Season 56 Featured Game No. 6...Dallas at Milwaukee...Plus a Hall of Fame Centers Spotlight

 DALLAS 66, MILWAUKEE 64

DEMONS HANG ON FOR WIN

MILWAUKEE -- In yet another game where the last shot determined the outcome, the Dallas Demons (now 5-1) escaped Milwaukee's trap with a 66-64 victory. 

Trailing throughout the game but never really out of it, Milwaukee (now 3-3) put on a furious comeback down the stretch only to lose on a desperation full-court shot at the buzzer by Greyhounds forward Scobee Bryant that nearly secured a home team victory. It took three rolls to determine that the longshot attempt did not go in. 

This barn-burner featured fierce defense by both teams, with Milwaukee players preventing 17 Dallas points and the Demons preventing 16.

It also marks the third consecutive game that an opponent has taken the four-time defending champs from Dallas down to the wire, with Oklahoma City having first lost to Dallas by 3, then turning around and beating them by 4.

Points prevented by quarter

Dallas...........1...4...7...4...Total=16

Milwaukee...3...6...4...4...Total=17

Tops in points prevented

1. Juzan Djinn, Dallas...10 points prevented

2. Itstha Bishop, Milwaukee...5 points prevented

PLAYER OF THE GAME

28 GVP...Fourth-year Milwaukee guard ITSTHA BISHOP has no awards on his card, but in that respect, he may be one of the most under-the-radar stars in MBA history. The 6-foot shooting guard has led Milwaukee in scoring every season since joining the league, peaking with a 20.3 ppg average last season that tied for the scoring title. In this game, despite getting his shot blocked 5 times by shut-down defender Juzan Djinn, who prevented 10 of his points, Bishop managed to come away with a game-high 23 on 10 of 19 shooting. Additionally, he stopped 5 opponents' points from hitting the scoreboard with tough D of his own. Bishop was 2 of 6 from deep and 1 of 1 from the foul line while pulling down 3 rebounds and topping his team in assists with 2. He had more than double the points of the next-highest scoring Milwaukee player and most definitely kept the Greyhounds in contention throughout the game.

Other 20-plus GVP performers

26 GVP...Dallas center Biggus Dickus...16 points...6 rebounds...2 assists...1 steal...1 blocked shot.

23 GVP...Dallas point guard Vicious Hick...13 points (3 treys)...6 rebounds...4 assists.

22 GVP...Dallas small forward Pete "the Steakman" Marzano...16 points...3 rebounds...2 assists...1 block.

21 GVP...Dallas power forward Nick Kenpoop...11 points...4 rebounds...4 assists...2 blocked shots.

21 GVP...Milwaukee small forward Scobee Bryant...10 points...6 rebounds...3 blocked shots...2 steals

20 GVP...Dallas Hall of Fame two guard Juzan Djinn...10 points...5 blocked shots...3 rebounds...2 assists.

MBA Standings … Season 56

EAST DIVISION

DALLAS………………….5-1

PHILADELPHIA………4-2

MILWAUKEE………..3-3

OKLAHOMA CITY…..2-3

CHARLESTON………. 1-5

 

WEST DIVISION

SAN JOSE…………5-1

GILLETTE…………4-2

LOS ANGELES….3-2

SEATTLE………….2-4

SACRAMENTO… 0-6

 

NEXT UP:  Another important game, Oklahoma City at Los Angeles, closes out bracket No. 6. The Lariats would be in the thick of things with a cross-over victory here, and Los Angeles needs a win to keep pace with Gillette for the second playoff spot in the West. 

GALUMPKUS 12TH HALL OF FAME CENTER

By earning his 7th All Star Game appointment, Chochky Galumkpus, now of Seattle, becomes the 61st member of the MBA Hall of Fame and the 12th center to join the august company of pivots. The 7-1 Galumpkus, now in his 11th season, has played for three different franchises...two stints with Oklahoma City, one stretch with Dallas and now Seattle...and has been a star in every stop.

Here are the Hall of Fame centers in reverse order of their induction season:

Season 56...Chochky Galumpkus (first center to make the exalted status in 8 seasons)

Season 48...Tree Fiddy

Season 44...J.J. Gargantuan (still active, but retiring after this season)

Season 35...Max Payne

Season 33...Tom "the Bomb" Kondla

Season 25...Jonny Cockaroo

Season 23...Bart Pitbull

Season 17...Mable Reed

Season 16...Diamond Dallas Paige

Season 16...Rip Slamjam

Season 10...Big Bill Rustler

Season 8....Alex Pal

 

Season 56 All Star Game

 EAST 99, WEST 72

MORE EAST DOMINANCE 

DALLAS -- The big boy bullies from the East flexed their muscles once again in this 56th MBA All Star Game, crushing the West 99-72 to improve their overall supremacy in this contest to 36-20; a third straight triumph.

