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USA Tournament Coverage is back for Season 17, as 16 teams remain in the hunt for a USA Cup Championship.

Last season, manager SM and the Silverbacks (23223) won their second consecutive USA Cup Championship, defeating Wozzvt's Burlington Mountain Goats in a closely contested final game, 67-64 (35731201).

This season in the Sweet 16, the 2 time defending Champions are back, and they are looking to 3 peat. Standing in their way are 8 other NBBA teams, including the #1 ranked Lake Merritt Arrows (23075), the 5 time Cup Champion Chicago Bulls (22807), and last season's runner up the Burlington Mountain Goats (22864). Also still fighting for cup glory are 5 strong Division II teams, and 2 Div III powerhouses.

Can the Silverbacks win their 3rd consecutive Cup Championship? Or will we crown a new champion? Please follow along every week as we will be posting previews of each game, and watch the games on Thursdays at 8pm Eastern, 5pm Pacific!!

9/29

#55 II Fosse Designs (23497) vs #6 I Burlington Mountain Goats (22864)

#38 II Red Fort (23447) vs # II 10inch Vertical (28378)

#26 II I'll Replace You With Machines (23003) vs #3 I Chicago Bulls (22807)

#10 I That's What She Said (23403) vs #5 I EDH Wolves (23598)

#82 III Backcourt Bullies (28490) vs #20 II Kiwi Sheep Pimps (22913)

#1 I Lake Merritt Arrows (23075) vs #76 III Mortons Miners (23528)

#2 I Silverbacks (23223) vs #14 I Reston Thumpers (23072)

#12 I Bruins (23229) vs #23 I AirBallers (28800)

Last edited by jfarb at 9/23/2011 12:40:42 PM

#55 Fosse Designs (II.3) vs #6 Burlington Mountain Goats (NBBA)

Manager LH Fosse and the #55 Fosse Designs (23497) have had a tough season in II.3. Sitting in 8th place in the Great 8, 3 games back of 7th, the Designs are in danger of automatic relegation. Despite their lack of league success, they are the only team remaining from II.3 in the cup. To reach the Sweet 16, the Designs have soundly defeated each of their cup opponents, including II.3 league mate Purdue Boilers. Playing with potentially nothing to lose, LH Fosse will lean on former USA U21 guard Ben Jack (14593514) in their effort to reach the Elite 8.

It will be quite a challenge for the Designs, as standing in their way is last season's runner up, the NBBA's Burlington Mountain Goats. Last season manager wozzvt and the Goats came within 3 points of winning the Cup Championship. This season they are back in contention. Armed with one of the best defenses in the US, and twin towers Alfonso Cespedes and Raul Villapadierna, wozz must balance his cup ambitions with an extremely competitive Great 8 schedule.

Tune in on Thursday, 9/29, at 8pm Eastern to find out who will advance to the Elite 8!

Last edited by jfarb at 9/28/2011 1:55:30 PM

#38 Red Fort (II.1) vs #34 10inch Vertical (II.4)

Sitting comfortably in 5th place in the Big 8 of II.1, #38 Red Fort (23447) is in a great position to focus on the cup. Manager Boss has his team on a 12 game winning streak headed into this game, and to reach the Sweet 16 they knocked off one of the best Division II teams in the country, the #8 Technical Fouls, in impressive fashion last week. This team is no stranger to this level of the cup, advancing to the Sweet 16 in Season 13. In order to make his first Elite 8 appearance, Boss will need a big game from their leading scorer, Mihkel Kriit (8193678).

Red Fort will face off with #34 10inch Vertical (28378). Safely in playoff position in the Great 8 of II.4, manager SaulTNuts has taken his team to the Sweet 16 of the Cup for the first time in team history. 10inch Vertical have cruised through every round of the cup thus far, defeating their opponents consistently by double digit margins. Big man Marcinas Turovas (5911787) leads a balanced attack for Vertical.

Find out who wins this battle of Division II teams on Thursday!

#26 I'll Replace You With Machines (II.4) vs #3 Chicago Bulls (NBBA)

We should have quite a battle on our hands as darykjozef and the Machines square off with 5 time Cup Champion stogey and the Bulls. Rumor has it that when daryk vowed to "CT the cuss out" of the Bulls, stogey responded "I'm CT'ing the cuss out of you, and then stuffing it back in slowly."

The Machines are operating efficiently this season, tied for 1st place in the Big 8 of II.4. This All-American except one Italian guy team is lead by former USA National Team guard Dan Billingsley (4484235).

The Bulls are a proud and storied franchise, winning the Cup Championship 5 times in their history, including the first ever Cup Championship in Season 1. This season they have relied on Polish guard Zbigniew Piwowarczyk (6842010) for scoring and confusing opposing coaches who try to pronounce his name.

Who will make good on their threat? Thursday, 8pm Eastern on NBBA TV.

