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Week 4
We had a slate of intense games this week. But, as always, 2k needed to put its own spin on the whole affair. Minor injuries peppered the league, affecting some of the primetime games of the week.
Game 1: Macedon @ Fort Merceus
This week had 3 different interesting statistical matchups. Macedon and Fort Merceus lead the league in blocks (Fort Merceus averages 5.7 a game, Macedon 4.9). And these teams played like the blocking title was on the line.
In those 4 clips, Macedon had 4 blocks, and Fort Merceus had 3 (technically 2 full blocks and a deflection, but those count in the scoring.)
I stopped there, because by the end of the game, Macedon had 14 fucking blocks, and Fort Merceus had 12 blocks as well.
Still, in spite of all this defense, Macedon had racked up a lead of 46-27 with 2 minutes left in the half. Fort Merceus made an inspired run with those 2 minutes, though.
By halftime, it was 46-35, and Fort Merceus kept coming back. They outscored Macedon 17-7 in the third, and the score was now 53-52.
Alas, it was not meant to be.
Fort Merceus could never quite get full control of the game, and lost, 66-58.
Yes, that means that the final quarter was a 13-6 battle of futility. And yes, there were 7 total blocks in that quarter alone.
Game 2: Sacae @ Ylisse
The Anna Company Center is the home of physical play, record attendance, and very pricey refreshments. (27 gold for a pretzel? Who’s running this joint?)
Sacae comes in with one of the few frontcourts that can rival Chrom “Nose Smasher” and Frederick “Oops I only meant to get the ball”. Hector and Eliwood have been essential for the Flash, who have spent the season milling around near the middle of the standings.
Strange things were afoot in the first quarter, however. Eliwood, Chrom, Frederick, and Hector were nowhere to be seen, replaced by a shootaround by the two point guards, Robin and Priscilla.
Priscilla scored 25 points for the Flash in the first quarter, while Robin scored 20 and chipped in two assists to Tharja, for a barnburning 30-24 Sacae led quarter. In the second, Eliwood and Hector began to take over.
Sacae had a quick start, extending the lead to 40-26, when Frederick decided he had enough.
Ylisse was carried by Frederick and Tharja, who utilized fouls to keep themselves in the game.
By halftime, Ylisse had turned a 14 point deficit into a 6 point lead, leading 51-57. However, the Flash would have the highlight of the half, when Eliwood found a wandering Florina ...
FOR THE ALLEY OOP SLAM
... Anyways, the third quarter continued the physical play, as Hector and Frederick got in a little dust-up.
Sacae got within 1, trailing 79-80. But the 4th quarter was all about the Sully - Robin connection.
While this was the only really cool play, Robin had 10 assists, all to Sully, who scored 20 of the 25 points for Ylisse. Sacae played well, scoring 20 of their own, and keeping the game within 3 until the last minute, but Sully was too much. Ylisse wins, 99-105.
Game 3: Enbarr @ Friege
So, Jeritza is out, meaning that our very own Viscardus (if you are reading from the lp zone, he is a friendo) is getting major minutes at Power Forward. But Friege is also suffering a heavy injury. Reinhardt, who leads the team in rebounds and defensive efficiency, twisted his ankle, forcing him to sit this game out.
But the real interesting matchups are in the backcourt. Your most efficient offensive shooting guard, in the whole league, is Friege’s Ishtar. On the opposite end, Enbarr’s starting shooting guard, Petra MacNeary, is the best defensive shooting guard in the league.
The opposite holds true for the point guards. Julius leads the league in steals, and Edelgard is 2nd in the league in Points Per Game (Only 2 ppg lower than Ishtar).
I haven’t seen Travant look this excited since he visited the Yied Desert for vacation.
But let’s get back to the real fun. Edelgard started this game immediately with a James Harden-esque pullback on Travant.
She followed it up by clowning on both Kempf and Julius.
Then the battle of Ishtar vs Petra commenced.
Huge block by Petra, which was immediately followed by:
Ishtar coming through and making Petra look silly. But don’t worry, after Dorothea missed a jumper, Petra got her second shot at the Thunder Goddess.
Turns out those levels in Thief weren’t a waste after all.
Petra would earn two quick fouls, and Bernadetta was brought in to try to cover Ishtar.
And Edelgard started feeling her height.
