SCENARIO Six seconds left. Down by two. You steal the ball and pass it to your teammate. You both race down the court. He flips you a quick, behind-the-back pass. The defense closes in. You dribble around your man, turn, shoot and... Yes!!! A perfect baseline jumper ties the game and forces in into overime. But you could not have done it without teamwork. This is GBA CHAMPIONSHIP BASKETBALL: TWO-ON-TWO, the most realistic basketball game ever to hit the computer courts. It gives you real choices. Real team involvment. Real basketball action. Here is the computer basketball game that begins where the others leave off. Because this game relies on teamwork. Draft your teammate from a list of then players whose styles are patterned after real professional superstars. Practice with games like "Around the World" and "Horse", or go one-on-one with a friend. Get your team in shape for league play. And go all the way to the GBA Championship game. You play GBA BASKETBALL on a full court. And when it comes to shooting, you have a full range of choices. Like hooks, tip-ins, jump shots - even dunks. After each game, you can read the sports page of the Gamestar Gazette to check box scores and division standings. One look at the screen tells you that this simulation has the most realistic graphics ever created for computer basketball. Not to mention realistic sound effects and on-court action that feels like the real thing. GBA BASKETBALL gives you all these ways to compete: * One player versus the computer. * Two players versus the computer. * Two-player, two-team competition. * Practice sessions. * 23-team league competition. GBA BASKETBALL. It is the one that lets you really show your stuff. Game after game. Season after season. Other features included: * Chalkboard screens let you establish your playing skills and pick your teammate. Teammates are patterned after real professionals. * Call your offensive play while your opponent sets his defense. * Choose from hoos, jump shots, passes, slam dunks, tip-ins and much more. * The sports page keeps track of game results and league standings. King of the court Basketball. The lightning-paced sport for super-athletes. The game of strategy, guts, stamina, and - most of all - teamwork. It is here, in GBA CHAMPIONSHIP BASKETBALL: TWO-ON-TWO. But you do not have to be saven feet tall to be a superstar on this court. All you need is a Commodore 64 or 128 with a single disk drive and a color monitor or TV set. Two-on-Two helps you develop the strategies and skills to make you play like a pro. You can play with a teammate and learn teamwork. You can pick your offensive alignment while your opponent sets his defense. And when your opponent has the ball, you can choose among several defensive strategies. Two-On-Two gives you lots of ways to compete: One player against the computer, two players against a computer team, two players against each other, practice sessions, and even a 23-team league competition climaxing in the GBA Championship game. These documents include all the information you will need to play Two-on-Two. "The Chalkboard Menus" describes all your options for playing the game, from the two practice modes to the four game modes. This section also tells you how to use the joystick and command keys. "The Scouting Report" shows you how to rate your playing skills for inside and outside shooting, dribbling, stealing, quickness, and jumping. In addition, you will get your first look at your computer opponents - all the teams you will have to beat to make it to the GBA Championship game. In "How to Pass and Shoot", you will find all the information you need to develop your passing game and become a team player. And you will learn all about jump shots, hook shots, slam dunks, tip-ins and rebounds. "The Player Draft" tells you all about your superstar computer teammates - 10 players in all, each one patterned after a real professional basketball star. "Calling Plays" describes the offensive and defensive strategies you will need to outsmart and outplay your opponents. The "Penalties" section explains fouls and other violations and describes how you can use the clock yo your advantage by calling time-outs. "After the Game" tells you how to read the box scores from the game you just played and how to start a new game. JOYSTICK CONTROLS For a one player game, plug a joystick into port one. For a two players game, plug another joystick into port two. THE CHALKBOARD MENUS Follwoing the introductory music and credit screens, a green chalkboard appears on your screen with two choices: GAME or PRACTICE. You will notice two basketballs, one on either side of the GAME