BuzzerBeater Forums

I still haven't written a final post about the consolidation tournament. That's why I'm correcting myself.
We managed to score two victories in the final matches, over Puerto Rico and Iran.
Moreover, with their victory, we did not give Iran the opportunity to play a playoff, pulling it down with them. But it seems that they underestimated us very much for nothing, they played with a low mood, although they had a really significant advantage in DMI.
As a result, we took 36th place with a score of 4-4 and a difference of +27 points. This time, only one team with a score of 4-4 got into the playoff, we were only 10 points behind Columbia by a difference.
Well, it's our own fault, we could have played better in a number of matches. But random, as always, has a significant contribution)
The year 2026 has arrived, and I wish everyone in the community a good productive year and be healthy.

I want to thank you for re-electing me as the NT coach.
We are entering season 71.
Odd-numbered seasons are traditionally difficult, and the group at the European Championship was quite difficult. You can't tell right away who we can beat here. Switzerland, Denmark and Ireland look like slightly simpler opponents for us, the rest will be more difficult. Nevertheless, we will try to play well.
We start with matches against Estonia, then Switzerland.

Unfortunately, it was not possible to compete for victories in the opening matches.
Estonia 131-90 Scotland
We played with the equal attitude.
The opponents played the ball very effectively and attacked from the perimeter. It was very difficult for us to play defense. We also attacked pretty well for our level, but by the end of the match we were playing weaker and weaker, we lost the last quarter -19.
Scotland 110-135 Switzerland
We played again with the equal attitude.
We were close to the opponent in many aspects of the game. And our shot execution is pretty good, but as long we let the opponent make shots more than 50℅ from the game and more than 40℅ three-pointers, we won't be able to fight for victory.
Our next opponents are not much easier - Greece and Denmark.
Can we show a better result?

We played three more matches, and although we didn't manage to win them, we looked much more competitive.

Greece 109-92 Scotland
Greece is a really strong team, and the final score of -17 can be considered an achievement for us. We managed to significantly reduce the score gap in the last quarter, which doesn't happen very often. We also turned the ball over less often than the opponent, which helped us a lot.

Scotland 113-116 Denmark
A very close match. We looked good and could have won, but in the fourth quarter we lost our advantage. We had a slightly better shot percentage, but we lost the rebounding battle, and Denmark was able to beat us due to having more possessions.

Scotland 95-123 Czech Republic
We couldn't put up a big fight. The Czechs closed the perimeter, and we shot 0 for 16 from three-point range. They also had a big advantage on the boards. We looked good in the first and third quarters, but it wasn't enough.

We have only two matches left, against Ireland and Belgium.

The tournament is over for us.

Ireland 89 - 127 Scotland
We managed to convert our huge advantage in enthusiasm into an excellent +38 point differential. Admittedly, the first three quarters weren't as one-sided; we earned half of that total differential in the fourth quarter alone. We dominated rebounds and racked up a lot of assists. It's a shame this was our only win, but at least it was a pretty emphatic one.

Scotland 90 - 103 Belgium
In all seriousness, we could have competed for a win here. It was very untimely that Belcher, in his form 9, got injured on Saturday. Despite that, we put up a good fight, defended well, and didn't lose the rebound battle.

Overall, I'm pleased with the team's performance at the tournament. Maybe not with the result, but with how the team played.
There was a player clearance sale on the market: Lennie, MacPhee, and MacCosram from Flower of Scotland have new owners now. They can all expect to get some playing time. MacCosram, based on his skills, is a starting-caliber player, but due to poor form, he didn't get any minutes at the tournament. I hope the new owners will keep an eye on the players' conditioning.
So, next season, we could be stronger and fight for a playoff spot in the Consolidation Tournament. We're looking forward to the next season.

We enter 72 season!
We have already played the first scrimage and there was a schedule of consolidation tournament.
Matches inspire restrained optimism:
Croatia (A)
Panama (H)
Lebanon (A)
Azerbaijan (H)
Bolivia (A)
England (H)
Guatemala (A)
Andorra (H)
Very pleasing the number of matches with colleagues from micronations. From these countries more us by the number of users only Croatia, England and and Andorra (12 against 10)!
So I want to win 5 wins at least. On the other hand, it does not correlate with the force of teams, such as Lebanon is great in the Asian Championship, 22 place of the world rank to get not so simple, but last year was even 16.
And if we start the first three matches 1-2 or even worse 0-3 will be very nervous and unpleasant.
Therefore, I ask the respected managers-owners of NT players not overloading team leaders minutes, try to keep the form 8-9.

All wish good season and good luck in real life.

Last edited by TRUF at 5/6/2026 2:44:19 AM

Scotland 92 – 113 Croatia
The match was an away game, and it was truly difficult for us to fight for the win. Unfortunately, in the first quarter, the opponent built a large lead. In the remaining quarters, we played much more convincingly. Overall, I am satisfied with the quality of the game and the players' readiness. I wouldn't call the match a bad one — playing away is genuinely tough for us.

Panama 106 – 114 Scotland
A rather risky match, a hard-fought home win. Panama turned out to be quite well-prepared, both in terms of player quality and tactics. They countered our internal strategy with a 2-3 zone. Fortunately, we managed to consistently break down their defense and win the rebounding battle, building a comfortable lead by the end of the third quarter. At the start of the fourth quarter, the opponent went on a 13-2 run, cutting the deficit to just four points. However, we managed to regroup and steady our offense after that.

Next matches with Lebanon and Azerbaijan

Scotland 93 - 104 Lebanon
At a higher mood tried to turn the guest match in their direction, but a little bit missed the strength of the roster.

Azerbaijan 72 - 103 Scotland
Victory was quite easy, we have stronger roster and match was home.

Scotland 68 - 84 Bolivia
A very sad match for us, one of the worst in my career coach. I didn't guess the defense tactics and punished us for it. In the first half of the match looked good, but after the break everything became much worse and even a great advantage in the selection we did not help.

Ahead of the matches with England, Guatemala and Andorra.
Unfortunately, having an account 2-3, and after England will be 2-4, we certainly will not get to playoff. However, go further, let's try to show a good game.