group simply due to inexperience. Women's: This is really anybody's game. Myrtannia appears to field the strongest team, but has never won the title in a group/playoff format. 95X and Ereeland could both compete for the top spot in the group, though the Dryads should end up first. Bazalonia's girls could also challenge for the top spot, making this a very competitive, very up in the air, group. Coming up next for Myrtannia: SUNS v. Ereeland Green Wave (Halosen Garden Arena) DRYADS v. 95X (Elimico Court, Niniisto)

Posted by: 95X-Scottfire Dec 27 2006, 12:36 AM

I should mention the refs don't need to worry - the yellow on black and black on yellow uniforms have "Ninety-Five X" spelled out on them. Nothing fancy abot them at all.

Posted by: Myrtannia Dec 27 2006, 01:05 AM

RP Cutoff for Day One

Posted by: Myrtannia Dec 27 2006, 01:25 AM

HALOSEN - The long wait proved to be worth it for Myrtannian basketball fans, as both the men's and women's national teams took victories on the first day of action. At the Halosen Garden Arena, the defending AO basketball champion Suns faced regional and tournament newcomer Ereeland. The last team to come from their lands, the Socialist Union, was a knockout qualifier, but ultimately didn’t accomplish much of anything. The Errish national team proved they weren’t the old SUNA squad, though. They played a tough game against the second ranked team in the region, though it took them a while to get into the rhythm of things. With the Garden filled to standing room only levels, most of the fans Myrtannian, the atmosphere was electric, to use a cliché. A MDF band performed the Errish and Myrtannian national anthems, and then came the player introductions. In their first game since winning the championship in AORBC III, the Suns were given a standing ovation lasting five minutes by the fans. Eventually, the Suns had to get them to settle down so the game could get underway. From tipoff, it looked like a rout. Myrtannia raced to a 24-8 lead early, led by 12 points from Vito Munise, who seemed to just scoot around the Green Wave defenders at his leisure. Bad shooting plagued the Wave, and the Suns capitalized, out rebounding the Errish team by 14 in the first half. By the end of the first quarter, it was Myrtannia ahead 32-12. The second quarter didn’t go much better for the Green Wave, as Vito continued to pour it on in the paint. When Myrtannia went up 44-17 midway through the second quarter, a good amount of fans left their seats to get in line for concessions early. They would miss the beginning of the comeback by Ereeland, chiefly the Green Wave’s 22-4 run after Munise was brought to the bench to rest his surgically repaired knee. His replacement couldn’t handle the Errish big men, who combined for 18 of the 22 points on the run. Myrtannia’s shooting took a nose dive too, and Ereeland narrowed the gap to 56-53 at the half. “We just let them get too many easy baskets in there,” point guard Alec Rivlin said, “We let up and they started taking advantage of it as much as they could.” The rest of the game was back and forth as the Suns and Green Wave took turns hitting baskets. Ereeland got as close as one point three times, but never quite managed to get over the gap. Vito Munise returned eventually, and on his first possession of the second half took it to the hoop for a tomahawk slam over an unfortunate Errish defender. With just over a minute left in the fourth quarter, Myrtannia was up 100-97, and looking like they’d walk away with the win. Not so easy this time. Ereeland got a clutch basket just inside the three point line to get back within one, then got a steal off the inbound pass. Before they could shoot, though, their player was fouled and sent to the line for two shots. After hitting the first shot, the Green Wave guard intentionally missed the second, hoping his team would get the ball back. Unfortunately, it ended up in Vito’s hands, and the big man hurled it down to a wide open Prince Manolis, who finished with a routine lay-in. Ereeland’s last possession saw them take it inside, only to have a shot blocked by Tad Trentinella, after which Rivlin picked it up and passed it to Manolis again. Prince squared up and took a jumper at the buzzer, nailing the shot and giving Myrtannia the 104-100 final tally. “It’s great to win, especially against a determined opponent like Ereeland. They’re going to do big things in this tournament, but tonight’s our night,” Vito Munise said at a press conference after the game. Meanwhile, the Myrtannia Dryads kicked off their AOBC IV campaign with a solid defensive performance, winning a low scoring affair 75-68 over the women’s team from 95X. Ping Seek led the way with 27 points, 14 rebounds, and 9 blocks, using her size to get past the opposing defenders with ease. When she dunked it in the third quarter, the fans at Elimico court went nuts. Chants of ‘Let’s go Ping!’ could be heard throughout the stadium. Seek’s performance overshadowed a good game by Mary Finley, who produced 20 points and 12 assists in her first start. Newcomer power forward Shayna Szczygiel had a decent showing as well, scoring 12 and contributing 10 rebounds to go with 2 blocks. In the game, the Dryads never trailed, but never led by more than 9 points, as the 95X ladies stuck around for most of the game. However, they never really got anything going, and the Ping-Shayna combo up front simply overpowered what was a pretty good AOBC debut for the tournament newcomers. “One down, five to go,” was all Mary Finley said after the game. Next up for the Suns is Az-Cz who finally won for the first time ever in an AOBC game, pounding an uninspired Nedalian team to the tune of 97-83. The Dryads face Ereeland’s Shamrocks, who were 101-91 winners over Bazalonia in the other women’s division match. Both figure to be good scraps between teams that won their opener, and both could set the tone for the rest of the tournament for the Myrtannian teams. Final Scores: Suns 104, Ereeland Green Wave 100/Dryads 75, 95X 68 Leaders: V. Munise, Suns: 36 pts, 17 rebs, 4 blocks. P. Manolis, Suns: 25 pts/Ping, Dryads: 27 pts, 14 rebs, 9 blk. M. Finley: 20 pts, 12 ast. Next up: SUNS (1-0) v. Az-Cz (1-0), DRYADS (1-0) v. Ereeland Shamrocks (1-0)

Posted by: 95X-Scottfire Dec 27 2006, 03:49 AM

From the Pacific City Courier 95X No Match for Hawks, Dryads Opponents win decisively Myrtannia - It was a lot of firsts for 95X - including the first games in the first international sports competition. What it was not was the country's first win. Lamoni held the 95X Men's team to the fewest number of points and had the largest margin of victory of any game played in last night's Atlantian Oceania Basketball Championship, in 95X's 88-72 loss to the Hawks in Damascos, Myrtannia. "We had to start somewhere," said Duke Woodstock, 95X's leading scorer with 18 points. 95X never lead, taking three minutes into the first quarter to score their first basket - a 10-foot jumper by Carl Holgate, who finished the game with 9. At one point in the third quarter, Lamoni led by 21 points. A bench contribution of 12 points by Blake Belmont - 8 of which came in the third - helped to avoid a complete rout, but did little else. Instead of blocking shots and hitting the boards, Logan Lombard watched most of the game from the bench due to foul trouble - and fouling out of the game with 10:18 to go in the fourth quarter, after playing a total of 10 minutes. "The guys took it (the loss) well," Coach Frank Lester commented during XBN Sports' interview after the game. "They realize this was their first actual game, not just a friendly get-together in the gym like they're used to." After a night of rest, 95X faces tournament veterans Bazalonia, who are coming off their 90-81 win over fellow newcomers Milchama. Meanwhile, an undersized women's team was outperformed by the Myrtannia Dryads, losing 75 to 68 at Elimico Court in Niniisto. The twin combination of Kristin and Danielle Hazel was shut down by Myrtannia's defense and home court advantage. Jessica Whitney struggled to lead 95X's scorers - with 9. "They displayed great teamwork," Coach Mark Walters said. "But we'll have to expand on it and hope to gain momentum in our next game." In that next game, the women will meet the Bazalonian Women's team. Both will be looking for their first win. Domestically, the men's game, televised on XBN, garnered higher ratings than other recent XBN programming, overnight averages show. Although XBN is allowed to decide each day whether or not to air games as well as decide if they will be aired live or delayed, neither they nor any advertisers are allowed to have business dealings with the coach or players. Ratings of National Broadcasting's radio broadcast of the games were unavailable at press time.