option. Pull back or push forward on the joystick in port one to place the basketballs next to the option you want, then press the fire button. A new chalkboard appears, allowing you to select ONE PLAYER or TWO PLAYERS action. If you select the two players option, the joystick in port two becomes active when the top of the screen displays Player Two. When prompted for your TEAM NAME or YOUR NAME, type the letters on the keyboard. Use the DELETE key to erase any mistakes you make, then press RETURN. Names must be at least one letter and no more than twelve letters. PRACTICE OPTIONS No one wants to hit the courts cold. Just as in real basketball, it is a good idea to warm up a little before playing a game. Two-on-Two offers you different practice modes. ONE PLAYER (on the court by himself): Make sure that your joystick is plugged into port one. You can practice shooting inside and outside and work on your hook shots, jump shots, slam dunks, tip-ins and rebounds. Although there is a scoreboard above the basket, in the practice mode the scoreboard does not work. There are no penalties or time clock either. When you make a basket or the ball goes out of bounds, the ball is automatically returned to you. Press 'F7' when you want to return to the chalkboard menus. TWO PLAYERS (on the court): Player two should plug his or her joystick into port two. Notice that player one is always in the blue jersey and player two is in green. You can practice different shots, from hooks to dunks, as well as dribbling, rebounding and tip-ins. You can play straight one-on-one, or you can play other pick-up games like "Around the World" and "Horse". How To Play "Around the World": Player one tries a shot from the baseline - say, at the edge of the key (the key is the area between the inner white line and the basket). Every time the player makes a basket, he or she moves further along the edge of the key, working around the key to the baseline on the other side of the basket. If player one misses a shot, player two gets a turn. When a player misses a shot, he must shoot again from the same spot on his or her next turn, and stay in that spot until he or she makes a basket. The first player to go "Around the World" wins. How To Play "Horse": Player one makes a shot from anywhere on the court. Player two must then make the same shot or he will get an "H". When player one misses, player two can make a shot from whereever he or she wants, and player one has to make the same shot. Every time a player misses, he gets another letter until the word "Horse" is spelled. Whoever gets all the letters first, loses. Note: The letters in "Horse" do not appear on the screen. You must keep track of the "score" yourself. As with the ONE PLAYER practice option, there are no scores, penalties or time clock. To leave the practice mode and return to the chalkboard menus, press 'F7'. THE SCOUTING REPORT Once you are warmed up and ready to play ball, you still have to rate your playing abilities on a screen called "The Scouting Report". It might look like this: INSIDE 2 - OUTSIDE 6 DRIBBLING 3 - STEALING 5 QUICKNESS 4 - JUMPING 4 INSIDE refers to your shooting accuracy inside the key. OUTSIDE refers to your shooting accuracy outside the key. DRIBBLING rates your maneuverability with the ball. STEALING rates your ability to outmaneuver the ball handler and steal the ball. QUICKNESS rates your maneuverability both on defense and when you are not handling the ball on offense. JUMPING rates your ability to block shots and come down with rebounds. The highest rating you can give yourself is 6 (very skilled), and the lowest is 2 (minimally skilled). Notice that INSIDE and OUTSIDE are grouped together, as are DRIBBLING and STEALING and QUICKNESS and JUMPING. Within each of these three groupings, the total always equals 8. So if you choose to rate yourself 3 as an outside shooter, you must be a 5 inside. If you choose a 6 rating at stealing, you will only be a 2 at dribbling. After all, you cannot be great at everything. Remember, too, that in a game situation you will want to select your offensive and defensive strategies according to your strengths and weakness. Use your joystick to move among the categories on "The Scouting Report", and press the fire button to change the numbers. As the number on the left goes upm the number on the right automatically goes down. Note: In the practice modes, all players are given a 4 rating in all categories. GAME OPTIONS TWO PLAYERS HEAD-TO-HEAD Each player has a computer teammate. Each player names his team, then types in his own name and rates himself. He also picks a computer teammate from the "The