Titre: National Cup

Well there are no easy draws at this stage of the cup but I was hoping to avoid the Mavericks for another round! Fodder Dragons is one epic draw too particularly after their recent league results.
Exciting times!

Well just one bus ticket at least as I play the Mavs again in the league that night!

Well folks, that was a thrilling set of quarter-finals. Cannon Fodder got their revenge on my Whitefall Dragons, almost perfectly reversing the scoreline from our league match-up a few days earlier. C.I.Seagulls snapped the Dallas Mavericks' hot streak, sealing a one-point win having trailed by 3 going into the final minute. Newry Lions shut down our favourite underdogs ABC DEPO, but all credit to those guys, they will be a team to watch in future seasons. And finally, always the bridesmaid but never the bride, Nasty Mumps BC made it to the quarters but no further for the third season in a row, losing by only 5 points to high-flying Lincoln Canadiens. Better luck next year Mumps, I'm sure you'll be back here again.

So our last four are all I.1 teams for the first time in PPM Basketball history. The Canadiens and Seagulls are in Pot 1 for the draw, Lions and Fodder in Pot 2.

So who's the favourite of the last four? All the teams left in the competition are looking strong and on good runs of form. Cannon Fodder just edge it on team strength alone, but any one of these guys could be lifting the trophy on finals day.

Great update again! Well I'm very happy to have eeked it into the semis and what a tough draw I have too vs the Fodder!
I think both games should be very close given the teams styles and tactics matching up.

Well it was good while it lasted. Congrats to Fodder who managed to pull away right at the end. Good luck to you and Newry (what a close game!) in the finals!

Looking forward to the NC finals

So its National Cup time yet again. The Dallas Mavericks are our number 1 seeds this season, with last season’s champions Cannon Fodder at #2 also a team to beat. Who is going to lift the trophy though? It’s hardly ever who we expect in Basketball. Here are some of my highlights for the first round.

Because of the random draw its possible to get all-I.1 matchups even from day one, and we’ve got one sure enough this time round. It is… oh, you’ve got to be kidding me??!!

Glasgow Gladiators (I.1) vs Whitefall Dragons (I.1)

The Gladiators are making an impression in I.1 and in our first ever league matchup last week… we got hammered 102:87. Oh dear.


Moving swiftly on then, here are my picks of some of the tastier first round matchups.

Silver Sentinels (I.1) vs h0rnets (II.2)
The Sentinels look strong again in their second season in I.1, but the h0rnets went as far as the promotion/relegation round last year and are sitting high in II.div. They’ll be putting up a fight for sure.
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ABC DEPO (II.1) vs BK Bergi (II.3)
2nd and 3rd in their respective conferences, these II.div teams have certainly got form. Bergi dropped out of I.div at the end of season three but came tantalisingly close to bouncing straight back up in the promotion round last season. ABC DEPO on the other hand, were the only III.div team in the Quarters last season; they’ve been promoted and had a strong start to life in the second tier, which makes this result too close to call.
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Banik BCT Karvina (II.2) vs Basket SNV (II.3)
Another big II.div game between two teams in 2nd and 3rd in their respective conferences. Karvina are probably the favourites here but it should be another close game.
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Club 77 (II.2) vs Skeleton Bulls (II.1)
Club 77 haven’t lost a game yet this season and will be looking for a good cup run, but the Skeleton Bulls are in the top half of the table in their league too and these teams look closely matched.
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ultimate zebras (II.1) vs Banik Handlova (III.1)
The Ultimate Zebras are looking strong in II.1 and excellent candidates to join the top flight next season. But they’ve drawn a real dark horse in Banik Handlova, currently sitting unbeaten at the top of III.1. Could there be a cup upset in the making here? Its not impossible.

Hi Apollinaire,

Nice write-ups !

I'm a big fan of the Hornets. When the Sentinels came up we were in the same conference and we had some great battles. The score is usually off the wall and 'defence' is only a seven letter word !

Riley Martin is lethal. He can put 15-20 points past anyone in an instant, and stopping him is only part of the situation. Of all the draws apart from the League 1 sides it would have been the Hornets I would have hoped to avoid.

