Posted by jxhnhvhn  9/07/2020 5:00 pm | #91 |
Next up is the UBC, I wanted to make this feel a little collegiate, but I've kind of decided that I didn't want school endorsed sports like in the U.S. So, these players get paid and they have to be going to that college, but they're basically semi-pro's. I touched on it before, but these are the four teams who did the best in League 2 this season and they will be competing in a play in for the 8th spot in the UBC playoffs.
Background
The uniforms are not all the complicated for these, but I'll explain the names. Trent Titans was just one the club thought sounded good and reflected the industrial might of the city. Their logo is the famous "winged-T," designed with the basketball team in mind upon its inception in 1953. In 1965, it was updated to its current version. Dudley is a city that's kind of known for being rowdy. Trent, Portsmouth, and New Dublin are good examples out west. As well as Salisbury, Hamstead, and Wells in the east. So, its perception in the Traders Bay itself, not the province, was that it was the "black cat of the bay," due to its ostentatious reputation and thus extroversion. Dudley is still commonly referred as this in bay communities in Sherborne and Derby. So, the club ran with it. Three Rivers in located in Dover where the vast Laukea River (wide) flows, bastardized by the British as the Cowtake River. It also flows through Bangor where it meets the Manakakwa River, the largest on the greater island of Manakakwa. In Dover, the Cowtake is created by the Lovell/Manuanu River (cold) and Rocking/Maupa River (mountain). Three Rivers name, the Aeros, comes from it being the STEM focused university in the Riverlands, but also its position as the foremost aero-engineering school. This is probably my least favorite of the logos, I thought of having a planet in the middle and then it has the three big stripes for the rivers. It might be a little modern for the time period, I tried to work and A in there too, so they would at least have some lettering. Oil Tech is also a STEM focused school, but it's even better than Three Rivers, with its being the best STEM school in Silveria. OTU is based out of Wells, on the north end of the oil belt. With a name like the Maroons you've got to have something classic, despite their branding they added basketball relatively recently when compared to some universities having teams starting in 1952, OTU joined in 1957. But, since the late 1800's this has been an elite private school based in the heart of drilling country. The oil industry has been fading quicker and quicker every day, but Oil Tech will still have a good reputation. Side note if you're wondering why Trent is a seed above Three Rivers despite a worse record, it's because the seeds are voted on.
Trent Titans vs. Dudley Black Cats (3:00pm)
The Trent Civic Center filled up to 4,500 to see the Titans play the Black Cats. While being the biggest crowd of the day in the UBC, Nelson vs. Northrop in the NSL surprisingly topped it overall. Barret Donnelly led the way for Trent scoring-wise, the big man is known around the UBC for his hook shot. Dudley just didn’t have the size to keep up with him. Donnelly at 6’9, bullied the Black Cats big men down low, while still proving his finesse with his soft touch. Thanks in large part to PG Danny Grant and PF Drake Klein, Dudley was able to stay close much of the game, but they never quite had the control enough where you would think winning was very probable. Donnelly was given MVP honors for his monstrous scoring effort and solid team defense. Don’t be too surprised if the Titans next opponent tries to expose him a little by isolating him on defense. As for the Black Cats, it’s the end of their season finishing with a total record of 9-14, certainly not the best the program has ever done, but they aren’t exactly a powerhouse.
Three Rivers Aeros vs. Oil Tech Maroons (5:00pm)
On the opposite end in terms of arena’s, Dover Arena only seats 1,500, and with a crowd of 2,000 the atmosphere is pretty raucous. Game 2 of the UBC’s day was much more back and forth than its predecessor with there being a total of 17 lead changes and 6 ties. Wing forward Keegan Kimball tallied up 19 points in the game with his shot refusing to fall the last 5 minutes. Brian Li, was pivotal in the orchestration of the Maroons offense. As always, OTU features the big man duo of PF Ray Joyce and C Quint Blakesley. Yet again the UBC saw a game where the bigger team was able to squeak out a win, as Kimball went cold and the Maroons kept throwing entry passes. Some big buckets by Blakesley at the end secured the win.
Last edited by jxhnhvhn (9/07/2020 5:01 pm)
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Posted by jxhnhvhn 9/08/2020 2:30 am | #92 |
Some more new uniforms and logos with the introduction of the EBA and WBA. While technically still being separate organizations, EBA and WBA champions meet for an overall champion much like in the World Series until the late 90's. Unlike in the SAAL, series in the EBA and WBA are all best of 7. They will also stagger their start as to have a game every day until that is no longer possible.