Player Draft", which includes ten pros, ech one patterned after a real-life basketball superstar. Player one and his teammate are alwaus in blue, player two and his teammate are always in green. On the screen, the player you control are represented in lighter uniforms; the players the computer controls are in darker uniforms. For example, if you are player one, you will wear a light blue jersey and your computer teammate will wear dark blue. TWO PLAYERS TEAMMATES When you select this option, you and a friend team up against a hard-driving computer team. You first type in a TEAM NAME of 12 letters or less, then pick a DIVISION to play in. The division you choose determines the caliber of your computer opponents. NORTH is the easiest division, SOUTH is tougher, EAST is tougher still, and WEST is the toughest of all. Take a look at the chart later on. It gives you a breakdown of all the teams in every division. Notice that the rating totals are higher in the tougher division. For example, in the easy NORTH, the INSIDE and OUTSIDE ratings total 7, but in the tough WEST, they total 10. Since the players in the WEST division are better, the WEST teams have higher ratings. When player one types in his name (12 letters or less) and presses "RETURN", the player one "Scouting Report" allows player one to rate his abilities. Then player two types in his name and rates himself. In this mode, player one has the light blue jersey, player two the dark blue one. ONE PLAYER EXHIBITION GAME You and your computer-controlled teammate challenge a computer team. Type in your TEAM NAME and YOUR NAME and pick a DIVISION. Again, the division you select determines how tough your opponents will be. Next, rate yourself on inside and outside shooting, dribbling, stealing, quickness and jumping. Finally, you select your computer-controlled teammate from "The Player Draft". Do you want the great outside shooting of Larry Berg or the dynamite inside moves of Kareem Ugrin? Strategy is important, because you will want a player whose talents will complement your own, someone who is going to be effective against your opponents. (Again, use the chart "Your Computer Opponents" to scope out your opponents' strengths and weakness). Your team will always be the HOME team, with the player you control in the light blue uniform. ONE PLAYER LEAGUE PLAY This game mode allows you and a computer teammate to play in league competition that can take you all the way to the GBA Championship. You first choose a division to play in (north, south, east or west), then play a five-game season against the other five teams in that division. Once you have selected "League Play", the computer screen will ask if you want to GET TEAM or assemble a NEW TEAM. If you select GET TEAM, you will continue to play with a team you have already created - that is, your current team. Select NEW TEAM to create a new team. Your old team (if you had one) and its league record will be erased from the game disk. In other words, you can have only one team at a time. If you try to create a new team and there is already a team on the disk, the screen will display the message "Warning: Selecting new team will erase your current team.". However, you can go from "League Play" to "Exhibition Play" without erasing your league team from the game disk. You will play a five-game schedule. The computer will select your opponents within your chosen division until you have played all five. Playing in the easier divisions of course means easier games - until you get to the playoffs. At the end of the season, the computer will compare your win/loss record with the records of the other teams in your division. If you have the best divisional record, or if you are tied for the division lead and have beated your co-leader, you will advance to the playoffs. The playoff schedule is set op so that the easiest division (north) plays the hardest division (west) in game 1; in game 2, south meets east. The winners from game 1 and game 2 then meet in the GBA Championship game. On the following page, you will find a breakdown of your computer opponents. Divisions North South East West Opponent Teams Cougars Unicorns Wildcats Sharks Generals Dazzles Hammers Kernals Steamers Masters Condors Mystics Marvels Hawks Wizards Stars Dragons Cosmics Waves Lazers Outside P1 - P2 04 - 03 02 - 05 05 - 02 04 - 03 03 - 03 04 - 04 03 - 05 05 - 03 05 - 03 03 - 05 05 - 04 04 - 05 04 - 04 04 - 05 05 - 04 05 - 05 05 - 05 05 - 05 04 - 05 05 - 04 Inside P1 - P2 04 - 03 05 - 02 02 - 05 03 - 04 03 - 03 04 - 04 05 - 03 03 - 05 03 - 05 05 - 03 04 - 05 05 - 04 04 - 05 05 - 03 03 - 05 05 - 05 05 - 04 04 - 05 05 - 05 05 - 05 