Posted by: Az-cz Dec 27 2006, 12:15 PM

Az-cz Scroll Myrtannia Dr-J Gnomes win first AOBC ever in fairly easy style The Gnomes second go around at the Atlantian Oceania Basketball Championship is already more successful than their first attempt. The team having spent more time together knew their strengths and weaknesses better and were ready to go quickly. Straight from the start the Gnomes applied the forty minutes of hell defense and pressed the Nedalians into the ground. In the first 6 minutes they came up with 6 steals and jumped out to a quick 24-10 lead. The Nedalians battled back a bit and pulled within three midway through the second quarter at 40-37. But the Gnomes reestablished control and went to the half with a 50-42 lead. Coming out of the half the Gnomes some how ramped up the intesity of the press even more and just dominated the third quarter. They scored 30 points while holding Nedalia to a mere 7 to make the score 80-49. The Gnomes pulled off the press and the Nedalians were able to regroup and take control of the final quarter of the game. But with such a large deficit there wasn't much they could do and just pulled to the final margin of down 14. Rn-Mndez lead the way for the Gnomes with 36 points including 8-10 from behind the three point line. Gy-Pt chipped in another 20 points as the backcourt speed really damaged the Nedalians. Next up is the host Myrtannians. The Gnomes would like to repeat their performance, but realize that this will be an incredibly difficult match.

Posted by: Lamoni Dec 27 2006, 07:03 PM

Lamoni impresses the new boys In a game in which their newbie opponents never lead, Lamoni showed the team from 95X what AOBC style play was all about. Lamoni won by the largest margin to date in AOBC III, and held their opponent to the fewest points scored to date in the tournament. Hugh Humber; whom Lamonian fans have kept on calling 'Superman,' continued to impress the fans in the first game of his last AOBC, even managing to go 10/15 from the three point line, when everyone was expecting him to continually dunk it. Hugh took a philosophical look at it, "If I had repeatedly dunked on the newbies, it would look like I was taunting them. So, I took the harder road, and surprised even myself. I also intend to retire at the end of this AOBC, so I figured to do some things that I haven't really done yet. I have all the LBA and AOBC records that anyone should ever need, not to mention winning AOBC I. Why get greedy?" The Hawks face Milchama next, in what is sure to be an interesting matchup. In AOCAF XVII (which Lamoni won!!!!), the Milchama Warriors sported a team that featured a man on a horse, as well as a goalkeeper. Although all indications are that Milchama will be playing a full roster for the AOBC, this should still be an interesting match. Lamoni - 88 95X - 72

Posted by: Ereeland Dec 28 2006, 03:10 AM

Errish Vanguard - Sporting Section Green Wave Drops Debut In Myrtannia's capital, the Republic of Ereeland's men's basketball team fell victim to an energized host nation team. A host nation team that won the tournament the last time around. After falling behind badly in the first half, the Errish lads made a contest of it with a spirited run. But the Suns could not be vanquished by the gallant Green Wave boys, and eventually captured a 104-100 victory. Part of Ereeland's failure to keep up was the size difference between the two centers. Robert Harring of Ereeland stands at 6'11", while Myrtannia's Vito Munise towers above him at 7'6". Scary stuff. On the bright side, the fact that the Green Wave kept it from being a blowout is promising. Zachary Zwilling led Ereeland with 26 points, including a perfect 6/6 on treys on an otherwise dismal shooting night for the Green Wave. Dan Kleine added 10 points and 6 rebounds off the bench. The Green Wave face Nedalia next, losers of their first game against the much improved Gnomes of Az-Cz. "Nedalia might be a mysterious team - we don't even know who's really playing for 'em - but we can't take this team lightly. A win is the only way to get us back on track," coach Tim Meddaugh said. Shamrocks Sink Baz Girls Over in Niniisto, the Ereeland Shamrocks team put on a show against Bazalonia's women's team. Both nations were fielding a women's team for the first time, so it seemed like an even match on paper. The first quarter showed that it was no fair fight. Ereeland controlled the first tip and ran with it. The Shamrocks' early 32-2 run set the tone for the whole game. Bazalonia woke up in the second quarter to get within 12, 48-36 before the half, but that was it. Exploiting turnovers by the Bazalonians, the Shamrocks simply outran their opponents and dominated the fast break points column. When Bazalonia squared up its interior defense to stop the fast break, Ereeland took it outside. Daphne Angelo (28 points) and Elva Pressnell (22 points) both torched Bazalonia from outside. Cari Warburton (14 points, 10 rebounds) and Fern Sleeper (10 points, 6 rebounds) helped keep things clear inside. It all added up to an impressive 101-91 victory that catapulted Ereeland into the top spot in the women's division. "It's just for one day, though," said coach Gordon Bob, "I'm proud of how our girls handled themselves out there tonight, but we've got a ways to go. Myrtannia's next and they're a very tough team." The Dryads, who Ereeland faces next, beat 95x in a defensive battle in which they never trailed. Like their men's team, the Myrtannian women have a size advantage up front against Ereeland. In order to win, Ereeland has to run the floor and isolate star center Ping Seek. If the Shamrocks allow others to contribute, it's going to be a long night.

Posted by: Myrtannia Dec 30 2006, 02:33 AM

RP Cutoff for Day Two

Posted by: 95X-Scottfire Dec 30 2006, 04:55 AM

From the Pacific City Courier 95X Doubles Up on Bazalonia Both teams record their first win Myrtannia - Scratch 95X off the list of new nations to the Atlantian Oceania Basketball Championship that have no chance, as both the men's and women's teams earned their first victories. "It might be just one team... but we all feel a little better," comments Janelle Foxwood, who scored 12 in the women's win over the Dribbling Bazzettes. 91-76. Ashley Maranz was the team's leading scorer with 23. "We checked to make sure everyone's alarm clock was working," jokes Coach Mark Walters. "Several of the players commented that was when the clock hit zero at the end of the last game." The women next play Ereeland. Both teams are 1-1. The men also made a statement, defeating the Dribbling Bazalopes by 25 in their 103-78 win. "We have it in is," says Ryan Powell, with 13 points and 12 assists in the game. Leading scorer Duke Woodstock commented after scoring 19: "it was more of a team effort. Carl (Holgate), Harold (Steele), Blake (Belmont), Ryan and I all scored at least 10...." "The players said it all," Coach Frank Lester said. "They were like a different team out there tonight." Next up is fellow newcomers Milchama, who are still looking for their first win. 95X's men's team improves to 1-1.

Posted by: Bazalonia Dec 30 2006, 05:27 AM

"Dribbling Bazalopes go un-named - Officials Embarresed" Today finally we saw the official line up for the AORBC, the line up was as expecting for a number of reasons, partly because it is exactly the same as the other AORBC however, the primary reason is that 2 games have been played. Those Games against Milchama and 95-X which resulted in a 9 pt win against Milchama and a 25 point humiliation against new comers 95-X. The Dribbling Bazzettes where not going well either in their first foray into internation basketball languishing on the bottom of the table being thrashed by both Ereeland and 95-X in their games. Officials from the national basketball comittee have made a statement that players just have not had the crowd support they once had due to various factors, however they expect this to change soon. The Dribbling Bazalopes face Lamoni Hawks next at Ah-Harim Memorial Colessium and the Dribbling Bazzettes face their biggest Challenge. The Myrtannian Dryads Dribbling Bazalopes Starting Lineup 1 (Captain): Roger Geffories 6'4" 2: Daniel Death (pro nounced Dee-th) 7'4" 3: Kevin Hobbs 6'8" 4: Andrew Mills 6'7" 5: Trevor Assington 6'5" Bench 11: Richard Jamieson 6'6" 12: Reginald Potts 6'9" 13: Craig Johan 6'11" 14: Peter Smith 6'1" 15: Smythe Peters 6'2" 16: "Peppy" Eiragon Ricardo 7'0" 17: John Luke Paul 6'3" 18: Hezekiah Lukeson 6'4" Dribbling Bazzettes Starting Lineup 1(Captain) Natasha Deen 2 Sarah Monet 3. Louise Ricardo 4. Mary Jules 5. Annette Hendrickson Bench... maybe later The team will be wearing kits provided by Sabre Inc. (OOC: When D&S come back I'll get her to make up some Dribbling Bazzettes unis)

Posted by: Lamoni Dec 31 2006, 12:58 AM

Hawks soar (undefeated) above Group A With wins against AOBC opponents 95X and Milchama, the Hawks are the only team in group A that is currently undefeated. The 92-79 scoreline against Milchama continues with Lamonian defensive AOBC traditions; and the Hawks are in great shape to capture their second AOBC title. In group B, friends and allies Myrtannia are the only team in that group to go undefeated. The bookies are already taking the chance of calculating the odds of a Lamoni-Myrtannia finals matchup. As we do well know, such a matchup in the finals would virtually garuntee that one side would have more than one AOBC title, and that side would then be seen as the best basketball team in all of AO. Another side to this whole story is the Hugh Humber angle. If you ever been to one of the past AOBC's (or AORBC's, as they were then known), you would know that Hugh Humber is the short Lamonian Center with a HUGE presence. Humber's nickname is Superman, and he has certainly been that for Lamonian AORBC/AOBC teams. Many have enjoyed watching Humber dunk, jump shoot, and recently even score from behind the arc. Being that Humber has announced his retirement after this AOBC, the thinking in the Lamonian locker room is that there would be no better way to give him a sendoff than to win the AOBC cup for the second time. Lamoni - 92 Milchama - 79

