League #7

[countlieberkuhn]

Make sure to get use them well, Wyvern! I was in your position last time, and SM7 are now strong contenders, while MAG somehow got worse...

[monsoonexe]

Both games were really close, Gabe. They were really low-scoring compared to some games that go into the double digits.

Rin got punked in the first half against the Mad X, getting all the way up to dunking position with a 15 Shot bonus, but gets creamed by Odine, who then proceeds to make a mockery of my team's new "no strategy" strategy by racking up a 19 shot bonus.

MAR always seems to get scored against first. It takes a slap in the face to wake these guys up and make them play seriously. Or maybe they just like to make the other team feel cocky before putting the hurt on 'em. It was a really impressive first goal by Illua, soaring into the net even though Brother was able to tip it slightly. Actually, the other goal by Illua was spot on, beating Shinra's CATCH by 1. Just out of reach.

[Bob]

Round 2 has ended! Time to start the finals! Good luck to all remaining teams!

**********Tournament 3 Stamina**********

Marlboro Mayhem
Brother=0
Tidus=10
Zack=4
Cloud=6
Rufus=10
Shinra=1
Ashe=7
Baralai=7

Sublimely Magnificent 7
Jecht=4
Balthier=4
Seifer=2
Cid Highwind=6
Edge=10
Edgar=1
Laguna=10
Snow=7

Grizzly Bears
Orlandu=10
Sazh=8
Zangan=5
Auron=8
Duncan=6
Galuf=1
Tellah=1
Unei=10

Highwind Diamonds
Seymour Guado=10
Angeal=8
Vincent=7
Wakka=10
Biggs=6
Macgregor=2
Guinness=1
Rin=4

Results:

GB vs DMD: Sazh starts the game with a quick relay to Zangan for a quick point. About a minute later, Rin gets the ball basically IN the opposing net before shooting for an easy goal. Sazh starts his next drive, but loses it to Angeal, who relays it to Rin for another point. A few seconds later, Angeal beats the crap out of Sazh and gets a point of his own. Things are going poorly for the Bears. The combo of Angeal and Rin seems unstoppable as Angeal puts in yet another before Sazh FINALLY puts one it to get the Bears up to two. Too bad the Angeal/Rin combo is just to strong and puts on another point. Sazh gets another point, but Rin gets one hell of a nice buzzer beater to keep a 3-point lead on the Bears at the half.

Things just get worse for the Bears in the second half as Vincent joins in the slugfest, helping the Diamonds to a 10-5 victory. Good job, Diamonds! First shot at the big win!

MAR vs SM7: What are the odds? Both teams decided to use the Crash Left formation, despite neither using it regularly! This should be exciting! SM7 is first with the ball. After a tussle in the middle, Seifer gets it to Jecht, who puts it in for a quick point! But twenty seconds later, Ashe ties it back up with ease. A minute later, with a bit less ease, Ashe puts in another, and this time it's Jecht to make the shot to tie things back up. Ashe gets another, then after yet another giant tussle, the ball slips away to Jecht for a 3-3 tie at the half! Exciting!

At the half, Zack starts with the ball, but loses it to Seifer. After some stealing back and forth, Seifer relays it to Jecht for a point, putting SM7 back in the lead. This time it's Baralai to tie things up after just a few seconds. Jecht gets the ball and holds it awhile, but gets greedy and advances too far before getting clobbered and losing the ball, which eventually found its way to Ashe for a point late in the game. Are things all over for SM7? NEVER! Jecht ties it back up almost immediately! The game is completely tied with 11 seconds remaining! Zack gets the ball, tries a buzzer beater, but Seifer grabs the ball right when the game ends! That means...OVERTIIIIIME!

According to Bob's Overtime Rules, the team with the ball at the end of the game starts with it in overtime. Thanks to Seifer's grab, that means SM7 starts with the ball. Seifer drives it forward and loses it to Zack. Zack tries a pass, but it's grabbed by Balthier? Wait, who? Where has Balthier BEEN all game? Doesn't matter, he's here! He passes to the all-star, Jecht, who fumbles the pass! D'oh! But Cid grabs it, relays it to Snow, who relays it to Jecht, who puts the ball in for the win! The Sublimely Magnificent 7 win and advance to the finals for the first time ever! WHAT A GAME!

