Taiwan Shocks Basketball World: U-18 Tournament Recap



In a hoop-happy showdown that kept fans on the edge of their seats, Taiwan snagged the gold at the U-18 Basketball World Championship, pulling off a jaw-dropping upset against tournament giants China in the finals 99 - 87. This victory catapulted Taiwan to the top of the basketball world, marking them the new champions.

China, cruising through the tournament undefeated until the final clash, seemed destined for glory. But Taiwan had other plans, flipping the script in a thrilling finale that left spectators in awe. With slick moves and unyielding determination, Taiwan emerged victorious, etching their name in basketball history.

First bronze ever for Poland



Poland clinched the bronze, while Spain and France secured the fourth and fifth spots, respectively, in the intense battle for supremacy.

"After a great run with Poland securing bronze, coach Matis commented, 'First of all big congrats for Taiwan for winning in the final with China. Congrats for both teams, great effort from them,'" noted coach Matis. "My team did a really good job. Was so close in the semifinal, but we lost to China in overtime. We had a really tough game for third place against Spain. They defended really tight during the first 3 quarters, we had no easy shots. Finally, in the last quarter, we started to hit 3’s and that was the key." He added, "The biggest surprise? I think France was that surprising team. They almost won with China and Spain in group matches... My team's most impressive? We perform as a team."

French coach alissa42 shared their thoughts, saying, "Turpin was excellent, he is having a big tournament... The big surprise is the absence of Lithuania." Discussing potential improvements, they added, "In terms of improvements, I would like fatigue to be controlled a little better, because if the player is used a lot by his club, it is complicated to give him a lot of playing time in the national team."

Italy's strong run, finishing 6th, also caught attention. Coach Gianlukk praised player Tiranti, stating, "The player who most impressed me on my team was certainly Tiranti, the Italian MVP." Reflecting on the tournament, Gianlukk expressed surprise at Taiwan's victory and suggested greater participation in the competition among users who are not directly interested.


Biggest surprises
However, the tournament wasn't short of surprises. Ivory Coast, ranked 18th coming in, defied the odds to claim the 12th spot, showcasing their tenacity on the court. Italy, originally ranked 10th, exceeded expectations by finishing sixth, leaving fans astonished.

In a twist of fate, Hong Kong, expected to perform better as the fifth-strongest team, settled for ninth place, while the United States, ranked seventh, stumbled to a disappointing 13th position.

Hosts Argentina, holding the eighth spot in the rankings, fell short of their home advantage, finishing in eighth place. Meanwhile, Greece, predicted to land in the 13th spot, faced a harsh reality, ending up in the 18th position.



The tournament not only showcased the exhilarating talent of young basketball stars but also proved that in the world of hoops, anything can happen. With Taiwan's stunning victory and unexpected turns throughout the event, this U-18 Basketball World Championship will be remembered as a testament to the unpredictable nature of the game.


Division 2

Lithuania Dominates



Lithuania were victorious in the U-18 Division 2 Basketball Tournament. Despite their relegation from the first division due to past mismanagement, Lithuania swept through the competition undefeated, demonstrating that they could have easily contended for medals in the top tier. Players like Geraldas Karsius and Pijus Kulikonis showcased outstanding skill. Coach dwyane3 stated, "I am most happy for my own player Geraldas Karsius, who managed to hit 75% of his 3-pointers attempted. Also, I am happy because I reached my goal – to win gold with Lithuania U18." He also shared his thoughts on coaching in the future, saying, "I have never coached high level NT in top tier tournament, so that would be nice, however, I am sure there are more keen managers who would be up for the job."

Canada secured the 2nd spot, showcasing their consistent performance throughout the tournament. The stellar performances of players like Charlebois and Boucher contributed to Canada's success, setting a promising trajectory for future competitions. Saruman commented, "My team was 'best of the others'... Lithuania was simply impossible to play." He also outlined his future plans, saying, "My idea for season 100 is to take another team in second division and try to reach promotion. It’s the kind of challenge I really like."

Czech Republic claimed 3rd , coach Jardabudy expressed satisfaction with the team's achievements and hinted at future coaching opportunities. Jardabudy noted, "I was surprised by how well Bohachik was complemented by solid three-pointers – especially Bondy and Koller." He also expressed his ambitions, saying, "I will definitely consider managing U-18 again. I would like to coach one of the national teams every season."


The surprising Scandinavians
Norway emerged as the dark horse, surprising many by clinching 4th and earning promotion to the first division. TB313 remarked, "I was really impressed with Alver, and Thelle. They were my powerhouses." He expressed his hopes for the future, saying, "I can only hope that our scouting will keep improving and the nation can be a contender. Well done to Sweden!