Posted by: Myrtannia Dec 31 2006, 01:17 AM

RP Cutoff for Day Three

Posted by: 95X-Scottfire Dec 31 2006, 05:31 AM

From the Pacific City Courier 'X Men Win Shootout; Women Hold On Both teams win close games and improve to 2-1 Myrtannia - The players couldn't understand why Men's coach Frank Lester read them the riot act after last night's 89-87 victory over Milchama at Bunkal Arena. "Something about them being the worst team we've played so far," mumbled Harold Steele, whose 20-footer with 2 seconds to go sealed the win for 95X. Logan Lombard, who fouled out of his second game, sent Milchama to the free throw line with 10 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, with the score at 87-86. Milchama missed the second free throw, and a crucial rebound by backup center Daniel Lancaster gave 95X posession, allowing the quick pass down the floor to Steele for his winning shot. "We won on luck. They have to play their best all the time, not just against the strong opponents," Lester later explained to the Courier. "For example, Duke (Woodstock) is a great kid, but he's gone from being leading scorer the last two games to missing every single shot he put up in the second (quarter)." Backup guard Blake Belmont played most of the rest of the game for 95X. Carl Holgate led 95X scoring with 22; Belmont scored 18 off the bench. Ryan Powell's 11 was second among the starters. "Everyone's surprised," Powell said after Lester's speech. "We tried to tell him we won the game, and how would we know who was a good or bad team. Then he said we needed him because of this." "Ryan almost understands," Lester replied. "They're young - but, after all, he called me," referring to the phone call Lester received from Powell, asking him if he'd be willing to coach the team. Meanwhile, the 95X Women watched Ereeland's 30-foot 3 point attempt at the buzzer rattle off the rim in their 101-99 win at Elimico Court in Niniisto. All 95X starters reached double figures, in part because of a 15-0 scoring run in the third quarter started by Ashley Maranz, putting them back in the game. Kristin Hazel led all scorers with 25, and added 8 rebounds. Next up, both teams again face Bazalonia. Both teams won their previous games by wide margins. The AOBC is set up so each team plays each team in their group twice before the single elimination tournament.

Posted by: Myrtannia Dec 31 2006, 02:00 PM

Myrtannians Ubeaten After Three; Second Set of Games Next HALOSEN - It's been a perfect start to AOBC IV for both Myrtannian national teams, as each hunts for a second trophy. In the nation's capital, the Suns have been dominant against their opponents thanks in large part to the efforts of Vito Munise. The 7'6" center, seemingly fully recovered from knee surgery, has been too much of a force for opposing teams to handle. The second game of the tournament was against the undersized but explosive Gnomes of Az-Cz, coming off a blowout of Nedalia themselves. After the opening win against Ereeland, the Suns were ready to see just about anything from the Az-Czzers. It turned out to be an exciting, fast past matchup where neither team went ahead by more than four for most of the game. Munise played well, scoring another 30 points and adding 14 rebounds into the mix. Unable to drive inside, the Gnomes took it outside and kept close with long jumpers. Going into the final 12 seconds, it was all even at 87-87. Alec Rivlin tried to pass it in to Irwin Bartmettler, who was hounded by a pair of gnomes. Bartmettler passed it out to an open Prince Manolis, who nailed the three to make it 90-87 Myrtannia. Az-Cz took a timeout, only to see their inbound pass stolen by Rivlin, who hurled it with a baseball throw toward the basket. Manolis caught the toss with a spring heeled leap, and turned it into an alley-oop dunk at the buzzer. The slam gave Myrtannia a 92-87 victory. Yesterday, the Suns went into a matchup with winless Nedalia, who have seemingly always struggled in AOBC. It was no different against the Suns, as Myrtannia's defense kept the Lions at bay the entire game. The Suns used fast breaks to outpace Nedalia, and the charge was led by Prince Manolis. Manolis, who scored 16 against Az-Cz, racked up a career AOBC-high 28 points to go with 5 steals. Vito Munise overpowered the Lions inside, scoring 32 points, grabbing 13 rebounds, and blocking 4 shots on defense. Myrtannia won 80-68. "We're in a good rhythm right now, and these other guys just can't keep up. If we keep the games going at our pace, we're bound to do well out there," commented guard Alec Rivlin, "Big V and Prince torch 'em on offense, and we stop 'em dead on defense, and use speed to get around 'em. Sometimes we literally run through 'em." Over in Niniisto, the Dryads are making their case for a run at their second AOBC women's title. In the first of their two previous games, the Dryads played a decent team from Ereeland, who'd won by ten in their first game. Unfortunately for the Shamrocks, Dryads defense put a stop to any hopes of an upset. Myrtannia again led the entire way, at one point by as many as 20, and never by less than 8. Ping Seek was held to 12 points, 16 rebounds, and 5 blocks, but the Dryads found other ways to get past the Shamrocks. Mary Finley and Cheryle Odmark combined for 54 points, and Kyra Platko added a career-high 18 off the bench as the Dryads won 105-96. The Bazalonia game was much closer, as the Dryads couldn't stop a determined Bazette attack. Myrtannia found itself playing a seesaw matchup as each team took turns scoring. Bazalonia actually took an 88-85 lead with 3 seconds remaining, and Myrtannia took a timeout. On the inbound pass, Margaret Averbach got it into Ping, who got a sky hook off at the buzzer along with the foul. Ping converted the free throw and it went to overtime tied at 88. In OT, it was still back and forth, leaving the score at 98 apiece, again with seconds to play. Odmark pushed it up the floor, then found veteran Rona Lee open just inside the three point line. Lee faked out her defender, then drilled a shot that put the Dryads up by two. Bazalonia's final possession ended with Ping getting a huge block as time expired to seal the win. Both national teams are now 3-0. Next up for the Suns will be the Gnomes of Az-Cz again, whom they defeated in a close matchup two days ago. Az-Cz is coming in off a big 101-91 win over Ereeland, and will be looking to add a third notch to the win column. The Dryads will face Ereeland's Shamrocks, who were two point losers to 95X, 101-99 yesterday. Myrtannia won their last matchup to the tune of 105-96. With the unbeaten record, the Suns are now considered by the Lamonian media to be a favorite to reach the championship final against the Hawks. A last Hugh Humber-Vito Munise duel would be quite interesting, as both veteran centers are playing very well once again. Historically, Munise has the slight edge, including the last meeting, a Myrtannia victory in the AORBC III Final. However, the Hawks are looking to give Hugh one last championship, and are playing very well in Group A. "We're not going ahead that far. If we anticipate the final instead of focusing on our group, we're liable to stumble on the way. Nothing's gauranteed at this point," Munise said.