Stealing P1 - P2 04 - 03 02 - 05 05 - 02 03 - 04 03 - 03 05 - 03 03 - 04 05 - 02 02 - 05 04 - 03 05 - 03 04 - 04 03 - 05 03 - 05 04 - 04 05 - 05 05 - 05 05 - 05 05 - 04 04 - 05 Jumping P1 - P2 03 - 04 05 - 02 02 - 05 04 - 03 03 - 03 03 - 05 04 - 03 02 - 05 05 - 02 03 - 04 03 - 05 04 - 04 05 - 03 05 - 03 04 - 04 05 - 05 05 - 05 05 - 05 04 - 05 05 - 04 HOW TO PASS AND SHOT PASSING Naturally, good teamwork means getting the ball to your teammate when he is in the open. And to do that, you have got to become a good passer. To pass to your teammate when you have the ball, quickly press and immediately release the fire button. If your teammate has the ball and you want him to pass to you, quickly press the button. Your teammate will usually pass you the ball, but not always - after all, any player can become a ball hog now & then. Your teammate may also pass the ball to you if he sees that you are open, even if you do not press the button - unless you are moving, in which case he will never pass to you unless you unless you press the fire button. If you pass to your to your computer teammate while he is moving, he will stop to try to catch the ball. In order to catch the ball, you must be directly in line with it. Otherwise the ball will go out of bounds or it will be stolen by your opponents. SHOOTING Shooting basics: When you have the ball and want to make a shot, first hold down the fire button. Your player will begin his shot by jumping and will release the ball at the same time you release the button. You must time the release to the jump. If you release the ball at the top of the jump, you have a better chance to score. So your success in shooting depends upon your ability to release the fire button at just the right moment. If you look very closely, you will notice that at the very top of his jump your player will cock his wrist slightly, preparing to shoot. It is at this moment that you should release the button. If you release the button too early or too late, you will still make some of your shots, but a smaller percentage than if you time it perfectly. You should also be aware that if you fail to release the button before your player comes back to the floor, you will be charged with travling (see "Penalties", later on). In addition to your timing, the other factor that will determine your shooting percentage is your player's "Scouting Report" - that is, your rating as an inside and outside shooter. HOOK SHOTS: To make a hook shot, you must be downcourt, near the baseline, with your back to the basket (as you look at your player on the screen, he must be facing 9 o'clock or 3 o'clock). With a hook shot, the ball is released as the player's arm "hooks" over his head. The advantage of this type of shot is that it cannot be blocked. SLAM DUNKS: A slam dunk may be the most satisfying shot in basketball. What could be better than actually stuffing the ball through the hoop? To slam dunk, you must have a 4, 5 or 6 rating as an inside shooter. You must be at the baseline, as far downcourt as you can go, and you must shoot when you are in one of three areas: Under the basket, half a step left of low post left (LPL), or half a step right of low post right (LPR) (see "Zones on the Court", later on). Finally, there must be no defenders under the basket. If all of these conditions are met, a slam dunk will always be successful. TIP-INS: If an offensive player grabs a rebound while directly facing the basket (as you look at him on the screen, facing 12 o'clock with his back to you), he will tip the ball in for a basket. As long as the player is facing the basket and underneath it, the tip-in will be automatic if you make your player jump. Again, only an offensive player can tip the ball in. In the practice mode, either player can tip the ball in. REBOUNDS: A player can rebound only when he is in the area immediately surrounding the basket. To rebound, press the fire button in the same way you do to make a shot - your player will jump for the ball. Timing your jump is the key to successful rebounding. SHOOTING PERCENTAGES: Nobody can make every kind of shot every time. But you can increase your shooting percentage by working on the timing of your release. Of course, it also helps to have a high rating. The following charts show the percentage of outside and inside shots you will make based on the timing of your release and your outside shooting ability. OUTSIDE SHOOTING PERCENTAGES: Outside Rating: When Release is: Very early Early A little early Perfect A little late Late Very Late 6 10% 30% 50% 70& 60% 40% 20% 5 10% 20% 40% 60& 50% 30% 10% 4 10% 10% 30% 50& 40% 20% 10% 3 10% 10% 20% 40& 30% 