Portugal finished in a solid fifth place, coach Sakota commented, "Our team finished 5th while it was 4th in strength. Hernani Antunes really surprised me, I hope all of them continue to grow well."

Followed by Bulgaria in sixth, highlighting their competitive spirit. Bulgaria's coach Jopencjusz reflected on their performance, saying, "Definitely most impressed with our main guy, Stovan Gruev... Biggest surprise for sure is Sweden, qwazy did great job with this roster, 7th place for them is very good result."

The spotlight went to unexpected Sweden - ranked 16th coming into the tournament, defied the odds by finishing 7th, surpassing all expectations. Qwazy commented, "As I am limited with the talent I have with the local Sweden team, I was trying to use the best players as much as possible... I am planning to continue doing this and would like to get even greater achievements for sure."

Conversely, Peru, initially touted as one of the strongest teams with a fifth-place ranking, finished ninth. The manager did not choose to comment further.

The tournament was not without its share of off-court drama. Australia, the host nation, encountered turmoil before the competition even began. Failing to secure a coach in time and falling short of legal requirements, finding themselves rock bottom.

The U-18 World Cup Division 2 served as a platform for emerging talents to showcase their skills and for established teams to reaffirm their standing in the global basketball community. The tournament delivered excitement and surprises, leaving fans eagerly anticipating future competitions....

Hi everyone,

We did a little audit of our federations' financials and we would like to share the results.

We have noticed that only a fraction of weekly income is used for the activity of the federation and instead is stashed away and not used at all. We encourage the federations to run activities and either attract new managers or enhance the gaming experience for the current players. However, vast majority of the federations lack in proactive approach.

For example, 2 federations (Ivory Coast and the Netherlands) have never made any financial transactions apart from the automated weekly operations, while 2 more have had last financial operation made in season 95 (Hungary) and season 94 (Greece). For example, the Netherlands' federation weekly budget is used for president's personal gain, as all the weekly income is paid out to the president's personal account, despite any activity, that we would be aware of. That contradicts the goal of the federation, which is to encourage the community members to collaborate and go the extra mile.




Full interactive diagram may be found here.

Therefore, starting season 99, the following decisions have been made:

1. Automatic Weekly financing (red bar) will be set to 0. However, the federations that are well-maintained will get a 2.000 credits activity reward.

2. At the end of the season federation presidents will propose activities to be rewarded by the game administration. The largest rewards will be allocated for activities that contribute to the growth of the federation, such as creating quality posts and articles outside the game. The size of rewards will be subjectively determined by the game administration.

The rewarded activities as follows, but not limited to:

Video published online about BP. Example of darys video may be found here.
Article about a game posted online. Example of an article on Taiwanese gaming forum.
Information sent to game administration at the end of the season with the feedback from the community.
We will keep organizing the weekly activities.
Reward for well - organized federation, i.e. active teachers, well maintained names database, updated translations, active and friendly community. The reward may be lowered or not paid at all for non-active federations.
Up-to-date translations. If the language is not translated yet - the reward for new language translation - 100.000 credits.


3. In the first week of each season, a reward will be sent to federations based on their performance. For federations with recurring costs, such as active teachers, rewards may be distributed weekly, subject to agreement of the president and game administration.

We would like to encourage the community members, especially presidents, to be proactive and propose new ideas for activities, collaborate and contribute to the growth of the federation.

The recent example of DanTitan who has launched The Giants Magazine is a great example how one person can inspire others to share their ideas, make it more fun and earn game credits on top of that. Other examples contain ak904's live broadcast of 1st Taiwan's Cup draw, Davis Cup tournament and klinx's coverage and numerous articles outside of BP by Taiwan, Polish and Spanish communities.

We suggest the federation members to use a chat or a Discord group to discuss fresh ideas, work together and improve the gaming experience....

On Monday we have had a couple of Lithuanian guys interviewing each other and today we have a couple of our users from a different side of the world, Taiwan, sharing their experiences.

tim511013 has interviewed VanthonyDash who shares about the mistakes done in the game, as well as money management being the most important part of the game for him.



What do you enjoy most in the game? Managing team lineups, making trades, or watching matches?
I enjoy browsing the trade market every day, studying other teams' compositions and trade opportunities, although I often come up empty-handed. These days, I spend the most time watching matches.

Have you made any mistakes in the game?
Plenty. The most notable one was releasing a starting SF at the wrong time due to financial troubles, which led to later costly repercussions that I had to make up for.