Posted by: Myrtannia Jan 1 2007, 01:04 AM

RP Cutoff For Day Four

Posted by: Bazalonia Jan 1 2007, 02:23 AM

And welcome to the BazSports Coverage of the 3rd Atlantian Oceania Regional Basketball Championship. I'm your Host Denis Rainy. Today saw the Dribbling Bazalopes and the Dribbling Bazzettes both faced rivals from the state of 95-X, the new comers who had upstaged the Dribbling Bazalopes and dominated against the Dribbling Bazzettes in their first match up where put back in their place today. Let's go right to the action of the mens. The 95-X team took control in the first quarter with a demanding 26 points to 13 from Bazalonia. Daniel Death scoring a long range 3 pointer, the only highlight of a poor performance by the mens team. <Video of the Daniel Death 3 Pointer followed by scores by the 95-X mens squad.> However the Womens fair much better however still were not able to get off to the lead that they needed to climb from the bottom of the Table. The Dribbling Bazzettes had a narrow 2 point lead 18-20 points at the end of the first quarter. <Video of The Druibbling Bazzettes scoring there goals with an impressive lay-out from #4 Mary Jules.> The 2nd Quarter saw the Dribbling Bazalopes turn the game around and managed to come out ahead on the quarter, however they still had a few points to catch up. Andrew Mill's combined with an Assist from Peppy Ricardo to turn the match around. At the end of the half it was Bazalonia 39, 95-X 48 <Video of goals by Peter Smith, Roger Geffories and Kevin Hobbs countered by goals from Carl Holgate and Kyle Hawthorne> The Bribbling Bazzetes however faired worse in their matchup, however only marginaly at half-time the score was 52-52, tied 95-x had caught up their 2 goals. The entire match up to this point had been a see-sawing affair with no clear winner. This could easily be determined by OverTime as the Match against the Dryads went. <Video of Sarah Monet, Janelle Foxwood , Mary Jules and Kristin Hazel scoring goals, Sarah's was a bit more energentic and wowed the Audience, however it made little difference apart from showboating.> The 3rd Quarter, after half time continued the run that the Dribbling Bazalopes had this time improving on their performance being 1 point shy of the 95-X team at 3/4 time. And despite Trevor Assington injuring his ancle making him in doubt for the next AORBC matches the team didn't seem to slow down at all. Bazalonia 59, 95-X 60. <Video of John Luke Paul and Richard Jameson in addition to the Captain Roger Geffories getting in a wonder 2 pointer at the net.> 3rd quarter saw what seemed a renewed Bazzettes team play more agressively that they have been seen to play before... They pretty much seemed to be able to do no wrong while their opponents could do no right only racking up 6 points against and amazing 24 by the Bazzettes. 76-58 <Video of Bazzette goal after Bazzette goal including 2 amazing 3 pointers by Natasha Deen> The last quarter once again saw a nominally Dribbling Bazalope dominated quarter and while coming from behind, once the team got in front which took until this last quarter to achieve they never let it go. 26 points where scored by the Bazalonians comapred to 18 points from the 95-X mens team. Bazalonia 85, Ninety-Five X 78 <Video of related Bazalonian and 95-Xian(?) goals and the Bazalonian celebration once the game had ended> The Dribbling Bazzettes however lost their aggressive drive and seemed to give the 95-X team a thought that the light at the end of the tunnel was not indeed a train comming towards them, however failed to fully capitalise managing to only crawl back 4 points in the last quarter. However the Dribbling Bazzettes still won by quite an impressive margin. Bazalonia 98, Ninety-Five X 75. Which now lifts them up from last place on the table. <Video of various assorted generic goals, nothing inspired by the Bazalonian women, though their maybe something inspiried by the 95-X, should it be RPed> The next game day we are facing our cross strait friends Milchama in the mens division. The only other team to perform worse in our group and Ereeland whom we stole 3rd place on the rankings over. Both of these teams are the Bazalopes Greated chance to get into the 2nd spot on the group tables and progress to the Semi-finals of the men or the Finals of the women. I am Denis Rainy and this has been BazSport's Highlight coverage of the Atlantian Oceania Regional Basketball Championship.

Posted by: Milchama Jan 1 2007, 08:41 PM

"Why do we suck at basketball?" "Because we tried to get a bunch of Jews to play basketball successfully. You know how that will work out. More importantly we don't have one black player on the team." "So? GBN won the title without a black guy." "Who are they?" "Nevermind. The point is we had no chance." "So how will we do against Bazalonia" "Is the 0-5 isn't as bad as it seems banner any indication?" "No, not really" "Are you retarded?" "No, not really" "Is that all you will say now?" "No, not really" "Well then say something else" "No, don't need to" "Ha! you did say something else! yeh!" "International conspiracy!" "Ok, that's why we lost excellent." ------------------------------------------------------------------ Milchama News-Today-Tommorow-Chronicle-Telegraph-Journal-Update -Register-Sun-Enquirer-Post-Gazette-Times-Picayune-Herald Sports Section International conspiracy blamed for Milchama's failings in basketball The great international conspiracy has struck again... ------------------------------------------ "Good job" "It worked!" "It's the Milchamian press, of course it worked they eat up stuff like that" "Thank you Douglas Jefferey" "Indeed."

Posted by: 95X-Scottfire Jan 2 2007, 12:18 AM

From the Pacific City Courier Slipped Away Men's, Women's 95X teams drop games; both now 2-2 Myrtannia - The 95X Men's Atlantian Oceania Basketball Championship Team lost a critical game last night, surrendering a lead which early on was as much as 20 points in their 85-78 loss to Bazalonia. "We just lost steam," said an exhausted Carl Holgate after the game, who led 95X with 25 points and 6 rebounds. ... The Men's teams' next game is against unbeated Lamoni. The team is looking at this as possibly the last chance to play a spoiler role in the tournament. One lineup change of note for that game: Daniel Lancaster will start at center for 95X. Underperforming Logan Lombard will come off the bench. The Women's team suffered a similar fate in a 98-75 blowout defeat to the Dribbling Bazzettes. Kristin Hazel and Janelle Foxwood both led 95X with 14 points each. "We were disappointed," Danielle Hazel said after the game. "They really wanted the win, and it showed. ... Next up for the women is 4-0 Myrtannia. Coach Mark Walters said in an interview after the game the team is hoping to play their best for a better outcome than the tournament opener. Meanwhile, XBN reports it's pleased with viewership of its television broadcast of the 95X AOBC games, with last night's game possibly one of the highest-rated for the network this season, despite the men's loss.

Posted by: Myrtannia Jan 2 2007, 01:03 AM

RP Cutoff For Day Five

Posted by: 95X-Scottfire Jan 2 2007, 02:27 AM

From the Pacific City Courier Men's Team Stuns Lamoni 95X win denies favorites a no-loss tournament record; women loose close game to Myrtannia Myrtannia - Before the game, starting point guard Ryan Powell told his team he felt this could be the last chance 95X had to make an impact before the single-elimination tournament round. That, combined with a change in the starting lineup to start Daniel Lancaster as center and bring Logan Lombard off the bench, resulted in an 91-86 surprise over the formerly unbeaten tournament favorites. Powell lead by example, scoring 27 points including the game-clinching 3-pointer with 3 seconds to go; and also dished 11 assists. "We felt like we had to win this one," said Duke Woodstock, who added 12 points, fueling the fourth-quarter charge to win the game. Lamoni led most of the way, leading at halftime 45-37. Two minutes into the third quarter, backup point guard Vince Vermont hit two surprise back-to-back 3-pointers to bring 95X to within four, which is where they stayed most of the quarter, until a foul on Blake Belmont gave Lamoni a 3-point play to end scoring for the quarter. That's when, according to head coach Frank Lester, he reminded the team during the huddle, that although the tournament round was coming up, they won't stand a chance unless they focus on the here and now and take each game as it comes, rather then dream of the next round. With Belmont in foul trouble and Mike Greeley hitting a shooting slump in the second quarter, he reluctantly put Lan Claxter - who's seen limited minutes in the tournament - on the floor along with Eric Burnside, Kyle Hawthorne, Lombard, and Woodstock. Although he was monitoring the game closely, he was resting the starters for later in the quarter. Opening the quarter, Claxter passed to Woodstock, who hit a 15-foot shot. Later, it would be Claxter who'd contribute to keeping the team in check with the Hawks in the early portion of the fourth. Claxter himself would end the game with 9 points, all in the fourth. "I thank Coach Lester for putting me in the game," he remarked afterwards. Halfway through the quarter, the starters gradually came back into the game and started to take care of business; key shots by Harold Steele, Carl Holgate and Powell put 95X in the lead with a minute and a half to go. On the next trip down the floor, with the game tied, Woodstock, who played all but a portion of the second quarter, missed two free throws after scoring 6 in the quarter, but an offensive rebound by Lancaster gave posession back to 'X. Lester immediately called a time out and replaced Woodstock with... Claxter. "Don't let the team down," he was overheard saying to Claxter as he went to enter the game. "Good job, Duke," he then commented to Woodstock on his way to the bench, realizing he had left him in the game a minute too long. Play continued, and Claxter was fouled while attempting a 10-foot shot which was missed. He then hit both free throws to put 95X up by two. 95X would lead by this amount until 3 seconds left, when Powell was left open, and hit a 3-point shot that put the team up by five, and for good. After a Lamoni time out and a hurried, missed two-point attempt, the 95X team celebrated right then and there. "This proves it can be done, and we can be the team to do it!" Powell cheered into the XBN reporters' microphone. The win gives 95X a 3-2 record going into their last game in group play, a rematch with a Milchaman team they barely defeated two nights ago. Lamoni falls to 4-1, putting the top seed for the tournament round up for grabs, most likely between hosts Myrtannia and Az-cz.