10% 10% 2 10% 10% 10% 30& 20% 10% 10% INSIDE SHOOTING PERCENTAGES: Inside Rating: When Release is: Very early Early A little early Perfect A little late Late Very Late 6 30% 50% 70% 90& 80% 60% 40% 5 20% 40% 60% 80& 70% 50% 30% 4 10% 30% 50% 70& 60% 40% 20% 3 10% 20% 40% 60& 50% 30% 10% 2 10% 10% 30% 50& 40% 20% 10% 3-POINT SHOTS: If a player shoots a basket from outside the white 3-point line (see "Zones on the Court", later on), that basket is good for 3 points instead of the usual 2. Successful 3-point shots are based on the player's outside shooting rating and the timing of his release. However, if a player shoots from outside the white 3-point line, the odds of that shot being good are only half the odds of a regular outside shot. For example, if a 6-rated outside shooter releases the ball perfectly from beyond the 3-point line, he has only a 35% chance of making that shot. SHOOTING FROM UNDER THE BASKET: Whenever a player shoots from directly under the basket, his chance of scoring is based only on his inside rating, not on his timing. As long as he releases the ball before he is called for traveling, it is assumed that his timing is perfect. STEALING THE BALL AND BLOCKING SHOTS: To steal the ball from the offense, you must "bump" the ballhandler on the side on which he is dribbling or holding the ball. Any player's success at stealing the ball will be based on his rating at STEALING - see "The Scouting Report". To block a shot, move in close to the ballhandler and press the fire button to jump just as he goes up for a shot. Your success in blocking the shot will depend on how close you are to the ballhandler and on your rating at JUMPING - see "The Scouting Report". YOUR COMPUTER TEAMMATE: Your computer teammate is an intelligent player. If he is under the basket, he will shoot. If he sees that you are open under the basket, he will pass the ball to you. If the clock is about to run out (either the 24-seconds shot clock or the quarter clock), he will shoot if he has the ball. If he is being covered and he realizes he cannot drive to the basket, he will pull up and shoot from as cloase as he can get. Rememeber, just as in real basketball, the key element in Two-On-Two is teamwork. Your computer teammate is designed to work with you to beat your opponents. No matter how good you are as on individual player, you will never make it to the GBA Championships unless you learn to play as a team. THE PLAYER DRAFT After you have rated your abilities, you get to draft a computer-controlled teammate. In the two players mode, each player gets to draft a computer teammate unless you are playing the TWO PLAYERS TEAMMATES option. You have ten players from which to choose, each patterned after a real basketball superstar. When the player draft screen appears, you will see ten names in white letters, with the two "pointer" basketballs on either side of a name. Use your joystick to line up the basketballs next to the name of the player you want, then release the joystick and press the fire button. This will highlight your choice in yellow. Finally, move the balls down the word CONTINUE and press the fire button to go to the next screen. YOUR SUPERSTAR TEAMMATES Here are the computer stars you can play with: MAGIC LYNDON One of the best players in the game, famous for his sleight-of-hand passing. Now you see it, now you do not. Magic provides that extra magic that can take you all the way to the GBA Championship JERRY ORR A consistently high scorer, Orr has been known to score over 50 points in one game. He knows how to draw fouls from opponents and almost never misses from the free throw line. ELGIN CUTTER Some say he is the best pressure player in the game. He once scored 61 points in a GBA playoff game - a record. Cutter has some deadly inside moves. JOHN MADLAND An excellent defensive player. When Madland is on the court, expect lots of turnovers. Also a dynamite outside shooter. LARRY BERG If you want a teammate who can do it all, Berg is your man. A real team player who knows how to win. Great all-around abilities. Berg can shoot and pass with either hand. He received the GBA Most Valuable Player Award two years in a row. KAREEM UGRIN Some say he is getting too old, but Ugrin seems to just get better. A great inside shooter with an almost unstoppable hook shot, Ugrin recently became the highest scorer in GBA history. He is also a ferocious rebounder. WALT BARNETT A superb rebounder and one of the best defensive players around. JULIUS KEITH Dr.K. When he is not selling basketball shoes or soft drinks on TV, Keith can be found driving defenders crazy on the court. He averages over 30 points a game