What do you think is the most important strategy in this game?
Money! Money! Money! It's crucial, hence why I said it three times. How to manage your finances—I believe there have been many articles discussing this last week because finances are the foundation of team management.

Have you experienced any particularly successful moments?
Probably winning the championship in the WL6 league season by sheer strength. Although our ranking wasn't good at first, ending up with such good results made me very excited.

Have you encountered any interesting stories or plots in the game?
In a friendly match, we were leading by a large margin in the first half, only for the opponent's SF to enter zone mode and shoot three-pointers, piercing through our defense.

How do you balance game time and real-life responsibilities?
I'm glad this game is somewhat linked to real-life time. Regardless of the number of daily operations, there's only one regular match to play, and daily training is only linked to playing time, so I don't need to spend too much time on the game.

Any words of advice for new players?
Taiwan's community has recently welcomed a group of new players. I've been a newbie before, so I know newcomers encounter many problems. Don't hesitate to ask questions; many people in the group are friendly and willing to help answer questions!


jiasyuan has shown us again that sometimes only one person is necessary for making interview and interviewed himself sharing his thoughts on his recent achievements and the need to improve the mid-range and dribbling importance in the game.



How did you manage to achieve this?
I believe it's due to my unique vision. Through trades, drafts, and scouting for players in the market, I've selected players whose skills match what our team needs. I avoid wasting money on unnecessary areas like scouting and youth teams. If scouts can't find good players, there's no point in investing in a youth team. Instead, I invest all our earnings in the market, trades, and drafts. This approach leaves me with more funds to operate compared to teams spending daily on scouting.

What do you think is the key to winning games?
Rebounding and defense. Controlling the boards allows you to control the game. Protecting defensive rebounds gives opportunities for fast breaks and reduces the opponent's chances of a second attack. Grabbing offensive rebounds provides chances for second-chance points. After all, in basketball, missed shots outnumber made shots. Offense wins fans and statistics, but defense wins championships. Good defense lowers the shooting percentage and increases rebounding opportunities. So, good defense and rebounding are key to winning games in my opinion.

What does the mid-range game mean to you?
The mid-range game is like a belief to me. I grew up watching basketball during the era of MJ, Kobe, Melo, and AI, who heavily relied on mid-range shots. I believe that for wing stars, having mid-range abilities is crucial. It gives you a versatile offensive arsenal. Even now, players like KD and Booker have unstoppable mid-range games. I think the BP basketball game should improve their mid-range game; currently, it's too poor.

What improvements do you think can be made in the BP basketball game?
They should focus on improving mid-range shooting and dribble penetration. The team's dribble penetration and mid-range shot attempts are too few. After observing for so long, I've noticed that there are defensive commanders and low-post defenders among draft prospects. In my opinion, defensive commanders greatly assist in team defense. However, the team's lack of dribble penetration leads players to prefer selecting low-post defenders to enhance individual defense rather than opting for defensive commanders who possess speed and high defensive IQ. Increasing the frequency of dribble penetration and mid-range shot attempts would balance the game more instead of the current trend of excessive three-point shooting and close-range isolation plays. The team's scoring through dribble penetration and mid-range shots is currently too weak.


Do you want to earn some credits as well? Write your a post of at least 200 words on how should the improvement jump feature work for coaches and earn up to 2.000 credits.

Have a good read!...

Hi,

we got quite a few entries for the interviews this week and we'll release them in a few parts.

We start up with Lithuanian federation president Šabas and community legend Darys who have interviewed each other and earned 2.000 credits each!


Darys, how you came up with the idea to make the viral investigation video about cheating in BasketPulse game?

It was just a normal day of finding the right players to trade on BasketPulse. And I just found an interesting character who had made a lot of trades with the same teams from the lower leagues. "Interesting" - I thought and started checking all those teams. Since nobody reads these days, I decided to draw attention with a video.

Your previous team name was: "grave magic". What do you have in mind with such name?

Since it wasn't my first team, I thought I needed to rise from the ashes. Phoenix is worn out and not interesting to me, so I just called myself "Grave" and "Magic" because at that time I was watching Harry Potter movie where there was a lot of magic.

You are long time in the game (of course I'm even longer with short gaps) what do you miss the most from the previous times or previous ME?

I miss when I could borrow two players. I still don't understand this change. This update did not bring any tangible benefit to the game.

You have long experience and showed the good results even in WL1 in previous but now you are playing only in WL4 is there some kind of rebel, are the games getting stronger, or you have some kind of plan? What is it?