The season for the last-place, win-less Sacramento River Dogs got even worse, as their lone All Star selection, Satan Israel, was injured in the third quarter and will be forced to miss the next three R-Dogs games.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

49 GVP...In one of the most powerful All Star Game performances in the history of the league, Philadelphia's fourth-year forward PHILLIP MIANUS put on a show to be remembered. The 6-8 Mianus, who has made his mark in the league mainly on defense, exploded for a game-high 32 points, the most by anyone since Didger A'doo scored 34 way back in Season 36. Mianus remained a defensive force in this game as well, registering a game-high 4 steals that tied the single-game total set by Hall of Fame guard Great Gruncle Terry of Milwaukee in Season 49. Mianus also led everyone in blocked shots with 7. He was 15 for 16 from the floor, his only miss coming from beyond the arc where he was 1 for 2. He accented those baskets with 3 slams and also went 1 for 1 from the foul line. 

Other 20-plus GVP performers

30 GVP...Dallas small forward Pete "the Steakman" Marzano...22 points...4 blocks...3 rebounds...1 steal...tops in points prevented with 8

26 GVP...Seattle Hall of Fame center Chochky Galumpkus...19 points...5 rebounds...2 assists. 

23 GVP...Dallas point guard Vicious Hick...21 points (5 treys)...2 rebounds.

22 GVP...Milwaukee center Johnny Bananas...14 points...7 rebounds...1 assist. 

20 GVP...San Jose retiring shooting guard Vinny Zazeech...13 points...4 rebounds...3 assists.

Tops in Points Prevented

1. Pete "the Steakman" Marzano...8 points prevented

2. Juzan Djinn...5 points prevented

3. Turk Attaturk...4 points prevented

Team Points Prevented

West...9

East...20...showing off their smothering D.

Special Notes

-- In his 5th and final All Star Game, retiring San Jose guard Vinny Zazeech, tied for the tallest guard in MBA history at 6-8, was forced to play forward due to an in-game injury to Eddie Creamer and Satan Israel.

-- Juzan Djinn, one of the greatest All Star Game performers, moved into 7th place in ASG scoring with a total of 107. He also broke an ASG tie for the number one career assists total with Percy Faith. He now sits atop in that category with 21. Djinn also added to his already No. 1 spot in career ASG blocks, adding 4 more for a grand total of 22, six ahead of the second-place guy, Curley Hogbottom.

-- The MBA's newest Hall of Famer, Chochky Galumpkus moved into 8th place scoring all time in the ASG with his total of 106 points, right behind Djinn. Galumpkus also tied Bart Pitbull for 6th place in ASG rebounding with 26. 

Next up: Regular league action begins anew with Gillette (3-2) at Seattle (2-3). The Humps, behind POG Blob Dylan, bested the Stampede in their first meeting this season 72-63.   

Season 56 All Stars revealed...plus Season Leaders at halfway point

ALL STAR NOTES

-- Hall of Fame center J.J. Gargantuan breaks the tie with Max Payne by making his 12th All Star Game roster, the most in MBA history. The 19th-year player will be retiring following this season.

-- Gargantuan is one of 4 West All Stars who will be retiring after this season, and thus, will be playing in their final All Star Game.

-- Point guard Maboroshi No Hotcake of Gillette is the lone rookie starter in the game and just one of two rookies to make the All Star Game. The other is Famichiki Whiskey of Charleston.

-- There are two former All Star Game MVPs in this upcoming contest...Juzan Djinn of Dallas and Eddie "the Milkman" Creamer of San Jose.

-- Three teams placed three starters on the All Star rosters, but Dallas is the only one with three players starting in the game.

-- The only active Hall of Fame player who failed to make the game this season is forward Crentis Dentist of Oklahoma City. The other three all made it, including the newest member Chochky Galumpkus.

-- Four of the 10 starters are making their first ASG starts.

-- The West roster is much older than the East. Five of the 10 West stars are older than the oldest East star.

-- The lone player with a 20-plus GVP left off the team is Milwaukee guard Itstha Bishop (20.5), who has yet to put an award on his card despite being a big-time scorer for three and a half seasons. He tied for the league lead in scoring last season.

-- Every MBA team has at least one representative in the game.

-- The East, which has won 4 of the last 5 ASGs has a 35-20 overall advantage.

-- There are three first-time All Stars. Only one, center Brother Jasper of Philadelphia, is not a rookie.

This season's game is in Dallas....past All Star Games in Dallas were:

Season 9...East 92, West 64...MVP of game was guard Uncle Bob Masterson of Philadelphia who was also the top scorer with 27 points.

Season 18...West 93, East 82...MVP was Dallas guard Joey Two-Tomes, who led all scorers with 28 points.