Posted by: Az-cz Jan 2 2007, 06:45 AM

OOC: Wow, alot happened over New Year's. Az-cz Scroll Myrtannia Dr-J Gnomes press there way to the top of the charts The Gnomes have proven to have learned alot from their first time around in the AOBC. Last time around all they could do was give Lamoni a tough match on their way to a quick exit from the tournament. This time around they've been one of the best teams in the tournament. After their opening win they gave the hosts a very tough battle in their second match, falling just short by five points. Then they faced unanked Ereeland, who they beat by ten points. Then came match day four and the stunning upset of the tournament, to that point. The Gnomes were again playing the hosts and again it was a back and forth affair. The Gnomes jumped out quickly on the Suns to a 26-17 lead after a quarter, but the Suns then dominated the middle two quarters. They just pounded the Gnome's inside for basket after basket and free throw after free throw, eventually opening up a 15 point lead going into the final quarter, 84-69. But the Gnomes just went to work in the final quarter as the Myrtannian legs gave out. Myrtannia traded baskets for the first two shots to move to 88-74 but then the Gnomes blew the game open. They scored the next 17 points, aided by 4 steals from their press to move ahead 91-88. The Suns battled back to tie the game at 93, but the Gnomes scored five consecutive points to move back to a five point lead. The Suns nailed a three at the buzzer, but the Gnomes had still pulled off the big upset. Their next match they Nedalia again, where they simply drilled the Nedalians. They were simply on fire from three point land and had the press clicking on all cylinders in the first three quarters. They caused an amazing 33 Nedalian turnovers in three quarters as they moved to a 80-47 lead. In the last quarter the Nedalians fought back for pride to a final result of 90-79 but the Pink & Green were victorious again. The Gnomes have discovered how to overcome their lack of height beautifully this tournament and even have an outside shot at the top seed for the knockout rounds, and are almost certainly going to be a top three team. It all depends on the results of their final matches. Az-cz play Ereeland, but have the worst point differential. Myrtannia play Nedalia, and have the second best, and Lamoni plays Bazalonia. Bazalonia is probably the best of the three and might allow the others to catch Lamoni, but that's a small probability. Expect the Gnomes to beat Ereeland in the final match, but remain the third seed. Still the Gnomes have exceeded all expectations and could be a danger in the knockout rounds, a huge accomplishment for a team so soundly drubbed last time in Neu Amerika. Amazingly the basketball team has done better than the impressive soccer team. Of course one wonders what would be if the former powers of Andossa Se Mitrin Vega and Dorian & Sonya were here, but we won't look a gift horse in the mouth.

Posted by: Ereeland Jan 2 2007, 04:07 PM

Errish Vanguard - Sporting Section Programming Blackout Prevents Vieweship of Games AOBC 4 has not been particularly kind to the teams from our new Republic. Neither team has a winning record, or even a .500 record for that matter. Yet that would be fine with the folks back home if there hadn't been a programming blackout in most parts of Ereeland. The blackout has been attributed to Errish Republican Army maneuvers and weather balloons. In the few regions of Ereeland that did get a transmission, the games were pre-empted for a syndicated screening of 'Nun Vengeance 5: Nun of the Above'. Meanwhile, in Mrytannia, the Ereeland Green Wave has struggled to make any real progress in their first outing. So far their only win was against the only team with a worse point differential than them, Nedalia. Defense has been lax at best as opponents have been driving right through Green Wave players. "It's been ugly, and it might become even uglier," said coach Meddaugh, "These Gnomes are very dangerous." The Gnomes would be the national team from Az-Cz, who have gone from doormat to power since their last AORBC appearance. Their only defeat was to Myrtannia, and they've been playing extremely well. Any outside chance Ereeland has of victory rests with Zachary Zwilling, who's been the lone bright spot for the Green Wave. Going into the Az-Cz game, Zwilling is averaging nearly 22 points a game, as well as an astounding 92% shooting rate for treys. Our lassies, however, are doing a bit better. After losing three consecutive games, they faced a tough challenge from a newly spirited Bazalonia team. In a close matchup, the two nations traded leads 12 times, and the game was tied at 71 apiece with just under a minute remaining. That was when Daphne Angelo hit a trey to make it 74-71, followed by a steal by Elva Pressnell on the next posession. Angelo recieved a pass and hit another trey, while being fouled by the Bazalonian defender. Converting the free throw, she made it 78-71 for Ereeland, and the Shamrocks held off the Bazettes for win number two. "We're back on track now, but no one says our last group game is going to be easy. Ninety five X has played well, and they beat us last time. We've got to attack them and play our tempo of basketball to win," Gordon Bob, the Shamrocks' coach said. A win over 95X would give Ereeland second place in the group, but a rematch with 95X in the knockouts may be unavoidable. At least now, the feeds from Myrtannia have cleared up, so the folks at home can actually watch their teams play. Though some of them might rather watch the Nun Vengeance marathon.

Posted by: Milchama Jan 2 2007, 04:56 PM

"Dude" "Yeh" "We Won!" "That's impossible" "No it isn't we have guards and they control the tempo of the game." "I don't believe it" "See for yourself" "Milchama 105- Bazalonia 93" "Wow!" "Well we overcame the international conspiracy!" "There was any internat-" "SHUT UP! We have to have an excuse!" "Right, sorry sir." "Good, now go eat the meat of the beat of doom" "Ok." "Well how much do Bazalonia suck?" "I have no idea but it must be awful" "Yeh to lose to Milchama, god, that's terrible" "Who did well?" "Ford, 42 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds, Triple double" "What does that mean?" "Don't worry about it" "Are you sure? That sounds important" "Oh shut up" "Ok, anybody else" "No not really, Ford is a beast though" "What type of beast?" "A human beast" "Human's aren't beasts" "Oh shut up" "Tell me what type of beast" "A blind cyclops" "Ok, if he's blind then how is he good at basketball?" "SHUT UP! IT'S NOT IMPORTANT YOU IDIOT! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU NOW!" "Please don't" *bang* "You got me laughing on that one!! I told you."

Posted by: 95X-Scottfire Jan 2 2007, 11:45 PM

From the University City News Daily Women's AOBC Team Loses to Myrtannia Niniisto, Myrtannia - The final score was 103-100, but in reality, Mark Walters' 95X Women's Atlantian Oceania Basketball Championship Team might as well of lost by 50. "This is basketball - sometimes the final score doesn't tell the entire story," he commented. Home court advantage for the Dryads, along with the severe height mismatch between the two teams meant a 20-point lead throughout most of the game for Myrtannia, until the fourth quarter, when the Dryad bench played most of the minutes against 95X's run-down starters, barely mustering air balls and missing easy scoring opportunities. Next up for the 95X Women (2-3): Ereeland (2-3) at Elimico Court, Niniisto. TV: XBN - Channel 12 in University City, tape-delayed to be broadcast upon conclusion of the Men's game against Milchama And, from 95X Broadcasting Weekly 95X AOBC Games a Slam-Dunk for XBN, National Broadcasting Farelton-based XBN, who traded it's regular low-budget programming for more broadcasts of 95X's AOBC (Atlantian Oceania Basketball Championship) games, seems to have found a profitable diversion to its usually low ratings. Since 95X doesn't allow any of the participants to profit or receive anything in return for their efforts, and did not have to sign any sort of contract to purchase broadcasting rights, all advertising dollars will be retained within the network to increase its profits. "My shareholders are extremely happy," says C. Ray Tube, XBN CEO, "about both the dollars and the ratings." Meanwhile, a few hundred miles away in Pacific City, President and CEO of National Broadcasting, Jason Barbur (also Head of State on the 95X Board of Directors), says things have never been better since his company is offering radio broadcasts of the games. "We put the games on what had been our weakest station, Station 95.9," says Barbur. "The station has never generated more calls to its talk programs. Even one of the most conservative hosts on the station, Lewis Lewiston, whose show is usually just before the games start, puts down the politics for an hour to take sports calls." Both say they have even been personally thanked for what the community thinks is a 'public service.' "In reality, it's all about the dollars and sense," says Tube. "We would never televise a live government meeting about faded road signs or the National Sales Tax being too high. Nobody watches that, and nobody would advertise. We're offering a real choice to the public, one that allows them to forget about their own problems for a few hours."