I just went bankrupt. I was hoping to stay at WL1.1. It didn't work. I was hoping to stay in WL2. It also failed. A vicious cycle has begun. Bankruptcy, relegation and bankruptcy again... But I'm not giving up, now it's even more interesting because you have to think of a plan to get back to where you were, rather than just being average in some league and picking your nose.

In your opinion what is the biggest legend in BasketPulse and why?

There are many users to mention, but it is clear that Captain Obvious is a legend. And of course - ronas.

The game is changing a lot in your opinion what is the future of the game?

I don't see any future. To be honest, I don't even think about it. I'm not a magician, even though my team was called that.

What do you think: will Arvydas Sabonis get back on the court for one more game?

I saw that Birutis extended his contract, unfortunately, but there is no place left for Sabonis. Thus my answer is no.



Darys: If you could have any superpower, but it only worked on BasketPulse, what would it be?

Šabas: Damn good question. I think in this case I take possibility to read peoples mind. I could read other players tactics, cheatings, and still get in hot chicks minds (hope there is at lest few of them).

On the basketball court, would you rather fight a horse-sized duck or a ten duck-sized horses?

Horses definitely horses. Except if we play the H_O_R_S_E.




If you were a vegetable, what would come to your mind closest to basketball?

Watermelon, pumpkin or melon ...I think melon.

If BasketPulse had an international holiday, what day would it be and how should it be celebrated?

Friday. It should be celebrated the old fashioned CO style.

Honeybees can recognize human faces. Aren't you afraid to play on outdoor courts now?

Answer to 3 question is pumpkin in this way,

If animals could talk, which one do you think would be the best trash talker on the basketball court?
The bitch ...I know some - they definitely can trash talk.



What song would be best for BasketPulse? And for some reason this song sounds in my ears - Fugees - Killing Me Softly. Perhaps you know why?

Oh yes, this one its definitely better than the BasketPulse anthem and is closer to the game.

Your team name translates to something like a messy bushy place. Tell me more about messy bushy places.
Exactly, when i was younger I had the gang with the same name because we liked those places.

Thank you very much. I hope your mood is not broken after this poor interview.
Otherway round, it's the best interview I ever had. AI did great job with the questions - soon i will leave the set the tactics for it.

Have a good read, more interesting stuff is coming in a few days!...

Throughout the extensive history of the game, we have explored various methods to combat cheating. However, none of them seem to be perfect. Each approach has its pros and cons.
While combating cheating is essential, it consumes a significant amount of time and significantly reduces our ability to improve the game.

Recently, we have encountered quite a few unpleasant situations as well (such as a case during the Easter holidays and a cheating investigation that resulted in the closure of 16 teams). These situations are certainly not how we want to spend our weekends and holidays.
Additionally, we have received more suspicions of cheating reports from the community that require investigation. This indicates that more "fun time" is waiting ahead. We advise those who have access to a few teams to close these teams immediately. In doing so, the penalty for rule violations will be less severe.

In order to reduce the number of cheating situations in the future, we will attempt to remove or restrict certain game features, especially for free users.

Upcoming changes for the next season:
1. Possibility to borrow a player will be limited to users with a bronze rank or those who have purchased game credits at least once. Over time, we plan to increase these restrictions, eventually making player borrowing available only to PREMIUM users.
2. The default trade level will be reduced by one (currently the plan is to reduce this only for NEW users).
3. Households where multiple users play from the same IP address will be required to have the PREMIUM package. Without PREMIUM, in case of any suspicious activity, we will skip the investigation and either close teams or disable their trading/borrowing features.

Long-term plans:
1. Completely rewrite the restricted market feature to eliminate the possibility of malicious bidding. When we have more details, we will share them with you.

We understand that many people may not like these changes, but we do not see any other options. We spend far too much time on matters that do not create any value for the game, meanwhile we need to develop updates that improve the game.

Thank you for your understanding. Cheating is not OK. In the end, the Fair Play always wins!...

Hi everyone,

managing team's budget is an important and tough task for every manager in BasketPulse. This week we would like to share TB313 and smart0eddie experience dealing with the moments when everything goes down south and bankruptcy procedures start.

TB313 - WL 6.9 - 2.000 credits.

