I'm hoping Kanagawa can get back on top, but I also think Tokyo's looking really nice. Keep it the good work!

Steelman wrote:

What's with Kanagawa, just unlucky? +26 diff but still mired in the middle.

Hopefully the Samurai can leapfrog that middle pack.

Things are crazy in Blockball! Sometimes teams score a lot, sometimes they score nothing, and it hurts. Let's hope all team can get the perfect formula to even both systems.

QCS wrote:

I'm hoping Kanagawa can get back on top, but I also think Tokyo's looking really nice. Keep it the good work!.

Thank you so much!

CCLXXXVII wrote:

Oh, I remember this from SFF! I always thought that this was a really interesting idea and I'm excited to see it continue.

In the future, would there be an interest in expanding the sport beyond Japan?.

To be honest I had always in my mind the fact that I left the SFF thread open, shame on me. I'm really happy to see people who also remember this from the old forums! Like for real, that's so amazing.

About international expansion, I thing is very possible! I have a ton planned for the Japanese league, but maybe in the future I will expand the sport to North America or Europe.


NPBL Season 1 - Weeks 7-8

What – a – week.

Since the starting gun, Weeks seven and eight were by far the most intense. No team ended that period without changes. Some of them sky rocketed, and some went down the hill. Let’s check out what happened team by team.

Saitama is on fire. Last weeks they won two games, and now they have won four games in a row, beating Osaka and Niigata. The first game, which ended 23-0 for the Cyborgs, was the first perfect game in the history of the NPBL.

Tochigi lost and won, but keep on track toward the playoffs. Hokkaido won two games and stole Kanagawa’s place for the third.

Tokyo and Kanagawa fell to the fourth and fifth place in the tables. Even when they had high scoring games, Saitama’s performance, Hokkaido’s rise and Tochigi’s scoring pulled them down.

Chiba demonstrated in the field that last week wasn’t just luck, and even after losing a game against Hokkaido, they went up to the 6th place.

Niigata and Osaka’s couldn’t succeed in the most competitive week of the season so far. They both fell to the last places of the table, after both losing their two games.
 
Three stars of the game

* Okazaki Daichi (G) - Saitama Cyborgs
The goalkeeper of Saitama Cyborgs was the star of the league, after finishing without goals in his net. With this, Okazaki established the first great milestone of the league: Finishing without points.

** Kubo Tomoaki  (LW) - Chiba Thunder
Finally! Chiba started slow, but left winger Kubo never surrendered. He was the best scorer of past two weeks, scoring 85% of his chances.

*** Hatsuki Taizo (D) - Saitama Cyborgs
Second mention to Cyborgs defenseman. His contribution to the game against Niigata was huge, and everyone, including Okazaki thanked him. "This perfect game would have been impossible with the hard work of our defensemen. Okazaki, you saved me a couple of times in front of the net. Let's applaud for them as well!"

Last edited by Nark24 (7/15/2019 11:29 am)

Man, rough week for both Tokyo and Kanagawa. Saitama is on fire, and I imagine that perfect game will help them clench some point differential tiebreak, if necessary. I'm hoping Kanagawa can come back from this!

Last four, First four

The last four weeks of the first NPBL season determined, at last, who would be the first playoffs rivals for the Nakamura cup playoffs. Let’s see the steps for all eight teams during this period.

Weeks 11-12

Hokkaido is surprising as ever. With two more wins under their belt, they are pretty much auto qualified for the Playoffs. Even when both teams and fans knew how terrifying and unexpected can blockball season turn, they celebrated this milestone nonetheless.

Saitama Cyborgs and Tochigi Archers were in the same steps of Hokkaido. Both teams were only two wins away from the first spot. Chiba Thunder is still holding their fourth position, but in a very fragile fashion.

Niigata Samurai was hot these weeks. They won two in a row, and scored 40 goals. They are on the brink of qualifying, after one of the hardest mid-seasons!

In contrast to the Samurai’s success, Kanagawa and Tokyo fell to the bottom three. Neither team gave declarations to the press. Osaka staff, fans and team knows they’re pretty much the meme of the league right now. After losing their last game against Hokkaido 10 to 27, the team started to work towards 2057 season.
 
Season end:

Like last week, Saitama and Hokkaido played for the victory. Their hard work gained wins catapulted them into the first Nakamura Playoffs spots. Betting circles started, calling them both the first finals.

Niigata destroyed the competition. They couldn’t erase the negative difference in goals, but they battled for the points, and robbed Tochigi for the third place on the standings. Tochigi suffered little. A fourth place still qualified them to the playoffs! Niigata’s performance was the cherry on the top of a very interesting first season.

Tokyo Nitro and Chiba Thunder players were like young, high school runner-ups. The soil and dirt was exchanged by hard wood planks, and Hanshin Koshien Stadium was Indoors arenas instead, but men shared the same tears. Some of them remembered their own high school years, playing for the Sukai Flag. They still congratulated the rival wholeheartedly, and Osaka’s fans gave Tochigi Archers a standing ovation at Osaka-Jo Hall. Osaka Warriors fans suffered a lot during the season, but they are the league winners of "Classiest fans 2056".

The first NPBL Playoffs are just one week away. Teams are preparing for a hard, tight schedule. With games closer to another in the championship format, every coach is aware of the difficulty of the task. Hokkaido Rangers, undoubted winners of the first regular season, holds Tochigi Archers in first Round. Saitama Cyborgs, one of the most stable teams, holds the underdogs, Niigata Samurai. The bracket is complete, and only one team will win it all.

Last edited by Nark24 (7/29/2019 6:10 pm)

Darn, both of my teams couldn't make it. On to 2057!