Posted by: Myrtannia Jan 3 2007, 01:04 AM

RP Cutoff, Day Six

Posted by: Lamoni Jan 3 2007, 05:34 PM

Loss to 95X, win against Baz, we're in the knockouts! The Hawks retained their 1 seed in group A today against the rather poorly performing Bazalonian team; defeating them 105-91. The win places Lamoni into jolly good position in the knockouts, where they will face 8th seed Nedalia. While we think that this will be a Lamonian victory, we will not underestimate Nedalia; especially since our loss to 95X, who we had defeated earlier in this AOBC. This is a team with a driven focus, and that is to give Hugh Humber a second AOBC trophy before he retires. Before we move on to the next subject, we felt that we would like to show you the group A standings to this point. Group A W L PF PA Diff Lamoni 5 1 580 520 +60 95X 4 2 516 505 +11 Bazalonia 2 4 538 581 -43 Milchama 1 5 519 547 -28 The true importance of the match against Bazalonia (from the Lamonian point of view) was whether Lamoni would maintain first seed with a win (and we did) or if we would maintain it with point differential alone. The Hawks have been ripping up the court with a +60 point differential, and show no signs of stopping; the loss against 95X not withstanding. True, there are two other teams in group B with 5-1 records, but we have also retained the 1st overall seed due to our amazing point differential. This has allowed us a very good pick for the first round of the knockouts. Indeed, it shall be entertaining to see just how the other teams make out in their matches. Lamoni - 105 Bazalonia - 91

Posted by: Bazalonia Jan 3 2007, 07:06 PM

"What is going on in your minds?" chided the coach of the men's team. It was a rhetorical question. "You faced Lamoni, a team that we have come up against every AORBC. How can you just let them take a 12 point win? Your skills are as good, if not better than they ever been. What is not alright is up here." said the coach as he pointed to his head. "Get up here right and we still have a chance. We face 95-X, A team that we should be able to easily deal with, yet they flogged us. And this is not league anymore. These are the knockout stages, if we lose we become the laughing stock of the basketball community. If we win. We at least manage to salvage some pride." The coach took a break from his rant to drink some Bazola, the teams corporate sponser, before. "However, what in fact I am doing. Is scheduling a grueling schedule, however, not the normal grueling schedule. In fact you will not see the basketball court until our next game against 95-X." And the coach was right, they failed to see the inside of a basketball arena all the time they where in Myrtannia before the Quarter Finals. They spent time, sitting quietly doing some logic puzzles, strangely quite a few basketball player where Sudoku nuts. Other times they spent at a movie they hired the place out to see the classic Bazalonian comedy, The Prop. They were taken down to reasonbly nearby Myrtannian beach and went for a snorkel. In fact one thing had been finished they went to the next, this included afew educational things such as going to see various museums, and historical places. The days where jammed pack and each one while totally enjoyable caused the team to flake out once they returned back to their Hotel. ............ The women on the other hand, went business as normal, they faced Myrtannia, a team that they had managed to take to overtime but failed to beat. This was going to be hard but the team for some inexplicable reason had a glimmer of hope. This totally disregarded their 97- 76 point trouncing by Myrtannia but still the girls failed to let this stop them from at least dreaming of a win. Eitherway. They were going to be one of the top 4 in the competition, to bad the competition only has 4 competitors. Most of the team took this as experience, they now had some matches under their belt and had faced Myrtannia twice already. Their only hope is that they can knowck out the obvious favourites with an underdog upset win. The Bazalonian crowd that had started to arrive in Myrtannia were hopping to see this but, they were underdogs and that was for a reason. In the end all they hoped for was not another embarrasing performance and to make a competition out of the match with Myrtannia.

Posted by: Az-cz Jan 4 2007, 12:05 PM

Az-cz Scroll Myrtannia Dr-J Gnomes cruise into the knockout rounds In their final match before the knockout rounds the Gnomes were looking to up their seeding against Ereeland. While Ereeland has acquitted themselves well so far, they weren't able to upset the Gnomes in the rematch. The Pink & Green came out quite sluggish to start the game and the Ereeland fans thought they might be able to pull off the upset. There was no interior denial in the early match as the Gnomes were just getting brutalized in side. Barthez and Knee both picked up two fouls inside and the Ereeland players were scoring nearly at will as they score an amazing 41 points in the first quarter, 37 in the paint to take a 41-22 lead at the end of the first quarter. Things didn't get any better in the second quarter as the Ereeland players were still controlling the game. They were still able to get the ball down low and were keeping the ball well protected. Without the fast break to start up their offense the Gnomes were struggling to find points and Ereeland extended their lead to 69-43 going in to the half. One would've expected that if the Gnomes were going to rally they'd have to start making a come back immediately at the start of the second half, but that's not what happened. The Ereelanders continued to control the game for the first four minutes of the third quarter, pushing their lead into the thirties, eventually going up by as many as 34 at 82-48. Most countries fans would leave at this point, but the Az-cz fans are known as die hards for a reason and stayed to cheer their team. And they were rewarded with an incredible turnaround. The Ereelands legs could be seen deadening and all of sudden passes that worked earlier were steals and led to baskets the other way. By the end of the quarter the Gnomes had cut their defecit down to 90-63. And then the quarter of horror started for Ereeland. The Robbers lived up to their reputation stealing everything in sight and preventing Ereeland from getting any good shots. The Gnomes scored the first 22 points in the quarter, cutting the deficit down to 90-85 before Ereeland even found a point. And even then it came from the free throw line. In fact Ereeland didn't make a shot from the field the entire fourth quarter. After making those two free throws, the Gnomes rattled off the next seven points to tie the game up. Ereeland made two more free throws to move briefly back ahead at 94-92. The Gnomes made a 3 to take the lead and then Ereeland got the ball down low for one last foul that got them two free throws to take their last lead of the game at 96-95. The Gnomes then rattled off 10 straight points to end the game. All told the carnage of the final quarter was Az-cz scoring 42 while holding Ereeland to 6 points, all from free throws. While the late surge earned them the win, the early struggles meant that they couldn't make up any ground and go into the knockouts as the three seed. They'll face Milchama in the next round, a matchup where the Gnomes will be favored. Considering Ereeland's horrible collapse there seems almost no likelihood of them winning, so for the Gnomes to make the finals they must almost certainly overcome two seed hosts Myrtannia in a third match. If that game should occur expect a beauty as the first two games were absolute thrillers.

Posted by: 95X-Scottfire Jan 5 2007, 12:05 AM

From the Pacific City Courier Men Win, Women Lose Going into Second Round Elimination round of tournament begins Myrtannia - In another close game against Milchama, The 95X Men finished Atlantian Oceania Basketball Championship group play with an 83-81 win. Ryan Powell again led the way, scoring 22; with Duke Woodstock's 19 not far behind. Otherwise, the game was not terribly spetacular. Each team scored almost every time up and down the floor in the fourth quarter, with 95X gaining the advantage early in the quarter, capitalizing on missed opportunities by their Milchaman opponents. The win gave the team an impressive 4-2 record, the highest among the three first-time participants in the AOBC. Coach Frank Lester reminded the team, which is now ranked #4 and will play #5 Bazalonia in the first game, that the stakes are much higher. "One loss, and we're on the amphibious bus home," he says to an excited team. "Seriously," he tells the Courier after addressing the team, "they're just excited to make it this far. I remind them that so did the number eight team." The latest line from the Pacific City Grand Casino is 95X by six. Across the region, a mixed response, some siding with 'the new team with a chance;' others with with the Dribbling Bazalopes and its prior tournament experience, desipte a losing record and a 1-1 split with 95X in the group round. "I don't know, and I don't care," comments Powell about 95X's chances. "May the team that plays the best win." The women dropped their final group game, 85-81 against Ereeland. Both teams will play each other again in the Women's Semi-Finals, which begins the next night. Ashley Maranz, who scored 12 in the loss, said after the game she still felt it was anyone's chance. Kristin Hazel led 95X scorers with 18. The women are deep underdogs in for the tournament, having only won two out of six games thus far, and the critics expect the team to exit the tournament before the final game.

