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In the first round of title defenses there were very few surprises. Every team holding a belt was able to retain it.

Italia defeated Deutschland 78-64 to retain the Heavyweight Belt. Italian power forward Cecchi led all scorers with 24 points.

Brasil topped Colombia 127-107 as they made their first defense of the Middleweight Belt. Brasilian Rosário dominated inside with 33 points and 19 rebounds.

Canada beat Peru 131-125 in a very close match that decided the Welterweight Belt.

Australia defeated Hong Kong 108-98. Australia was playing down in weight class and will therefore not receive the Lightweight Belt. The belt will follow Hong Kong to their next game.

Nigeria defeated Al Jazair 113-95 in a game that decided the Featherweight champion.

Uruguay defeated Ecuador 112-85 though Uruguay will not be granted the Flyweight Belt as they also played down in weight class. Ecuador will hold the belt for at least another game.

Yeah I know, I was (unsuccessfully) being funny. Of all people you should know how that is ;)

Last edited by TigerUnderGlass at 7/14/2008 10:34:00 PM

Just because I'm the king of unfunny doesn't mean I can easily spot it, right?

I can't be mad at Canada anyways, they've brought me great joy recently.

Great work guys!

These are the title fights for next week:

Heavyweight: Poland vs. Italia
Middleweight: Brasil vs. Uruguay
Welterweight: Canada vs. Ecuador
Lightweight: Hong Kong vs. Indonesia
Featherweight: Tounes vs. Nigeria

Both Canada and Ecuador are holding belts. Since Ecuador is playing up they will qualify for the chance to win the Welterweight Belt. The Flyweight Belt will not be up for grabs for yet another week.

The Flyweight Belt will not be up for grabs for yet another week.

that's also a way of keeping your belt, only play bigger lands. ;)

yea, it kind of sucks. but that's to be expected with the flyweight division. only 14 countries qualify to hold that belt. at least this week there are going to be a lot of in-division belt matches.

The matches have been played and the results are in.

In the Heavyweight division Italia once again defends its belt beating Poland 118-71.

The Middleweight division saw a change in belt holders as Uruguay captured the belt beating Brasil 101-93.

Canada defended its belt against Ecuador winning 107-67.

Hong Kong defended its Lightweight belt knocking out Indonesia 126-106.

Nigeria beat Tounes 97-78 to continue their reign as Featherweight champions.

These are the match-ups for next week:

Heavyweight: Slovenija vs. Italia
Middleweight: Canada vs. Uruguay
Lightweight: Hong Kong vs. India
Featherweight: Al Maghrib vs. Nigeria
Flyweight: Ecuador vs. Colombia

Slovenija, Canada, and India are all playing up weight classes. Canada has the chance to be the first country with 2 belts.

This week no country with a belt was dethroned. Welterweight was the only class that did not have its belt on the line as Canada was working to have the first national team with multiple belts.

The title defenses started off in the Lightweight division as Hong Kong looked to defend its belt against India, a Flyweight division team. India chose to run the standard sets of Base Offense and Man to Man defense. Tactically, Hong Kong chose to go with a Run and Gun offense and a 3-2 zone. Hong Kong won big 129 to 85 at the Happy Madison Center. India's Adit Kumar was the stand out for their squad as he racked up 29 points over 31 minutes. Ko Zheng Quan and Au Huo Hai of Hong Kong both put up 22 points, though numerous other players on the team contributed considerably. A telling key to this victory was the fact that Hong Kong only committed 1 turnover.

Following the opening game was a match-up between Al Maghrib and Nigeria at the Melitafa Rens Center. Al Maghrib went with a Run and Gun offense along with a 3-2 zone. Nigeria decided to go a different direction with an inside focus along with man to man defense. Nigeria took this game easily as it coasted to a 132-101 victory. Al Maghrib's Tamir Al-Saleh lit it up from beyond the arc with 7 threes and 31 points overall. Nigeria saw 3 players score 20+ points as well as having similar floor time for the entire roster.

Next in line was the Heavyweight fight between a middleweight team, Slovenija, and Italia. Slovenija ran an inside focus on offense and a man to man defense. Italia decided on a run and gun offense and a man to man defense. Italia won this game easily as Slovenija faded in the second half. Final score: 109-69. Slovenija saw double-doubles from two players, Gal Lovišcak and Rik Bratuš. Italia got help all over the court. Diego Taranto led all scorers with 23 points.

Later in the day was an interesting match-up between to high ranked countries both of which held belts. Canada, the Welterweight champion, was not putting its belt on the line. However, the newly crowned Middleweight champion Uruguay was. Canada chose a run and gun offense and a 2-3 zone while Uruguay ran motion and a 3-2 zone all night. Uruguay walked away with a win 105-81 in their first title defense. Canada's Jean-Francois Joly led his team in scoring with 26 points. Uruguay had an impressive showing from small forward, Osvaldo Lema. Lema dropped 30 points while going 7-8 from behind the arc as well as crashing 11 boards.

Complimenting the Middleweight match and the last match of the day was the Flyweight division as Ecuador was set to face Colombia. Colombia chose to run a low post offense and a 2-3 zone. Ecuador looked to push the ball while running a man to man defense. Ecuador successfully defended its belt with an 89-68 win. Colombia's Luis Mario Galarza led all players in scoring and rebounding with 21 points and 14 assists. Ecuador saw good performances from the swing men as Jaime Armijos and Orlando Villa scored 18 and 16 points respectively.