#10 That's What She Said (NBBA) vs #5 EDH Wolves (NBBA)

The first of 3 NBBA vs NBBA matches in this cup round pits namssor and #10 That's What She Said (23403) vs cws33 and the #5 EDH Wolves (23598).

Manager namssor finds himself in quite a predicament this season in the NBBA, currently in a three way for 6th with a 6-11 record in the Big 8. Despite this, TWSS has had little trouble in the Cup this season, last week crushing the #34 Jack Rabbits 86-58 on the road. Namssor has led the That's What She Said to the Sweet 16 thrice before in their history, reaching as far as the Cup Semifinals in Seasons 13 and 15.

To reach the semifinal again TWSS must defeat manager cws and the # 5 EDH Wolves. Despite a solid 10-7 record, the Wolves find themselves only 1 game out of 7th place in the NBBA's brutal Great 8. Cws has had great success in the cup this season, defeating almost all of his opponents by at least a 30 point margin. This is the second time the Wolves have made a Sweet 16 appearance, the first time coming in Season 9. Solidified down low by USA National Team Center Matt Hurst (11768994), cws and the EDH Wolves are a formidable task for any team.

Can namssor return to the Elite 8 for the 3rd time? Can anyone guess what EDH stands for? Check it out Friday, 10 AM Papua New Guinea Time.

#82 Backcourt Bullies (III.13) vs #20 Kiwi Sheep Pimps (II.1)

Division III is still alive in the cup, in the form of the #82 Backcourt Bullies (28490). Manager po-fresh has had his team visit various local elementary schools and steal kids lunch money in order to prepare for this game. The Bullies are a young team, who have never come close to this round of the USA Tournament. Until now the Bullies have managed to avoid any higher division opponents in the Cup. With the best record in III.13, po-fresh must decide if its worth it to fight on in the cup, or to save his strength for a run at promotion.

It'll take more than a wedgie for the Bullies to defeat their Sweet 16 opponent, the #20 Kiwi Sheep Pimps (22913). Last week, in one of the more memorable cup games of all time, manager nuggetboy and the Pimps battled to a quadruple overtime victory over the E.C. High-Flyers in order to stay alive in the cup (38984428). With their game shape somewhat depleted and facing a potential relegation series in II.1, the Pimps will pray that this time the game ends in regulation.

Follow along with the game on Thursday, 8pm Eastern on 7110 BSPN Radio.


Last edited by jfarb at 9/28/2011 8:59:26 PM

#1 Lake Merritt Arrows (NBBA) vs #76 Mortons Miners (III.14)

Coco and the #1 Lake Merritt Arrows (23075) mean business. Coco was quoted in the Oakland Tribune as saying, "My A-Team will be on for this game. His only hope is PCT vs PON plus injures, but that's not gonna happen. I'm gonna rip out Morton's heart and eat it in front of his children."

Well, maybe it won't be mission impossible for manager Mortons and the Miners. Last week the Miners defeated the NBBA's New York Jests in a thrilling double overtime battle (38984435) that saw Miners guard Vittorio Tiralongo (8864993) score 39 points in the winning effort. Clinging to #1 seed in the Great 8 of III.14, can Mortons risk more enthusiasm and potentially traumatizing his children?

We'll find out on Thursday, 8 pm Eastern, ESPN 8 the Ocho.

#2 Silverbacks (NBBA) vs #14 Reston Thumpers (NBBA)

Is it any surprise the Silverbacks (23223) are back in the Sweet 16? After back to back cup championships, manager SM appears to be going for it all this season. With a 16-1 record in the NBBA, SM is poised to contend for his first NBBA championship and a three-peat in the Cup. To pull it off, he'll need big games from USA National Team guard Dexter Dennison (9221766) and the newest addition to the Silverbacks, Daugotas Gincbergas (4748745).

SM's opponent this week is the NBBA's Reston Thumpers (23072). Manager ardain and the Thumpers have had a rough first season in the NBBA, currently on the downside of a 3 way tie for 6th place in the Big 8. Reaching the Cup Semifinals once in Season 9, ardain will need to work a minor miracle in order to return to the semifinal and beat the two time defending champions.

Can SM be stopped? Tune in Thursday, 8pm Eastern on HGTV to find out.

Results

Burlington Mountain Goats 101 - 31 Fosse Designs
Red Fort 96 - 85 10inch Vertical
Chicago Bulls 130 - 46 I'll Replace You With Machines
That's What She Said 83 - 81 EDH Wolves
Backcourt Bullies 79 - 108 Kiwi Sheep Pimps
Lake Merritt Arrows 104 - 88 Mortons Miners
Silverbacks 149 - 50 Reston Thumpers
Bruins 81 - 110 AirBallers

Quarterfinals:

#6 Burlington Mountain Goats vs #2 Silverbacks
#3 Chicago Bulls vs #20 Kiwi Sheep Pimps
#10 That's What She Said vs #1 Lake Merritt Arrows
#31 Red Fort vs #24 AirBallers

Wow, Rematch of last season's final in the quarters!