In BasketPulse, like in any realistic management simulation, bankruptcy is a looming threat that can derail even the most promising teams. Season 97 was my second full season in the game. After multiple trades that season, things were looking well - I had acquired quite a few young talents who had great potential, but also lowered my salaries. I knew that with the team that I had, I will not go far in the playoffs, and wanted to focus on developing some of these young players. Towards the playoffs and the end of the season, I had saved up over 120k in the bank. At the time, I tried to avoid any unnecessary expenditures, all of the sectors financing levels were set to 0, and I did not spend any money on scouts at the time. The end goal for me was to establish a youth team. In the Norwegian league, there are only 7 active teams, therefore the Norwegian player market is rather small, and with hopes to grow the league, and down the line strengthen the National teams at all levels - the youth team was a priority of mine.

Day 1 of Season 98, my dream of establishing a youth team was finally a reality. Things were looking well, except for the fact that I only had 12 players in my team, meaning 6 went to the youth team, and 6 stayed in the main team. The game even automatically assigned a player to my team due to not having enough players in the main team. Shortly, without even realising - this became a downwards spiral. Not only did I want to bring in more players into the youth team, but I wanted to hire additional coaches too, not to mention trying to increase the number of players in the main team.

Now that I had the youth team settled, I wanted to focus on getting a promotion into a better international league. Being in league 6.9, the finances received from sponsors are naturally rather low, and I made a mistake of looking at the wrong financial statistics. I went onto finances and seen that 'Max sum for personnel's salaries' was then at 58k. I thought that is brilliant. If I get the salaries up to 50k, that will leave me ~8k free and I can leave it from there. I was then trying to sign high rated players, with high salaries- simply because I thought I will still be in ~5 + area. In season 97, I was ranked 8th in the International league, but finished 6th. The goal now is to be in the top 4.

Everything seemed positive until day 7. I logged on, and saw my finances highlighted in red; there was even a note stating that the club is close to bankruptcy. I took a -42,500 in the first week of the game. My heart sunk, the predicted balance at the end of the season was -130.000, yet I was still allowed to spend over 7k. I made a rookie mistake, and genuinely did not know what to do, but first thing's first - I had to invest in 13k game money. The word is going through a living crisis currently, and I did not want to make this a regular ocurence.

I love the game, and want to continue on building the legacy of the team, so I knew that I had to make changes. I was now ranked 2nd in the International league, so the challenge is - how do I retain the top 4 status in the league, all whilst reducing my salary? I accepted that the new players that I acquired - some of which I regarded as the future of the team, will now have to be traded, in hopes of surviving. I had to come up with a plan to trade these players for a players of a similar RT, but a lower price - this is no easy feat, and meant that I had to give away some of my young talent in the process. Whilst this isn't fully complete yet, and I want to offload 1 or 2 more players to put me in a more comfortable spot, things are looking slightly better. Week 2 was - 30,000, which is still horrible, but it also included the firing of some unnecessary players. So far 12,000 was saved, and if we continue in that direction, we may actually survive the year, hopefully get promotion, and build on from there.

My advice to anyone struggling and trying to save would be:

DO:
Play all of your friendly matches. Not only will it help players with experience & game time, but games played at home will bring you extra income.

Make your ticket prices expensive.

Review club arenas - if your matches gather 1000+ fan interest, but your arena only covers 500, make sure to rent applicable arenas for the required number of games.

Borrow players - Utilise the loan feature to your benefit. Only one player can be loaned per season, find a weakness in your team, be it a specific role, position or skill, and loan a player in for for a good value.

If you have good players that you would like to hang on to, but they are too expensive - try to loan them out. You can loan out up to 5 players at a time, and only pay 30% salary to the loanees, the loaner pays the remaining 70%.

Look to make trades that will help you.

Find cheap players in the marketplace that can be of assistance to you.

Offload any players or coaches that are not needed. A short term financial hit makes sense in the long term savings.

CALCULATE FINANCES YOURSELF - See what the player/coaches salaries are, what you make from sponsors, and what you make per match on average. This will be the most accurate tool.

DON'T:

Do not make silly mistakes like me - Pay attention to your 'Change' part of the finances, instead of maximum allowed sums.

Do not invest in sectors if you are struggling.

If struggling, do not spend money on scouts.

Avoid on establishing a youth team until you have more finances available - eg have 200k, instead of 150k required.

Do not overspend in the marketplace. Sometimes good players are available, and the only way to secure them is to overspend in order to beat your competition and secure the player.

Do not give up - there's always a way.

Whilst most of the points may be obvious, I hope this will help someone in need. Every little helps.

smart0eddie WL 3.2 - 500 credits

How to prevent bankruptcy?

The finance is a long-term management. Like Rome is not built in a day, teams won’t go bankruptcy suddenly.

I would suggest new managers first read this article. It may not be the best in practice but cover most basic knowledge for new managers.