and has some of the best moves in the game. OSCAR DUNBAR A player with all the right moves, Dunbar is considered the best guard of all time. A great player at any position, he is equally adept at inside and outside shooting. WILT DULMAGE Wilt the tilt. This man is great at blocking shots and coming down with the ball. Also one of the few unstoppable inside shooters. The following "Superstar Teammate Player Draft" chart rates the talents of your computer teammates. The numbers indicate their skills at inside and outside shooting, dribbling, stealing, quickness and jumping. Unlike the ratings for yourself, these are fixed. Because all these stars are excellents players, they rate no lower than 4. A 6 is the highest rating a player can have. Notice that the total within each grouping (inside and outside shooting, dribbling and stealing, quickness and jumping) totals 10 for your superstar teammate, as supposded to 8 for your other player. SUPERSTAR TEAMMATE PLAYER DRAFT: The Players: Magic Lyndon Jerry Orr Elgin Cutter John Madland Larry Berg Kareem Ugrin Walt Barnett Julius Keith Oscar Dunbar Wilt Dulmage Outside 5 6 4 6 6 4 5 4 5 4 Inside 5 4 6 4 4 6 5 6 5 6 Dribbling 5 5 5 4 4 5 4 6 6 4 Stealing 5 5 5 6 6 5 6 4 4 6 Quickness 5 6 6 5 4 4 4 5 5 4 Jumping 5 4 4 5 6 6 6 5 5 6 CALLING PLAYS In all the game modes except two players teammates, you must choose an offensive and defensive alignment every time you are on offense or defense. The PLAYCALLING SCREEN comes up whenenver there is a change of possession because of a basket, a steal, a defensive rebound or a penalty. Although the game is actually played on a full court, you see only half the court at a time. Every time there is a change of possession or a basket is good, the players run down the court and the offense brings the ball up from mid-court. The playcalling screen replaces the scoreboard for about seven seconds while the players automatically run down the court and bring back the ball into play. The playcalling screen disappears when the ballhandler crosses the center court. So you have seven seconds to select a play. If you fail to select a play, the computer will automatically pick one for you. On defense the computer will pick LOW ZONE (LZN) and on offense it will pick BASKET (BKT). As you will see on the screen in the game, the playcalling screen is divided into OFFENSE on the left and DEFENSE on the right. For offense, the screen shows a picture of your joystick surrounded by the abbreviations BKT, RHT, TOP, LFT and SCRN, which stand for the five offensive plays you can choose from. For defense, the screen shows a picture of your joystick surrounded by the abbreviations LZN, HZN, MMD and MML, which stand for the four defensive alignments you can choose from. You select a play by moving your joystick forward, back, right or left to "point to" the play you want: Forward for BKT or LZN, back for TOP or HZN, right fro RHT or MMD and left for LFT or MML. On offense, you can also use the fire button if you want to select the SCRN play. When you are going to be on offense, the word OFFENSE on the playcalling screen will be in green; once you select your offense, the word will turn blue. On defense, the word DEFENSE is first highlighted in yellow; once you select your defense, it turns blue. Note that these colors have nothing to do with the player's blue and green jerseys or the team themselves; they merely indicate when a play has been selected. If you have called a play, but change your mind while the playcalling screen is still visible, simply push the joystick in the direction of the new play you want. Whenever you call a play, you wll hear a tone at the same time the word OFFENSE or DEFENSE turns blue. Whenever you call a play, whether on offense or defense, you are telling your computer teammate what to do. Following is a complete rundown of the plays. It will help you to understand the plays if you also study "Zones on the Court", following now. The picture is not available. OFFENSIVE PLAYS: You have five offensive plays from which to choose: Left Wing - LFT Right Wing - RHT Top of Key - TOP Basket - BKT Screen - SCRN LEFT WING (LFT) Your teammate runts to the high post left or high post right (HPL or HPR) and stays there for one second. Then he runs to the left wing (LFT), stays there for two to four seconds and then runs a random pattern on the left side of the court. RIGHT WING (RHT) Your teammate begins by running to the high post left or high post right (HPL or HPR) and waits there for one second. Then he runs to the right wing (RHT) and waits there for two to four seconds. Afterwards he starts running a random pattern