Somehow, Enbarr managed to keep it tight in the 1st quarter, only trailing 28-36.
Major lineup changes saw our good friend Visc come in for an ailing Ferdinand, who had not had a breather for the whole quarter.
He opened up the 2nd quarter scoring, and added 4 rebounds to a solid effort.
Ferdinand came back in, and started to play hard as well.
Even Hubert showed a rare athletic feat.
But in the end, Ishtar kept the Thunder ahead, finding others when she couldn’t get an open shot.
The half ended with Enbarr down 9, 58-67.
All good zaps must come to an end, however, and Petra came in and locked down Ishtar for the 3rd quarter. Friege struggled to score, and Enbarr came back to within 1, 82-83. With 4 minutes left, Enbarr had extended their lead to 104-89. Petra earned her 5th foul, and Enbarr’s coach decided that Ishtar wasn’t enough of a threat to risk fouling her out.
In a way, he was right. With the amount of time left, winning the game was likely out of the question. But Ishtar, while having the “Ice Cold” effect on her (making hitting shots harder) came out swinging.
She scored 13 points on perfect shooting, but it was too little, too late. Enbarr’s ability to shut down Ishtar for 1 and a half quarters earned them a 110-102 victory.
Ishtar scored 35 points and Edelgard scored 26, but Petra put up the quietest 28 points in history, as I couldn’t find a single good highlight for her scoring output.
I’ll just take 2k’s word for it.
Anyways, look at these cool alt jerseys for Enbarr:
Looking good Hubie.
Game 4: Western Church @ Eastern Church
What to call this match … It’s like the BYU/Utah Holy War, the Mets/Yankees Subway Series … If you can come up with a good name, let me know.
Welcome to the Church-Off, where sects meet in intense action.
Eastern Church has several impressive wins in this season, while the Western Church has only just started to figure things out. However, you wouldn’t have known that from the beginning of this game.
The Western Church dominated the 1st half, amassing a 19-6 1st quarter lead, and kept a 33-25 lead at the half.
The Eastern Church kept up a sloppy comeback, getting within 2 multiple times in the 3rd quarter.
But with that last shot in the quarter, they had finally tied the game up, 49-49.
Which leads us to the 4th. Or to be more exact, the last 10 seconds of the 4th. The two teams found themselves tied: 67-67.
The Western Church, with 5 seconds left, pull out a huge shot from nowhere, leading 69-67.
But the Eastern Church would not be denied. They had worked so hard to get this far. They had big victories over Hoshido and Leicester.
And they would not lose so easily.
1.3 seconds left in regulation. Western Church ball. Their second best 3 point shooter, who was 4-5 for the whole day, gets a decent look.
Look at that crowd. They know what that means for the team.
So, overtime. 5 more minutes to figure out the winner.
Well, things started out amazingly well for the Western Church.
An immediate 74-69 lead forces an Eastern Church timeout.
On the next possession, EC would get a huge bailout.
They did miss the free throw, but cut the lead to 3, and in the next possession:
Down by one, 74-73
3 minutes go by, and we have a game. Some free throws give the Eastern Church a 76-77 lead, but it’s been two prizefighters exchanging heavy blows.
Another shot clock passes, and the Western Church:
Nails a huge shot: 78-77 lead.
The Eastern Church wastes a huge possession, and the Western Church have a chance to put the game away, when a timely steal leads to:
78-79 lead for the Eastern Church.
The Western Church would sink two free throws to get a 80-79 lead, when the Eastern Church would strike again.
28 seconds left, 80-81 lead for the Eastern Church.
The Western Church wastes the whole shot clock, but can’t seem to find a clean shot, but they chuck up a prayer:
IT GOES IN
Western Church leads, 82-81, with 4.3 seconds remaining.
But friends, this game didn’t have enough excitement. The Eastern Church’s point guard ran full court, and with all his might:
Got absolutely destroyed, but picked up a crucial foul. 2 free throws to win the game.
The important thing to note: This particular point guard was 3-7 on free throws at this point, and was 0-4 in the second half.
But he sank the first one. Tie game, 82-82.
Clutch.
1.2 seconds left, and out of timeouts, the Western Church gives it their best full court shot:
But it isn’t enough, the Eastern Church win their 2nd Overtime game in as many weeks: 82-83!
What a way to end the week.