And so, two finals newbies go head-to-head for the title, while rivals the Marlboro Mayhem and the Grizzly Bears face off for third. Good luck to all teams! Looking forward to seeing who wins this one!

[countlieberkuhn]

WOO! FINALS! This is new territory for me, now I've just got to be Rich's OTHER team

[monsoonexe]

Darn, that buzzer beater! Too bad it went down that way, but it was still a really good game.

Well done, Count.

I think I've been using the Diamonds in the wrong formation this whole time. They played a swell game against Grizzle. This will be an interesting final for sure!

[monsoonexe]

On another note, we need to bring up the issue where players are able to make goals consistently at half court again. We had a temporary fix by increasing the ball drag through the pool, but that only postponed the problem until our characters leveled up again to the point where the drag is insignificant.

I doubt anyone wants to do a total reset on level, so we made need to come up with another solution.

I thought maybe, that the SHOT value degrades at a set rate for the first 5 meters or so it moves, then after that it degrades at a much higher rate.

[countlieberkuhn]

Yeah, perhaps some kind of exponential rate decrease would be pretty cool.

On another note, this final oughta be interesting. Edge will be back in action for the finals, which will be very helpful!

[Bob]

I'm going to be too busy in the next little while to come up with programming fixes, but I definitely appreciate ideas. I'm currently moving (gonna move in with in-laws to save on rent) and after that I need to study my ASS off to learn Javascript so I can teach it come August 13, so I'll be physically and then mentally out of commission for a while, but I'm crossing my fingers that perfecting Javascript will translate into the blitz program!

But yeah, I dunno, my Grizzlies match was kinda blah. I was upset that when I really needed Orlandu, he was 1-stamina, so forced to bench (or play goalie, but that would've been an even bigger slaughter). I had a feeling my Grizzles were goin' down. But that SM7 vs Marbs match was incredible, even for somebody who has no stake in the outcome. I read it while writing my summary and I just kept going back to "Oh, Marlboros will win. OH, maybe the Mags will! ARGHASDFIOLN!" The fact that it came down to a buzzer beater grab RIGHT before overtime signaled was like, one of the most incredible moments ever in blitzball history, especially since it directly translated into the game-winning goal. Brilliant match. AND I have no idea who will win the finals, either! All I know is my Grizzlies in the battle for bronze are trying a unique strategy (for them, anyway), so we'll see if it pays off. All I know is that when I try my "best" formation, the Marlboros win. It's happened the last two or three times the teams met, so time to switch things up.

[wyvernxk7]

I'm seriously considering retiring the Nightshades for now and building a new team with a different approach... is it possible?

[Bob]

It'd kill all team records and such, but...eh, I suppose that's fine.

[wyvernxk7]

What do you mean, it'd kill all records?

In my mind, everyone's teams' records would continue as they were, much like how the records went on fine when Rich joined and when Fleck dropped.

[monsoonexe]

I think the Marls use a different strategy than most teams, which is why you always have to try something different against them.

But yeah, that game will forever go down in history. I kind of wish certain characters would never attempt a buzzer-beater. Like Zack, for instance, who has little to no shooting capabilities. Buzzer-beaters are a good way to just hand the ball over to the other team during half-time.

[Bob]

Gabe: Sorry, by all I meant all Nightshades records. Meaning the new team wouldn't inherit their gold medals and such.

Rich: Handing over the ball is only for overtime. In regular play, a random team starts with the ball in the first half and the other team starts the second half. The current possession rule is just for determining OT.

[wyvernxk7]

So, I've yet to craft a team name or anything, but this is my preliminary roster for the replacements of the Nightshades:

Yuffie
Xu
Desch
Yuri
Delita
Argy
Namingway
Frappe

[wyvernxk7]

Watcha think?