Posted by: Lamoni Jan 6 2007, 03:24 AM

Lamoni moves on! In the first round of the AOBC IV knockouts, the Hawks defeated Nedalia by the tune of 98 to 92. The win was a close one, but we'll take a close win over a loss any day. The win also means that Lamoni will face Bazalonia next, a team that the Hawks defeated by 12 points in their last matchup. If Lamoni defeats Bazalonia again, the experts are now telling us that they expect to see a Lamoni vs. Az-Cz final. Given what they have said about there being a Lamoni vs. Myrtannia final, you can take that with a grain of salt, but it does indeed seem likely. Both Lamoni and Az-Cz have identical 6-1 records, but Lamoni has more AOBC experience than their Az-Cz counterparts. The Hawks also have the "Win another one for Hugh" factor on their side; and it seems to be working for them, with Lamoni recovering from it's single loss rather well. Nedalia never led in this match, but it was close until the final buzzer sounded. In our opinion, this is not bad for a group of unamed men. The Hawks even shook hands with the unnamed players after the final buzzer in a show of good sportsmanship, wishing the Nedalians well after they left for their home nation from Myrtannia; where the AOBC is being held. Lamoni - 98 Nedalia - 92

Posted by: Bazalonia Jan 6 2007, 06:20 AM

[21:28:50] [INFO] Attempting to connect to “irc.baza.net.bz”. Use /cancel to abort. [21:28:51] [INFO] Connecting to irc://irc.baza.net.bz/ (irc://irc.baza.net.bz/)... [21:28:55] === *** Looking up your hostname... [21:28:56] === *** Found your hostname [21:28:57] === Welcome to the BazaNet IRC Network B_Dribbler!@113.23.2.112 [21:28:59] === Joining Channel "#AORBC" [21:29:09] =-= Topic for #AORBC is “General AORBC Discussion Only for match discusion use the following channels '#Lam_Ned', '#Baz_95X','#Ere_Myr' & '#Az-_Mil. Thank you” [21:29:44] <B_Dribbler> Omfg, That Bazalonia 95-X match was teh 1337!!11!11onwone!111!!111!!! [21:29:44] <B_Ball_GOD> Yo, N00b. Head to #Baz_95X! [21:30:21] <B_Ball_GOD> Yeah, I mean why bother. Stupid reffing, stupid calls, and stupid games. [21:30:48] <Basket_Legend> You can't really blame teh Myrtannians for that surely [21:31:21] <B_Ball_GOD> That's What you think, this is the worst AORBC EVA!!!!!one [21:31:22] === Leaving Channel "#AORBC" [21:31:41] === Joining Channel "#Baz_95X" [21:32:01] =-= Topic for #Baz_95X is "Bazalonia - 95-X AORBC Quarter-Final. Bazalonia 105, 95-C 94 FT. Dribbling Bazalopes through to Semi's” [21:32:14] <B_Dribbler> Omfg, That Bazalonia 95-X match was teh 1337!!11!11onwone!111!!111!!! [21:32:57] *B_Ball_GOD kills B_Dribbler for teh suckage [21:33:42] <B_Dribbler> Go, find a life, tard. [21:34:06] <B_Ball_GOD> Takes one to know one. [21:34:34] <B_Dribbler> w/e. It was a goof game though [21:34:46] <B_Dribbler> *good [21:35:11] <BazaFan> Was there ever any doubt? [21:35:34] <BazaFan> Bazalonia = teh 1337. [21:36:21] <B_Ball_GOD> 21:35:40] <BazaFan> Bazalonia = teh 1337. <--- Wtf?! This is BASKETBALL! We suck! [21:37:41] <B_Dribbler> It's true T_T [21:38:10] <B_Dribbler> 95-X just suck more [21:38:17] <B_Ball_GOD> ... [21:38:33] <B_Dribbler> What? [21:39:02] <B_Ball_GOD> perhaps you're not such a n00b. [21:39:21] <B_Dribbler> uh, thanks. Who do we face next? [21:39:47] <BazaFan> LAMONI HAWKS! [21:40:18] <B_Dribbler> We're boned... [21:40:27] <B_Ball_GOD> oh, yeah! [21:41:24] <BazaFan> Pffft. It's people like you that cause all the problems. [21:41:46] <B_Dribbler> What about the Girls? Still playing the Dryads. [21:41:51] <B_Ball_GOD> Yep. [21:42:16] <B_Dribbler> Well, gotta go. bye ah. [21:42:22] === Leaving Channel "#Baz_95X"

Posted by: 95X-Scottfire Jan 6 2007, 10:10 PM

95X - uh - *nicely* congratulates Bazalonia on their victory and wishes them the best of luck against Lamoni in the next game.

Posted by: Az-cz Jan 6 2007, 11:23 PM

Az-cz Scroll Myrtannia Dr-J Gnomes roll over Milchama The Gnomes advanced to their first ever knockout round match after being eliminated in the group stages last time around. And this time they made a huge statement with a crushing 101-73 pounding of Milchama. The game was over early with the Warriors clearly unprepared for the Az-cz press. Not having faced the Gnomes in the group stage and not havin much experience they weren't ready for the trapping press of the Gnomes, as they quickly fell behind. The Gnomes scored the first seven points and jumped out to a 15-3 lead to start the game. Although Milchama battled back a bit to cut the score to 18-10 but they only had a brief flash as the Pink & Green bounced back with more offense to move ahead 29-14 at the end of one. The second quarter was no better as the Gnomes continued to press and trap the Warriors into the ground and rolled ahead to a 50-30 halftime lead, based on the strength of Gy-Pt dropping in 12 in the second quarter and 22 for the first half. In the third quarter the Gnomes continued to roll with Rn-Mndez cutting the Milchama team to pieces from long range. He dropped in six three pointers as the Gnomes doubled their lead to 40 points moving ahead 85-45. In the fourth quarter the Gnomes called off their press and took out their starters in allowing Milchama to rally a bit to a slightly more respectable scoreline, but the Gnomes still advanced quite easily. After their match they watched the Myrtannia match expecting to see the Suns again, but Ereeland played their hearts out and upset the hosts 91-87. With that victory the Gnomes now become the favorites against Ereeland, who they've beaten twice. Although one would expect Ereeland to have spent all their energy in their game against Myrtannia they already reversed one set of futility, and will be looking to do that to the Gnomes as well.

Posted by: Az-cz Jan 7 2007, 05:58 PM

Az-cz Scroll Myrtannia Dr-J Gnomes survive upset bug, move on to face unexpected opponent Coming into the knockout stages there were three squads with five wins and one loss. The Pink & Green, the hosts Myrtannia, and Lamoni, home of superman Hugh Humber. Considering the results of the group stage all three were expected to advance to the semifinals and for two of them to meet for the championship. However Myrtannia was upset by Ereeland in the first round and Bazalonia proved their was life in their team still with a heart-stopping 87-86 win over Lamoni. So only the Gnomes lived up to their group stage play, advancing past Ereeland in a very difficult match. Ereeland came into the match confident after having eliminated the hosts and dead set on getting revenge for the two losses on their horrendous collapse to end the group stage. And for a while they seemed on pace to get it, once again getting off to a quick start by pounding the Gnomes down low. Ereeland was once again having success in getting the ball into the post and were able to shoot out to a 31-14 lead at the end of the first quarter. The second quarter was much more back and forth with the Gnomes rallying back to make the score 39-32 in favor of Ereeland before watching the Ereeland team push the lead back to 48-37 at the half. Despite being down by 11 points you could see the exertion of the Ereeland team starting to kick in. And then in the third quarter Ereeland really did themselves in. Trying what seemed to be an attempt to bury the Gnomes once and for all they really really went for it in the third quarter. And they did succeed in extending their lead, pouring in 30 points to just 15 for the Robbers, making the score 78-52 going into the final quarter, but all that did was set up another incredible Gnomes come back. Once again the start of the fourth quarter. And this time the start was even more painful. The press really clicked in and the Gnomes scored an unbelievable 26 unanswered points to start the quarter, jumping up to a 78-78 tie. Then the game turned into a back and forth match. Ereeland hit a deuce to pull ahead, then Rn-Mndez answered back with a three to move the Gnomes to their first lead since scoring the opening basket. Ereeland answered back with a pair of free throws, then Az-cz scored four straight to give themselves a bit of a cushion at 85-82. However Ereeland still had fight drilling a three to tie the game back up. However Gy-Pt calmy responded by cutting to the hoop and getting fouled on his way in to earn a three point play. The Gnomes came up with a defensive stop and Barthez was quickly fouled. He made only one of the two free throws, but Gy-Pt hounded Ereeland into a travelling violation. This time they got the ball to Rn-Mndez who iced two free throws to put the game away for Az-cz. Ereeland made a three at the buzzer, but the Gnomes had made the impossible happen again. Ereeland must be kicking themselves for a missed opportunity. With Lamoni losing in the early match Ereeland definitely would've had a shot at a tile if they held on, but instead we get to face our friends from Bazalonia. We met them last championship, where they put a crushing on us. While the roster is unchanged from last time around, the team is much different. This time we come in as favorites. However the Bazalonian team is coming together and it will be anybody's championship to win.