on the right side of the court. TOP OF KEY (TOP) Your teammate runs to either the right or left high post (HPR or HPL), waits there for a second and then runs to the top. He stays there for two to four seconds and then runs a random pattern at the top of the key. BASKET (BKT) Your teammate runs to the high post left or right (HPL or HPR), then drives under the basket. He waits there for two seconds and then runs a random three-step pattern under the basket. SCREEN (SCRN) You use your teammate as a screen to block out any defenders trying to cover you. Your teammate runs to HPL or HPR and stays there for six seconds, allowing you to dribble around him as he blocks the defender. Then he runs a two-step pattern between the high posts. DEFENSIVE PLAYS: You have four offensive plays from which to choose from: Low Zone - LZN High Zone - HZN Man-To-Man Light - MML Man-To-Man Dark - MMD LOW ZONE (LZN) When you call low zone, your teammate will stay in the key (between the basket and the inner white line on the court). When an offensive player enters his zone, he covers him man-to-man. If the offense floods the low zone (which means both offensive players enter the key), your teammate will cover the ballhandler. In this case, you should cover the offensive player without the ball. When your opponents are not flooding the low zone, your teammate always takes the man in the low zone, and you take the man outside the key in the high zone. HIG ZONE (HZN). If you assign your teammate to the high zone, he covers the ballhandler when that player is in the high zone. When the ballhandler enters the low zone area around the key, you cover him, and your teammate covers the player without the ball. MAN-TO-MAN LIGHT (MML) Your teammate covers the opposing player who wears the light-colored uniform. He stays with that player everywhere on the court. You cover the player in the dark uniform. The goal in man-to-man coverage is to stay between the man you are guarding and the basket, trying to keep him from getting under the basket and making an easy shot. MAN-TO-MAN DARK (MMD) This is the reverse of man-to-man light. Your teammate covers the man in the dark uniform, and you cover the man in the light uniform. STRENGTHS & WEAKNESS OF ZONE DEFENSE The zone defense is very effective against inside shooters. If the ballhandler breaks away from the man playing the high zone, the man playing the low zone can usually cover the ballhandler before he can get into position near the basket. The weakness of the zone defense is that one defender is always in the key, resulting in a two-on-one situation outside the key. This sometimes means that one of the offensive players can take an easy outside shot. If you are playing against the computer, it is easier to beat the computer when you play a zone defense. If you want a more challenging game, play man-to-man. PLAYCALLING AND LOOSE BALL If nobody grabs a rebound and the ball is loose, the computer will sometimes allow you to regroup your offense and call anothe rplay. You will know this is happening if the playcalling screen appears. PENALTIES FOULS Bumping into an opposing player continuously for more than one second results in a foul in the following situations: A defensive foul occurs when one of the defensive players bumps into the ballhandler. The penalty is either ball out of bounds to the offense or free throws. Charging occurs when the ballhandler bumps into a defensive player. The penalty is change of possession or three throws. Fouls and other penalties are displayed on the scoreboard in flashing letters right after they occur. However, if a player is fouled while shooting, the foul will not be displayed on the scoreboard until after the shot has either gone in for a field goal or missed. Fouling the shooter results in one free throw if the basket is good and two free throws if he misses his shot. The number of TEAM FOULS is also displayed on the scoreboard. Team get five fouls per half; the count is reset to zero at halftime. If a team accumulates more than five fouls in a half, this results in bonus free throws for the other team. OTHER VIOLATIONS Traveling is called if you jump to shoot but do not release the ball in time. It will not be called if your shot is blocked by an opponent and you come down with the ball. Traveling results in a change of possession. The three-seconds rule is invoked if an offensive player stays inside the key for more than three seconds at a time. However, when the ball is in the air or up for grabs, all players can stay in the key for as long as they like, until someone comes up with the ball. Staying in the key too long results in