Season 30...West 75, East, 74 on a buzzer beater...MVP was center Max Payne of Dallas...top scorer was Cheetos Jones of Philadelphia with 23 points

Season 36...East 85, West 53...Co-MVPs were Chicago guard Didger A'doo and Houston rookie forward Vic Hitler...Hitler was top scorer with 19 points.

Season 49...West 83, East 76...MVP was forward Doo-rag Dripp of Sacramento...top scorer was Jesse Shershot of San Jose with 20

Note: For the first four of these games hosted by Dallas, the Demons were in the West Division before changing to the East in Season 40

MBA SEASON LEADERS AT THE HALFWAY POINT

Season 56 Featured Game No. 5...Los Angeles at San Jose...plus bonus

 

LOS ANGELES 90, SAN JOSE 89

BIG ONE STUNS AMIGOS IN COMEBACK

SAN JOSE -- Down 13 with 48 time units remaining, the Los Angeles Big One (now 3-2), spurred by a series of treys from retiring point guard Dick Papers, gave the home team San Jose Fighting Amigos (now 4-1) its first loss of the season 90-89. The win moved L.A. into second place ahead of Gillette, thanks to the division wins tie-breaker.

It was the first true barn-burner of the season and split the season series between the teams.

Papers hit what turned out to be the game-winning 3-pointer with 11 ticks left, then forced Vinny Zazeech into losing the ball on the dribble on the Amigos' final possession.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

32 GVP...He wouldn't have been in the starting lineup had Philibuck Davia not been injured, but second-year forward BIG "BLUE" BOTTLE took advantage of his opportunity and delivered the first POG of his career. The 6-8 Bottle played both forward positions in this game thanks to foul trouble to Turk Attaturk. Bottle ended up with a team-high 20 points on 9 of 12 shooting that included 2 for 2 from the foul line. Additionally, he topped everyone in the game with 4 blocked shots, including a key swat-away on L.S. Island late in the game. Bottle also led his team with 5 boards and topped the Big One in assists with 3. Is it back to the bench for the blue one once Davia returns after the All Star Game break?

Other 20-plus GVP performers

31 GVP...San Jose forward L.S. Island...21 points...6 rebounds...2 assists...2 blocked shots.

28 GVP...Retiring San Jose guard Vinny Zazeech...21 points...6 rebounds...1 assist.

24 GVP...Retiring San Jose Hall of Fame center J.J. Gargantuan...14 points...4 rebounds...4 assists...2 blocked shots.

21 GVP...Retiring Los Angeles point guard Little Dickie Papers...17 points (5 treys)...3 rebounds...1 steal. 

21 GVP...San Jose power forward Eddie "the Milkman" Creamer...14 points...5 rebounds...1 assist...1 steal. 

MBA Standings … Season 56

EAST DIVISION

DALLAS………………….4-0

PHILADELPHIA………3-1

MILWAUKEE………..2-2

OKLAHOMA CITY…..1-3

CHARLESTON………. 1-4

 

WEST DIVISION

SAN JOSE…………4-1

LOS ANGELES….3-2

GILLETTE…………3-2

SEATTLE………….2-3

SACRAMENTO… 0-5

 

NEXT UP:  Milwaukee visits Philadelphia as the two playoff contenders square off for the second bracket in a row. Philly bested the Greyhounds72-64 in their last go-round, with Phillip Mianus leading the way for the Phobia. The winner of this game goes into the break in second place. 

BONUS

Triple double leaders into Season 56

ALL TIME LEADERS

17… Great Gruncle Terry, Hall of Fame guard (1 quadruple-double)

16…Jimsy Redfern, forward

11…Chip Battoe, Hall of Fame forward

11…Tom “the Bomb” Kondla, Hall of Fame center

9…Beezow Bop-Bop, Hall of Fame guard

9…Marcus Pettis, guard

8…Max Payne, Hall of Fame center

7…Wawa Wewa, forward

7…Tug Hershorts, Hall of Fame forward

7…J.D. Jedreat, forward (1 quadruple-double)

7…Diss Reflexia, Hall of Fame center

ACTIVE TRIPLE-DOUBLE LEADERS

6…Juzan Djinn, Hall of Fame guard

4…Ehhy Table, guard

4…J.J. Gargantuan, Hall of Fame center

4…Chochky Galumpkus, center

3…Dick Papers, guard

3…Leonard Pinth Garnel, forward

3…Vicious Hick, guard

Season 56 Retirements announcd

-- 52 players eligible for retirement...18 retired...34.6 percent

-- Team most impacted by retirements...San Jose Fighting Amigos...which makes the most sense since they currently have the oldest roster and the oldest starting lineup. Lost three players and two starters. Currently in first place and unbeaten in their division, this championship window, however slight because of Dallas, is probably slamming shut after this season.

-- Others hit hard were Los Angeles and Gillette.