Keep your team in a healthy financial situation is the best way to prevent bankruptcy. If unfortunately, for any reason, your team is going to be broke in a week or two, I would suggest just let it go and take the chance to rebuild your team.

There are few things can turn the tide in short term. Donating Darius a pizza or two may help but it’s should not be a common practice. Sometimes teams may encounter a large increase in expense or decrease in income. For example, the star players signing a new (and expensive) contract, or the team degrading from higher league.

I may take a few actions to get through it. First, in the previous season, try to save as much money as possible. As long as you have enough money, you won’t be broke. Second, prevent signing too many players and coaches with high salary during the limited market and draft. And third, after the new season begins, trade expensive players for cheaper ones, or just fire them.

Besides the player/coach salary, one could also cutoff the spending on scout and sectors to further reduce the expense. Last but not least, NEVER EVER scout old players, especially for new managers. They are very expensive and may crash your team’s finance. Imagine a WL 6 team with about 26k sponsor income find a 24Y youth(?) requiring 20k salary.

The above are my opinions about preventing bankruptcy.

Hope this article could help people to keep their teams away from bankruptcy.

dwyane3

For the last three seasons I keep seeing red in my team's financial page and I keep planning my own personal finances that I might need to open my wallet for the first time to buy game money with real money. But I work it out without it. :)

The reason behind it are two WL1 level players that I pay 70k per week and that eats up almost a third of my staff expenses. That is really disbalanced, however, one of them is my franchise player Marcelijus Laurinkus and he's just playing incredibly. However, the other one is someone who feeds him passes to the low post - Ca Kuai. He's third highest RT player in the game and still improving, I'm kind of proud of that. However, my pride is costly - I don't have enough money to build solid rest of the roster.

Last season I fired my starting SF/PF shooter Janez Izidor, after I made it to TOP16 stage just to stay above water. I chose not to buy game money and I think it was a right choice in the long term. However, I thought that this season I was going to have more freedom finance-wise, however, that did not happen as I was one-shot-short of making it to the TOP16 and I have -299k estimated at the end of the season.

That means another season of no money spent on scouts, and wishing that I have a positive balance on club's bank account by Saturday, when club bankruptcy procedures are handled. This is somewhat I learnt last season - being in debt on Sunday morning is fine, as long as you get enough income throughout the week. :)

So, the struggle is real and I hope I can find a solution that can work in a long term and the solution may be one - trade Ca Kuai. Can I give my pride away? :)

Thanks to all participating. If you want to earn up to 2.000 credits - interview BP community member and share it with @dwyane3. We have had a number of great stories, looking forward to getting to know each other even better!

Have a good read!...

Hi everyone,

trades play an important role in the game and they can help the teams to reach their goals, be it get stronger, save money or get youth prospects. Let's share some of our community's best trades.

barbabodom WL4.6 - 1.000 credits

This one was my best trade ever. I had some cap space in my payroll, and I was able to use it by adding the current leader of my team, and still improving and potential 10 player.

Mantvydas Apyvala´s contract also came locked for a few years, so everyday his contract gets more and more valuable! He became our de-factor starting point guard and has been shining for the last couple seasons, where we rely on him to score, set-up other players and defend. A real swiss knife! He started this season a little bit slow, but Palmeiras´managers and supporters have complete trust that Apyvala will be able to finish the season in a strong and defining way.

On the side I had to give up two Brazilian players (Martinho Blum and Pedro Kfouri) that were in my team since 14 years old, plus Aidyn McKay, an American point guard that stepped up big time when it was my time to trade down because of financial reasons. Bottom line is: teams will be desperate when the financial goes red and the clock starts ticking. Try your best to be on the receiving end of a desperate proposal!

Kyle00322311143M WL6.17 - 500 credits

My club LEGENDARY GILAS PILIPINAS has 6 trades done overall and counting as we look for another trade to help Justin Brownlee in the future.

On these 6 trades made by the club, my favorite is the trade between my club and BAMMMM, an USA division 1 club and division 5 club in the world league as of now. BAMMMM general manager jonmach sent me this trade, he is offering TianQi Qun, a 6'9 PF who is a good low post scorer and passing big man in exchange for my 6'0 PG Oddvar Douai and a 6'0 young talent Софон Alachachyan.