Last few meetings also, the Sentinels were fielding a near full compliment of Vets. At the moment the youngsters are doing well but well oiled Veteran units will trouble us.

My prediction for the match would be something like 112-110 and it's a coin flip who gets the 112.

Yikes, best wishes guys

Nigel

I thoroughly enjoy reading your NT posts Apollinaire.
I saw the draw live and I did almost choke on my dessert when I saw your team get drawn out of the bag against the gladiators!

There are some exciting match ups there I cant wait to see the games

The aberdeen oilers are well oiled . I am quite nervous about playing them later. And its a long flight there. Very inconvenient!

Ha ! Those Oilers are made of granite also. Tough bunch, Watch out for Kimble...

106-38 - Road to the finals starts well

Well, there were not too many surprises in Round 1. My guys had to work far too hard to get the win but they managed it in the end (well played KingF, I’ll be paying for that one in the post-season no doubt).

My biggest surprise of the round was previous three-times Quarter-finalists Nasty Mumps BC going out early to II.1 rivals Stow Scorpions (now there’s a team to watch, they clearly have a sting in the tail). ABC DEPO won a tough matchup against BK Bergi by 5 points, whereas Zdenek Bulls, Banik BCT Karvina and Club 77 won out with a healthier margin in the other big all-II.div matchups.

And last but not least, this one caught my eye – Kiszonki BC vs Mistrz Ligi went to double overtime (!!) finally ending 109:104 to II.1’s Kiszonki boys. They must have been struggling to stand up after that one.

Stay tuned for Round 2 predictions next…

NATIONAL CUP SEASON 5 - ROUND 2
Too many games to cover them all, but here are my highlights for tomorrow…
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Aberdeen Oilers vs ABC DEPO
The Oilers certainly did look slick in round 1 and are making it stick since their promotion to I.1 as well. The DEPO boys from Wales will fancy themselves for a classic cup upset, but it’s a long drive from Glamorgan to Aberdeen and they’ll have an uphill struggle here.
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Leicester Riders vs Zdenek Bulls
This is one of three match-ups between the teams who were narrowly relegated from I.1 last season, and teams who are still there (see also Dallas Mavericks vs Alma Airs, and TYSKIE New Malden vs Hearts). This will be a close one indeed; the Bulls look solid after an off-season rebuild and could cause some trouble here.
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Newry Lions vs BC Handcross
There’s only one all-I.1 match-up again this time and it’s the Lions vs Handcross. The Newry side have the home-court advantage but have struggled this season, whereas BC Handcross have certainly made an impression in their first season in the top flight. Look for a close game here.
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Ultimate Zebras vs Toronto Blue Jays
Last season they were unbeatable, but the Jays have had a start to this season that they’d rather forget. The Zebras, on the other hand, look like a strong side. They’ve gone 9-1 in their first ten league games and they’ll fancy taking on a I.1 side and giving them a visit to remember.
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Stow Scorpions vs Lincoln Canadiens
The scorpions have already caused a minor upset in round one. The visiting Canadiens will be wary after a difficult start to the season in the league but ultimately they’ll have the player calibre to win this one, I reckon.
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Winterfell S.T.A.R.S vs Silver Sentinels
This could be a fascinating game. The S.T.A.R.S. have a strong team which belies their fourth place in the standings, in the extremely competitive II.1 division. The Sentinels are looking good and should get the win, but it won’t be a walk in the park.
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Banik BCT Karvina vs Red Army Basketball
Two solid II.div teams line up for a close game. Karvina go in as close favourites but I wouldn’t bet against the Red Army, who have a much deeper roster and a bit of a height advantage.
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BC Waltham Forest vs Hallam Hawks
An all-II.3 match-up and two teams with experience and quality. My money is on the Hawks to edge it, against the run of league form.

Very well played Winterfall ! A well deserved victory indeed. Best wishes for the rest of the tournament

As for my lot, they are all now on their way to Glasgow, Yikes what a few days it has been :/