-- Untouched by retirement: Dallas, Philadelphia, Charleston and Sacramento. 

-- Biggest Name to Retire...San Jose Hall of Fame center J.J. Gargantuan...Not only is he the oldest player in the league, currently in his 19th season, Gargantuan is still a major contributor on a contending squad. He is tied for 19th place for most awards in history; he is currently in third place for all time points scored in MBA history, just 13 points behind Ching-Chong Chung, whom he will surely pass in the next six games. Along with Chung (2,016 points) and Mamadou Zongo (2,606), Gargantuan (currently at 2,003) is just one of three players to exceed 2,000 points in his MBA career. He is tied with fellow Hall of Fame center Max Payne for All Star Game appearances with 11. 

 

MVP and rookie of the Year Rankings after 4 brackets

 MVP Rankings

1. Hall of Fame guard Juzan Djinn of Dallas...30.6 GVP plus 5 for first-place team=35.6

going for third straight regular season MVP and fifth overall counting his two playoff MVPs

2. Guard Vicious Hick of Dallas...27.1 +5= 32.1

3. Power forward Eddie "the Milkman" Creamer of San Jose...26.2+5=31.2

4. Center Blob Dylan of Gillette...27.1+4=31.1

5. Small forward Pete "the Steakman" Marzano of Dallas...24.3+5=29.3

 Rookie of the Year Rankings

1. Guard Maboroshi No Hotcake of Gillette...21.6 GVP

2. Power forward Grand Demur Fuyacho of Charleston...20.7

3. Guard Famichiki Whiskey of Charleston...18.9

Next Up: Retirements...57 players up for retirement...20 from cut pile

Season 56 Featured Game No. 4...Dallas at Charleston

 DALLAS 78, OKLAHOMA CITY 75

DEMONS ESCAPE AMBUSH

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Dallas Demons (now 4-0), trailing for three quarters, finally took the lead from the surprisingly gritty Oklahoma City Lariats (now 1-3) and hung on for a 78-75 victory, the team's 17th in a row dating back to last season.

This was the closest the four-time-defending champions have come to losing since the last time they played Oklahoma City in bracket 9 of Season 55 when they escaped with a 79-76 win.

Unlike past scenarios, where once Dallas takes the lead in a game and blows the other squad away, Oklahoma City stayed close throughout the fourth quarter, cutting a 6-point lead down to 3 with 8 ticks left in the game. Then, giving Dallas forward Pete "the Steakman" Marzano all the room he wanted from beyond the arc, Oklahoma City readied for the rebound. But, of course, Marzano, whose 3-point percentage in his four seasons has been 0.0, 0.0, 7.7 and 7.1, nailed the trey to sew up the victory. 

PLAYER OF THE GAME

35 GVP...The best player in the MBA took control of this game in the fourth quarter and captured his third POG of the season. We're talking, of course, of Hall of Fame guard JUZAN DJINN, who hit everything he put up in addition to blocking a key would-be bucket down the stretch. The seventh-year man missed half the first quarter due to a force-rest because of his age. But he still finished with a game-high 27 points, scoring from all four zones and dominating his man Barfly Gigglewaters. The 6-2 Djinn was 11 for 14 from the floor, potting 2 of 3 treys and all 3 of his free throws. Additionally, he tied for team-high in rebounds with 5, blocked 2 shots and registered 1 steal. While Djinn now has three POGs, nobody else in the league currently has more than 1. He's currently scoring at a 21.3 ppg clip, second highest MBA scorer, with the first being guard running mate Vicious Hick at 22.8 ppg.

Other 20-plus GVP performers

27 GVP...Dallas small forward Pete "the Steakman" Marzano...16 points...5 rebounds...4 blocks...2 assists. 

25 GVP...Dallas point guard Vicious Hick...19 points (including 5 treys)...4 assists...2 rebounds. 

25 GVP...Oklahoma City center Poop-Rupiah 3000...15 points...6 rebounds...3 blocks...1 assist. 

24 GVP...Oklahoma City Hall of Fame small forward Crentis Dentist...17 points...4 rebounds...2 steals...1 assist. 

23 GVP...Oklahoma City point guard King Czardines...17 points...5 assists...1 rebound.

MBA Standings … Season 56

EAST DIVISION

DALLAS………………4-0

MILWAUKEE………..2-1

PHILADELPHIA………2-1

OKLAHOMA CITY…..1-3

CHARLESTON………. 0-3

 

WEST DIVISION

SAN JOSE…………3-0

GILLETTE…………2-1

SEATTLE………….1-2

LOS ANGELES….1-2

SACRAMENTO… 0-3

 

NEXT UP:  Philadelphia at Milwaukee, both 2-1, in the first of two straight games against each other to conclude the first half of the season. Both are vying for that second playoff spot in the East.