change of possession. The 24-seconds shot clock gives the offensive team 24 seconds to make a shot after they bring the ball into play. The scoreboard has a SHOT CLCOK which counts down the seconds. Failure to make a shot in time results in change of possession. Here is a summary of all violations and penalties: WITH FIVE OR FEWER TEAM FOULS: * Fouling the shooter: If ball goes in - 1 free throw. If ball misses - 2 free throws. * Fouling the ballhandler: Ball out of bounds to the offense. * Charging: Change of possession. * Three seconds in the key: Change of possession. * 24-seconds shot clock time up: Change of possession. WITH FIVE OR FEWER TEAM FOULS: * Fouling the shooter If ball goes in - 1 free throw. If ball misses - 2 free throws. * Fouling the ballhandler: 2 free throws. * Charging: 2 free throws. * Three seconds in the key: Change of possession. * 24-seconds shot clock time up: Change of possession. A WORD ABOUT FREE THROWS Players do not have control over free throw accuracy. It is based on the outside shooting rating. To make a free throw, just push the fire button and release it. All players can rebound after the last free throw attempt. THE QUARTER CLOCK AND OVERTIME You will play four 6-minute quarters in each game. If the teams are tied at the end of the fourth quarter, you will automatically go into overtime, which is another 6-minute quarter. The amount of time left in each quarter is shown on the clock in the middle of the scoreboard. At the end of each quarter, a buzzer rings and the screen displays which quarter has just been played. You then go immediately into the next quarter. At the start of the game, the home team always takes the ball out (player one is always the home team). The visiting team brings the ball into play in the second quarter. The home team again takes the ball out when the third quarter begins, and the visiting team starts off the fourth quarter. CALLING TIMEOUTS AND PAUSING THE GAME To pause the game, simply press the "F7" key on your keyboard; "TIMEOUT OR F5 TO RESUME" will be displayed on the scoreboard. If you merely want to pause the game, press the "F5" key when you are ready to resume. You can call a timeout only when you are on offense. If you want to call a time-out, first press the "F7" key, then press the fire button. Each team is allowed five timeouts per half. On the scoreboard you will notice five little yellow lights on the HOME and VISITOR sides of the board. Each time you call a timeout, one of the yellow lights will go out. Calling timeouts saves precious seconds at the end of the game. If your team is behind and the clock is about to run out, you should call a timeout right after you have called a play. When you call a timeout, your player do not have to take the time to run down the court and set up the play; they will just appear on the court, in position, when play resumes. To quit a game in progress and start over, you must turn off your computer and reload the game - unless, you are playing the practice mode, where you can press the "F7" key to quit. AFTER THE GAME At the end of every game, you can read all about it. The sports page of the Gamestar Gazette appears on the screen with the following boxscore writeups: The team names, the final score, the total field goals for each team, shooting percentages, rebounds, steals, blocked shots, and the name of the leading scorer. Here is what the numbers mean: FIELD GOALS This is the total number of baskets each team made. Each basket is worth either 2 or 3 points, depending on where the player was on the court when he made the shot. Free throws do not count as field goals. PERCENTAGE The field goal percentage is calculated by taking the total number of actual field goals and dividing it by the total number of field goal attempts. The number is the team percentage. REBOUNDS Every time your team pulls down a rebound, it is recorded here. STEALS This number records the number of times your team stole the ball from the opposition. BLOCKED SHOTS There are two types of blocked shots. After the shot is blocked, either the defender comes down with the ball or the offensive player retains possession. Blocked shots ate only recorded here when the defender gains possession of the ball. LEADING SCORER The top scorer's name will be displayed with the number of points he scored. TO PLAY ANOTHER GAME If you have just played any game (except in league play) and want to play the same game again, you do not have to type in your name again or select a new computer teammate unless you want to. Just move the basketballs to CONTINUE and press the fire button as you move quickly through the menus.