Posted by: Bazalonia Jan 7 2007, 07:24 PM

[20:12:58] [INFO] Attempting to connect to “irc.baza.net.bz”. Use /cancel to abort. [20:12:59] [INFO] Connecting to irc://irc.baza.net.bz/ (irc://irc.baza.net.bz/)... [20:13:03] === *** Looking up your hostname... [20:13:10] === *** Found your hostname [20:13:11] === Welcome to the BazaNet IRC Network B_Dribbler!@113.23.2.112 [20:13:19] === Joining Channel "#AORBC" [20:13:21] =-= Topic for #AORBC is “General AORBC Discussion Only All matches Over. Bazalonia through to finals (Men & Women)” [20:13:44] <B_Dribbler> Wow, what a series of upsets.... BAZ WINS! [20:13:53] <B_Ball_GOD> Oh for... not you again. [20:14:10] -->| Gn0m3_teh_1337(cool@host16-142-32-71.range140.a-c) has joined #AORBC [20:14:11] * BazaFan drags the corpses of Lamoni and Myrtannia into his trophy room, set his sights on Az-cz and Ereeland for the finals. [20:14:16] <Gn0m3_teh_1337> Pfft. GNOME POWER! [20:14:22] <B_Dribbler> Begone foul Gnome! [20:14:37] <Gn0me_teh_1337> You got me laughing on that one!. Bazalonia... Bow before the might of Az-cz! [20:14:42] <D_Bribbler> We would if we weren't scared of knocking you on your head. [20:14:51] <Gn0m3_teh_1337> Oh, hahah, funny. NOT! [20:15:15] * Gn0me_teh_1337 reads Az-Cz's 7-1 record against Bazalonia's laughable 4-4 [20:15:42] <Bazafan> Pfft. That's what these guys said about Lamoni. At least we bring it when it counts. [20:15:59] <Gn0me_teh_1337> Lamoni, hah Hugh's nickname obvious was a SuperDude ripoff. [20:16:08] <B_Ball_GOD> OMFG, SuperDude ROCKS!!!111!oneoneonetwo!!!1! [20:16:16] <B_Dribbler> Oh, yeah. It pwns, it pwns hard! Oh, and I heard they are going to do some sort of SuperDude movie too. Though I don't think it will be mainly about SuperDude. [20:16:31] <Bazafan> Hugh = not so Super *nod* [20:16:51] <D_Bribbler> You know if they got that ball in the net in that long range shot we would not be having this discussion? [20:17:12] <Gn0m3_teh_1337> That's because you suck. Anyway I'm off. I'll be looking forward to a Bazalonian loss in the finals. Later. [20:17:19] <--| Gn0m3_teh_1337 has left #AORBC ("Good luck with the Silver!") [20:17:38] <Bazafan> Pfft, like we can't beat them. I mean look at Lamoni [20:17:59] <D_Bribbler> It's going to be hard but it's doable. [20:18:20] <B_Ball_GOD> any B_Drib, who do oyu think is man of the tournament so far? [20:18:37] <B_Dribbler> For Bazalonia, gotta be the Cap, he's pulled the team together in time for the finals. As for everyone else. Can't really say. Alot of good players. [20:18:43] <B_Ball_GOD> Aye, good choice. As internationally despite his slighly poor performance against us, Hugh Humber is certainly up there. Even if his nick is a total rip off of SuperDude. [20:19:01] <B_Dribbler> Well, Gotta go, Sees yas on for the finals! [20:19:04] === Leaving Channel "#AORBC"

Posted by: Bazalonia Jan 7 2007, 10:41 PM

Meanwhile in another Channel.... #|-|4xx0rz <13eT> Guess what? <CaRMIcHeaL> What 13eTy? <13eT> Made some Basketball Dwebs think I was an Az-cz fan... hahahah <CaRMIcHeaL> coolzorz <CaRMIcHeaL> What name did you use? <13eT> Gn0me_teh_1337, hahahah. I even hacked into one of the Az-cz servers.. You got me laughing on that one! * Notice: It is a federal crime for Bazalonian citizens to represent themselves as a citizen of another nationality on the internet for the sole purpose of defaming citizens of those nations. You are being warned. You will be booted from this server, continued offenses may result in network-wide bans and server logs may be forwarded to the federal police. =-= 13eT was booted from #|-|4xx0rz by SysOp (Committed Federal crime) =-= CaRMIcHeaL was booted from #|-|4zz0rz (Warning) =-= Mode #|-|4xxorz set +C OOC: mode +C means that the channel is currently Closed, no one can access it.

Posted by: 95X-Scottfire Jan 8 2007, 09:47 AM

From the Pacific City Courier Women Face Bazalonia in Finals Win over Ereeland puts 95X in its first finals Myrtannia - One day after the Men's 105-94 loss to Bazalonia, the women from 95X suddenly became the only team from the nation in the Atlantian Oceania Basketball Championship. And, an 88-85 win over Ereeland, which saw 20-point performances by both Kristin and Danielle Hazel, has vaulted them into the final round against - Bazalonia. The women went 1-1 against the Dribbling Bazettes in the group round, and have new reason to try to win the game. Not just for the championship, but also to do something the men didn't - defeat Bazalonia in the Tournament Round. "Several people have asked me why we're not discounting this," says Mark Walters, Women's Coach, on the fact the AOBC had only four women's participants. "I tell them if they played their sport for their country, they'd understand." The 95X Women went 3-4 in group play; Bazalonia's Women were 2-5, and knocked off favorites Myrtannia.

Posted by: Bazalonia Jan 8 2007, 07:33 PM

Bazalonian Basketball Bounce! That was the headline, or derivations of , in a number of Bazalonian newspapers. They detailed the lacklustre group performance both of the mens and womens team who finished third and 4th in their group of 4 respectively. With the Mens only getting 2 wins in their six matches and the women sitting with only one win. However both teams pulled it out when needed with the Dribbling Bazalopes pulling out 3 wins against opponents that according to the group table should have pummeled them teams, particularily Lamoni. The women narrowly missed out their final by one point an an extremely exciting and close match. The lead kept changing throughout the women's final as neither team could get a real foothold this game as it was rather unexpectedly physical. No one was sent off but there where more fouls than usual for the usually well behaved team. In the end the Dribbling Bazzettes had a small chance to take the win with a long shot but it missed, The 95-X womens team had bettean them by 1 point. However the women where still upbeat in the end surprised they got as far as 2nd in the tournament. .......... The Bazalonian men where extatic with their win and congratulated the gnomes on a well faught game. In a speech at the end they congratulated all the teams they facedon performing well and said that just getting to the finals where a big surprise. They and the women cannot wait for the next AORBC

Posted by: 95X-Scottfire Jan 9 2007, 03:40 AM

From the Pacific City Courier 95X Women Win AOBC 4 Written off by almost everyone, underdogs win Championship Myrtannia - After the game, 95X guard Ashley Maranz described the final second of the game as lasting "an eternity." One of Bazalonia's best shooters with the ball at 20 feet. Ball leaves her hands as she shoots. The final buzzer sounds in mid-air. The shot falls off the side of the backboard. 95X had won its first International Championship by a score of 100-99. "I'd like to thank everyone back home for this," says Jessica Whitney. "It's been a lot of work, and we made it." The game was an arduous one, with each team scrambling for every rebound, almost each bucket answered with a follow-up at the other end, and defense so heavy it could be cut with a knife. At the end, it was Janelle Foxwood's 15-footer with 10 seconds to go that put 95X up by 1. "I told them the rest of the tournament record didn't count," coach Mark Walters said. "Think of this game as two minutes to go in the fourth quarter, with the score tied - either of us could win." Ryan Powell, whose 95X Men's team suffered a first round KO by the Bazalonian Men's team was in attendance, and a reporter from XBN asked him how it felt to see a 95X team win a championship - just not his team. Before having the chance to answer, an excited Kristin Hazel, who was just behind the two, turned around and screamed, "never send a boy to do a woman's job!," a comment which she later apologized for. Powell replied later that night that no apology was necessary, as he was still glad to see a 95X team win, even though it wasn't his. "It was great to be here, I hope to see everyone at the next tournament," he concludes.

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