This is my favorite trade because it made my team stronger than any other trades and it did not cost me a lot to acquire TianQi Qun who is a better player than Douai and Alachachyan. Currently TianQi Qun has 2 more seasons with my club while Douai does not have a club and Alachachyan is out in the game. TianQi Qun stats last season are 8.1 pts, 4.3 rebs, 2.4 ast, 0.8 stl, 0.2 blk and 0.8 to in 16.2 minutes of playing time and plays a huge role for my team as a starting PF to help my club finish 5th place last season and a championship contender for World League 6.17 this season. This trade benefit me a lot so this is my favorite trade as of now in the history of LEGENDARY GILAS PILIPINAS in Basket Pulse.

dwyane3

Over the years I have had 39 trades, so I am not really active trader. I always found it much easier to invest to scouts and shape the players the way I want them to be.

Funny enough, I always thought I was coming out as a winner in the trades, however looking back to my trading performance I couldn't tell you I turned out to be a winner in most of the cases, if I was honest with you. I have done plenty of trades of to players that may had been good for the moment, but they would start losing health in a couple of seasons and I gave away some bright youth potential. There were cases when I felt it was necessary for me to do that in order to stay in the league, but I feel like I've given too much in exchange. For example, here I traded away a player who was 15 year old and 186cm height with high offensive leader potential for a PG veteran who did not play as well as I hoped.

However, one of my most recent trades was one of my best, at least I think so for now before it feels sour again. :)

->



Julian Moyuelo
Valius Liepaitis


Cheap
3-fold more expensive


Classic PG
Late-blooming forward




I have traded away a cheap classic PG, who could not score and I got a 10 potential late-blooming forward. Yes, there are issues with the player being scouted in the late age and having low experience, however, I see a big potential trade value for him in a few seasons when I get his athletics up to 12. At that point, probably, the other managers will be less likely to notice his lower experience and he should be ready to play in WL2 if I decide to keep him. For now, he's scoring almost 40 points per game in WL6 and building his resume. :)



1000 Credits Giveaway!



The second issue of Giants magazine is now available, packed with fascinating articles about the Answer team, Zurda's beginner tips, and highlights from this season's standout teams.




But that's not all – at the end of the issue, we've included a mind-twisting puzzle for you to solve. And here's the best part: you could win up to 1,000 credits!



Don't miss your chance to claim this fantastic prize. Dive into the latest issue of Giants magazine, flex your brain muscles, and submit your answer for a shot at winning big!



Would you like to earn your award as well? Share your experience with handling a situation when your team was going bankrupt (maybe you did that on purpose or you have tips that could help avoid bankruptcy for other managers) and earn up to 2.000 credits.

Have a good read!...

Happy Easter everyone! We wish you to have good time celebrating it with your friends and family.

Following the BasketPulse tradition, we offer you the Easter egg hunt!



Each time you see this Easter egg - be quick and press on it. The first player to press on the picture will receive 10.000 Eur! The egg may appear on any page at any location and may be seen by more than one game member at a time. One game member can catch max 1 Easter egg in a day.

The game will be on from March 31st to April 1st, inclusive.

We wish you a good hunt!...

Hi everyone,

drafts have just finished and we would like to share the draft preparation process behind a few teams.

smart0eddie WL3.2 - 500 credits

The draft order of my team is determined by what my team need and what my team may get.

Considering my team would have 4 centers next seasons, I would pay more attention to the forwards and guards. There are a few 3-pointers with high RT and some with decent RT but cheap salary. They could be a good supplement to my teams outside scoring and defense.

However, the draft position also matters. Since I’m a little tight in budget this season, I didn’t invest much on scout. Taken the bonus points for the promotion teams into account, my team is the 13-th place in draft, as expected. Placing in 13 is quite high but has little chance to grab the best players. Teams in higher place are very likely to pick the good players before my team’s turn. Therefore, I may need to pick some young players.

Thankfully, there’s a plenty of them. As my youth team lacks centers, I would prefer to pick young center and than forwards or guards.

Overall, I would like to place a few good players with high RT that can play on my main team at higher order, hoping having chances to pick them.
Then following a few young potentials. In that cases, I could pull some of the players on my youth team to the main team. And last, I may pick some decent players with low salary.

If in any cases, all of the listed players are picked by the other team, I may decide to give up draft picks this season and save the draft points for the future.

Season 97 choice: Augustas Gamulis


jiasyuan WL 3.3 - 500 credits

After checking one round, I found that WL3.3 has a lot of seedlings and young players, and the combat power is very scarce, especially the low post. After the draft list came out, I started to search for the low post players in the restricted market, and I finally found a decent player for next season day 59.

Therefore, I started focusing on the PG position. This draft list has a lot of PGs that are ready to play now, which is very important for me as I prepare to move up to WL3.3. My goal next season is mainly to avoid relegation, so strong players are very much needed.

