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Well here we go again, the dust has settled and the tears (my tears) have dried for all those unsuccessful at glory last season. We have a fresh batch and I mean REALLY fresh batch of newbie teams to strip down and 'welcome' to Div II.3.

As per usual I'll start left to right and top to bottom, so lets kick off the season 20 'Pants Down' review with the new teams joining us in the Big 8!

Big 8 Newbies

Div III.9 Promotee:
South Gisborne Storm - Manager: Jackthe_3 - SGS first arrived back in season 13 and jumped out of the blocks with a championship in Div IV.17. They then spent the next 5 seasons bouncing back and forth between div 3-4 unti finallyl consolidating their spot in season 18. They follow this up with a championship the very next season and landed in our glorious Div II.3. We can already see that these guys have a sturdy starting 5, with 3 of them placing 1, 2 & 3 in the MVP last season, PG Szymon Kotyrb taking the trophy. The glaring hole opens up at SF, though a keen eye may spot 21yo PF Frankie Turner, who no doubt is working on his skill base to lock the position down. Jackthe_3 has already been working to boost his team and recently purchased his top paid commodity Adrián Alquézar at SG. Though missing some depth on the bench I expect these guys are going to make the Big 8 an even tighter comp than it had been.

Div III.10 Promotee:
West Indies - Manager: Windies - WI have been floating around a season longer than SGS and have had a steadier journey so far. They first won a championship back in season 13 (same as SGS) but managed to stay afloat and have been biding their time in Div III until now. A worthy mention has to go out to Windies for taking down ex ABBL team Meateors in the Finals series last season, in a league that also boasts Pheonix5 for competition! Plenty of experience in that comp and definitely not one to demote to any time soon! Windies appears to have placed his most expensive player, Salva Olazábal Solís, on the trade market, who funny enough was only brought into the side late last month. Clearly the Spaniard did not fit the mold and has to be moved on. Going through the rest of the list we can see a group of middle to late aged players that could be lacking for the challenges ahead. Aussie PG Thad Hadley looks to show great potential and at 22, still has time to develop nicely. Without some solid moves I would guess there will be some struggles to come but nothing is ever impossible.

Last edited by Violator at 5/18/2012 10:46:03 AM

And over to the red corner now...

Great 8 Newbies

Div III.14 Promotee:
Perth Power Hustlers - Manager: Tactical Basketball - PPH first joined the BB World back in season 11 as the "hussslas". After 5 seasons and one championshi and a couple of Div 3 relegation series, Tactical Basketball started taking things a bit more seriously and changed the team name over to "Perth Power Hustler". That same season the team made the playoffs and continued doing so until finally taking the cake last season. Aussie C, Duane Quinton jumps off the PPH roster with some significance at a whopping $115k salary, only to be consequently let down by the following list of players. I wish I could say youth were on the Hustlers side but unfortunately that is not possible, with 7 players (4 starters) all over 30 and none over $30k. A $100k C may have been impressive but without anyone to help him out, things are going to be really tough for TB this season. I would suggest considering the early tank and dumping some of those dinosaurs early as the best bet, but each to their own.

Div III.1 Promotee:
Tannum Tantrums - Manager: dudehowdy - TT have been at it since season 14 and have developed a solid team, ready to take it's first golden trophy. The problem is, i'm talking about a Div 3 trophy! Well for a team that has been relegated to Div 4 and never won a championship I for one am amazed to see TT joining us this season. With that luck I can't help but wonder if Steven Bradbury is somehow involved with this team? Without shocking anyone (coach dudehowdy especially) I can safely say TT are in a World of hurt this season. With no players peaking over $50k and no bench to speak over, there is little on the horizon to suggest anything other than relegation this season. I hate to be the cook serving cold turkey but I can't sell it any other way, it is what it is. May the force be with you.

Div III.6 Promotee:
TeamAkuma - Manager: Akuma - Once again we managed to successfully avoid an ABBL relegate (crowd goes wild) but it appears we've at least gained a very worthy Div 3 promotee (crowd goes silent). TA comes to us after 9 seasons of development which began back in season 11. These boys didn't lose a single game last season, not even through the playoffs. This suggests they are hungry and have a hankering for the taste of success. Starting at the top of the list we have a $105k C in Gino Cinelli, who will fit in nicely with the standard crop of bigs in this league. Followed up by a $93k SG, all the way from... Australia and another couple of decent starters, one of which is an Aussie trainee at 22yo. The only hole to be seen is at SF but that shouldn't stop Akuma from keeping his team in Div 2, right where they belong. This team looks to be the solid choice for rookie of the year and may even push to clear the relegation zone.

That concludes this season's 'Pants Down' review. Nice to see some new faces about, especially those that have not had a crack at Div 2 previously. Good luck to all and I look forward to seeing you on the court!

The only thing i disagree with, is that SGS can make this side of the competition even more close. Not because they arent any good, its because with only 1 win and percentage seperating 3rd through to 7th, last season, its just damn impossible for the competition to get any more close!

Otherwise job well done. always great to read big V.

Yet another marvelous write up.

Good work dude.

it is obvious i have a week bench. however i should be able to fill that out very easily, or bring in a SF. but at this point in time i might look to try win 1 game a week. Well that is what i hope. If it looks like this won't happen i make try to strengthen my team.

I just want to stay up without expending too many resources.

It seems i got shafted in the first round of the cup having to play an ex-div II team first round. lets just say cup money wont be boosting my income.

Can't wait to get into the real action~

@coach regan - I believe the current tally is SGS 2 - 1 CL :P

And the blue side gets dicked again! :p

gee that was a while ago! season 14 and 16?

How did I let you beat me in season 16? U finished last?

haha. i finished last because i chose to finish last :P

but you did beat me in season 16. i got our 2 S14 games.

but to be fair one was a scrim, so we will call it a draw. for now :)

Great work mon very good to read it. But you missed the coolest thing about my team, 4 international players, very nice boys. :)

Last edited by windies at 5/23/2012 2:47:46 AM