Welcome back to the Fodlan League! The tallied up votes for games to watch ended up fairly even, so I put together a 4 game slate for you!
Game 1: Sreng @ Nuvelle
The first game is a manager showdown between Sreng Basketball Club and the Nuvelle Mariners. Sreng is largely a defensive team that focuses on ball control, and Nuvelle is about dunks, athleticism, and three pointers.
Things didn’t go Sreng’s way from the start. This gif in particular might be the greatest one any 2k game has delivered to me:
Nuvelle pulled out to a quick 18-6 lead, and ended the 1st quarter up 24-14, mostly on the back of:
and
Sreng spent most the 2nd quarter behind by double digits, and Nuvelle kept
Dunking
And providing good ball movement leading to nice shots:
But Sreng wouldn’t go away.
By halftime, the score was 50-48, Nuvelle holding a slight lead.
The 3rd quarter was incredibly slow in comparison, but Sreng’s grind-it style of play got them a 1 point advantage going into the 4th, 67-68.
In the 4th, Sreng pulled out a quick 6 points, giving them a 67-75 lead. It was then that Nuvelle began a furious comeback.
But in the end, it was too little too late, and after some late foul shots, Sreng pulled out the 94-87 win.
Game 2: Fhirdiad @ Ylisse
We go to quite possibly the most physical game so far. Ylisse was considered a preseason favorite, but Cordelia was already sidelined with a twisted ankle by the end of game 1. Down their starting Small Forward, Ylisse focused on physicality on the inside early, and lots of outside shooting from Robin and Tharja.
The only person who seemed to be able to answer was one Felix Fraldarius.
The 1st quarter ended in a 21-21 shootout.
At this point, things got a little too physical. While going for a rebound, Chrom lifted his head, and the back of it made contact
With Dimitri’s nose.
Dimitri would take the rest of the half off, and has a broken nose that will take 4-6 weeks to fully heal.
For the rest of the half, Frederick and Tharja took over.
Ylisse would stumble into a 49-46 halftime lead, with Chrom sitting on 4 fouls.
The second half would be Fhirdiad domination. Dimitri came back, and took over with 8 rebounds and 18 second half points.
And at the end of the 3rd, Ylisse faces a huge disaster.
Chrom fouls out and Felix tells him to go sit down.
An absolutely dominant 4th quarter led to a 20 point blowout, as Fhirdiad would continue their run, 103-83. Ylisse will be looking for revenge later in the year, once Cordelia is healthy again.
Game 3: Nohr v Hoshido
Welcome to the Mikoto Memorial Court!
Wait… who has Hoshido lost to?
Agartha by 5 and … Valla by 23? How did they lose by 23 to an unmanaged NPC team?
God damn it, Hoshido are the New York Knicks.
But in true Knicks fashion, this game became a clinic performed by one player.
Hinoka had the game of a lifetime. 22 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 block. On perfect shooting.
She
Could
Not
Miss
Nohr was practically useless in this game, barely keeping up with the red hot pegasus knight.
The end result was an 88-75 win for Honor of Hoshido, and frankly it should’ve been closer to 95-75.
Game 4: Almyra v Gloucester
Welcome back to the Gloucester Center of Sports and Recreation! Both teams entered this contest winless, being 2 of 4 teams going through the toughest early season gauntlets. (Brigid and Plegia being the other 2). However, Almyra held Leicester to under 100 points and managed to stay within 15 in a 98-84 loss; so things were shaping up to be a closely contested battle.
The game started in a heated way when the starting lineup for Almyra refused to look center-court, perhaps protesting the cruel treatment of Almyrans by the Leicester Alliance?
Gloucester decided that this insult would not stand, and started aggressively.
That early block set the tone, and set the stage for a defensive first quarter. Neither team would pass 20 points, with a 17-18 advantage going to the Fine Gloucester Lads.
The 2nd quarter was a different story, as Almyra took a long time to heat up, and Gloucester began to hit shots.
When our isekai adventurer, Dewan Hernandez, got back in the game, he decided he wanted some of the action.
What had been a 18-17 lead ballooned into a 40-21 lead, which is when Almyra tried to come back.
At halftime, Almyra had clawed back to get within 11, down 40-29.
The 3rd quarter started much like the 2nd, with Gloucester taking good fundamental shots and extending the lead to 60-42. Almyra struggled to make a dent in Gloucester’s defense, and they seemed rattled.
However, even though it seemed like too little too late, Almyra showed what it was made of in the 4th.
This dunk and extra free throw (and 1) cut the lead into single digits, as Gloucester struggled to score on the suddenly stout Almyran defense. The score was now 64-56, and Almyra was going strong.
Say hello to what may be my favorite dunk in the series so far, which brought the Almyrans within 4 with 12 seconds left (66-62). Unfortunately, with only those few seconds remaining, they ran out of time to finish the comeback, and Gloucester sank 4 free throws to win their first game, 70-62.
No thrilling finishes like last time, but a lot more competitive, and I think Ylisse/Fhirdiad may become a rivalry to enjoy.