Since I don’t know where I will be in the draft, Ping Cuī, Aistis Dudenas, Saverio Giovannelli are all my target players.

I hope I can successfully select one of them, otherwise I will have to worry about the lineup at the beginning of the season.

Speaking of the draft, I would like to give you a suggestion. I hope that the draft player list will appear at the same time as the restricted market, so that it will be better for players who want to operate the next season's list.

It would be kinder, and speaking from my experience this season, I missed a lot of low post players in the early days of the restricted market.

Looking back, no one even bid for these low post players. I originally expected to select big man in the draft, but found that there were too few of them in the draft list (it could even be said to be none). Then I looked for bigs in the restricted markets, there were not many players I was interested in.

If the draft list can be brought forward to coincide with the restricted market, the lineup for next season can be better arranged.

Season 97 choice: Aistis Dudenas

dwyane3

This season my poor investment to the scouts resulted in me being dead-last in the draft order. I pay the price for having expensive players on my roster, including a couple of youth players I paid full 11- 20k Euro weekly salary for their 9 or 10 potential. One could say, that instead of drafting them, I pay their salary. :)

As I still have very limited budget, I gave a green light only to the youth players. However, by pick #19 Samson Savill I knew that there are no more options for me. Anyone below 290 peak RT would not get me excited enough to pick them.

My last year's pick Botao Jin was close to getting fired at the beginning of this season due to rather poor performance. However, he agreed to play one more year for a low salary with a hoping of proving he belong in the big leagues. :)

What seems to be a growing tendency - the top teams in the drafts are becoming even more frugal with their draft points. First 5 teams in WL1 draft have not picked anybody, in WL2.2 - first 3 and WL 2.1 was an exception where volvo60 used their first pick for Fausto Pujol who scored 14 points in his first WL game. It will be interesting to see whether this tendency remains in the future.


Do you want to get published and win rewards as well? Share at least a 200 words post about the best trade you ever made. The best writers will be featured in the game news and rewarded up to 2.000 credits.

Have a good read!...

Welcome to the 2nd BP Davis Cup. For this edition, Šabas and I decided to grow up and take more countries to compete. Then we received some messages from different presidents, and finally, we were 5 countries to participate.

We decided to create a cash prize for the winners. As we planned to be 6 countries we wanted that pool to reach 3k credits. The winners will receive 750 each, and the 2nd - 250. But one federation left the competition a few days before it start, so we were only 5 countries. So, I decided to put 500 more credits from my own pocket (and Šabas gave me 250 without letting me saying anything !!! thanks to him).

All 5 countries had 3 players, each one into WL3, 4 and 5. This mean 30 matches took place to determine which country won this very funny tournament.

This time, the tournament was very close. All countries had players who were very strong in their WLs, but very weak in others, so it makes the competition incredible.

CourgettesDesEtoiles from France dominated all his opponent in WL5 earning 8 points for his country. Germany and Poland both won and lost twice, when unfortunately, Poland and Italy forfeited some games.

In WL4, TripleThreat from Germany won his 4 matches and got 8 points. All his matches were not even close, congratulation to him. Poland only lost against him and got 7 points. Italy forfeited in this WL due to some injuries, and couldn’t compete.

For the WL3 part, Poland team represented by Matis won all his matches for 8 points! Italy was here to play, but he only won one match giving his country 5 points.

Italy with a lot of forfeited games ended this tournament at the bottom of the ranking. At the 4th place, with 16 points, Poland! Even if the WL3 and 4 players did a real great job, losing only 1 match, the forfeits of their WL5 team cost them a lot.

Germany and Lithuania both have 18 points, making them fight in a head to head to determinate which country takes the 2nd and the 3rd place.

As you already know, TripleThreat won all his matches, meaning that he defeated the Lithuanian player. In WL3, Lithuania took the win, so WL5 game decided which team took the silver medal. And this game was amazing. Sporto Baras was dominating all the match, having +15 in the 2nd quarter, and leading 46- 37 at the half. The first half of the 3rd quarter kept going his way, when suddenly, BG Bewegungslegastheniker’s team (what a name!) started to react! At the beginning of the last quarter, Lithuania only had 2 points more than Germany. Finally, greatly helped by the tiredness, Germany took the win and so, the 2nd place of the tournament!

And at the first place, for the second time, Team France reach 20 points! Congratulations to CourgettesDesEtoiles, dartag and klinx.

Thanks for all competitors and presidents to making this 2nd Davis Cup a great success. We’re hoping to keep growing this tournament with other members, and we will probably welcome Lipinski into the organisation team next season!...