EBA Standings
North Division
Brackley Bulls 27-9
Wycombe Woodsmen 21-15
Dover Dukes 20-16
Lovell Explorers 18-18
Bangor Packers 15-21
Derby Redwings 12-24
South Division
Salisbury Kings 31-5
Dudley Penguins 19-17
Hamstead Athletics 16-20
Carlisle Sixshooters 11-25
Kheka Swans 8-28
WBA Standings
Manakakwa Pines 28-8
Stratford Flames 24-12
New Dublin Hatters 21-15
Portsmouth Gamblers 17-19
Aldborough Tigers 15-21
Tri-Cities Hammers 12-24
Barton Bandits 9-27
Salisbury Kings
The Salisbury Kings are a very historic semi-pro team and have often been more successful than their nearby SBA teams ever were at their level. This includes 5 TBA titles from 1957-1963 and 4 EBA titles from 1964-present. They play at the 3,000 seat, Steppe One Credit Center, only 1 of 3 in pro ball which is named after a company. They've traditionally worn yellow and red as the warm colors of the steppe region, but also include white and black depending on the occasion. Their name has similar origins to that of the Gamblers, being taken from the casino as a mascot. Both logos also feature poker chips.
Dover Dukes
Dover is 1 of 6 pro teams in the Riverlands. Despite being founded in 1951, the Dukes have yet to win any championship. Due to this they are often seen with as a team with a little brother complex, whether its Bangor in the SBA or Brackley in the EBA. Regardless of their lack of success, Dover has retained its old English "D" since its inception. While Haydon owns a similar color scheme, Dover's blue stands for the Cowtake River which forms near the city and the yellow for the gold of a duke. They play at the 1,500 seat Dover Arena.
Kings vs. Dukes (6:00pm)
The Kings have the fortune of being in the weaker EBA division and they more than showed their might with their complete domination of the south, finishing 23-1 in the division. Dover split the season series with Salisbury this year. The Kings other three losses included 2 to Brackley and 1 to Lovell. One thing you can count in Salisbury is a good crowd, tallying just over the capacity at 3,200. Cal Cunnigham came out firing for Salisbury, getting a quick shooting start, going 5/7 in the 1st. In the 2nd, Cunningham cooled down a bit with teammate big man, Doug Sinclair, taking over a lot of the scoring duties. While being the biggest player on the court every time he stepped in, Sinclair failed to really get it going offensively. Dover’s Connor Powers led the way in assists, not much of a scorer himself, Powers is very much a traditional pass-first PG. It kept working though as 4 man Ken Fosse refused to be outscored by fellow big man Doug Sinclair. A Fosse fadeaway and Powers steal were keys to victory late for the Dukes. Game 2 is set for tomorrow as the Kings to will look to regain their momentum after a disappointing loss to the solid, not great Dukes.
Manakakwa Pines
The Pines were the first professional basketball team in the country of Manakakwa, joining the SPBA for one season in 1955 before the league’s absorption into the WBA. Manakakwa has won 1 WBA championship, coming in 1970. Much like in Silveria, basketball came into prominence after WW2, however it’s not quite at the same level of popularity as in Silveria, especially when considering the population disparities between the neighboring nations. The Manakakwan flag features a green, white, and brown horizontal tri-color with a pine tree in the center, which is where the name originated from. These were also the original colors before they opted for the more in vogue double green. They play at the Manakakwa City Sport Arena which hosts up to 4,000.
Portsmouth Gamblers
I had the idea of using the old Pacers logo and I had to roll with it. Since it’s not in the U.S., I figured they wouldn’t have a hard time using a good chunk of that logo anyway. So, I tried to make it look like a poker chip, but also still a basketball. There may be a bit of a problem with the Kings and Gamblers both using casino imagery, but much like the Gamblers logo, for now it stands. As I mentioned before, Portsmouth is one of the cities with a reputation for being working class and kind of rough around the edges. The Gamblers play at the Portsmouth Garden, almost identically sized to Dover Arena at around 1,500 seats.
Pines vs. Gamblers (8:00pm)
Since their first WBA title the year before last, the Pines have not been messing around. They’ve made it clear the country wants an SBA team and meanwhile the WBA team plans to compete. On the other hand, the Gamblers have never quite been the best team, but don’t typically play too bad from year to year. There was a bit of controversy, as there always is, due to the Gamblers losing record and making the playoffs. This all while Dudley and Lovell recorded better records, but couldn’t make the playoffs because of the league boundaries. Despite their success in recent years, the Pines have been questioned for their ability to draw big crowds. But, the sport still has quite a bit more wiggle room to grow in Manakakwa. The game started a bit slow before the Pines got into a groove. Powered by 31 points from C Wally Pettigrew, Manakakwa dominated the boards all night. PF Parker Kelokelo, the first player of Pacific Islander descent in Silverian basketball, played a big part in that, securing 14 boards in just 25 minutes. Jamie O’Leary led assists at 9, another solid total for the Pines. In the end, it was Pettigrew who got the nod for game MVP due in part to his stellar shooting and rebounding abilities. Portsmouth was sent off with a pretty horrible taste in their mouth, wouldn’t be surprised if they try to turn up the pace next game with their smaller lineup.
Last edited by jxhnhvhn (9/08/2020 2:37 am)
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