MBA FINALS SEASON 32

PHILADELPHIA 83, MILWAUKEE 73 (GAME 3)

MILWAUKEE--Thanks largely to second-string guard Pismo Beach, the Philadelphia Phobia are now just one win away from capturing an unprecedented fourth consecutive MBA championship.
Beach, subbing for the fouled out Jerry Curl, scored 11 fourth-quarter points as Philadelphia broke open a tight contest to go ahead in the Finals 2 games to 1.
The game was typical of each of these championship contests, which have all been up and down affairs in which neither team cowed to the defensive prowess of the other. In this one, both teams cranked up 60 shots, about 10 shots more each than a team puts up in a typical contest.
Cheetos Jones, who stands to gain Hall of Fame status with another Phobia title, was the Game MVP with a game-high 22 points, 5 rebounds an assist and a steal. The 5-11 point guard also did his usual defensive number on the opposing guard, holding Benny Lava to 10 points below his playoff average.
Jones was not particularly successful from 3-point range, but yakked up 9 treys in a determined attempt to take over the game.
Meanwhile, Milwaukee's Hall of Fame guard Hrundi V. Bakshi, although leading his team with 18 points, did not attempt a single trey.
The Phobia now have a chance to clinch the title on their home court, with two chances to get the one win needed to make every index card on the team immortal.

SPECIAL OBSERVATION: Just to indicate how remarkable Philadelphia has been in this four-season stretch, whether they win it all or not, consider this:
Only two members of the current Philadelphia roster, forward Tug Hershorts and center Ama Spikie were on the roster when the Phobia won the first of its current string of titles in Season 29. So even as they were practically turning the roster over, Philadelphia has retained remarkably consistent excellence.





PHILADELPHIA 82, MILWAUKEE 78 (Game 2)

PHILADELPHIA--After the stellar performance of Philadelphia center Ama Spikie in this one, coach Curly Hogbottom might be ordering all of his players to stare blankly at the wall in front of them for some five minutes at a time.
Spikie, whose unusual Zen method was noted in the previous post, went off in a "must win" Game 2 for a leading 25 points to spur the three-time defending champions to an 82-78 win that evened this championship series at one game each. Spikie was 11 for 13 from the floor, including a pair of 3-pointers, nabbed 4 rebounds, dished out 3 assists and blocked 2 shots while holding his counterpoint Heater VanMeter to 6 points.
The MVP of the Game's efficiency was indicative of the offensive excellence on display by both teams, with Milwaukee shooting 64.2 percent and Philadelphia 60.7 percent, despite their opponents' strong defensive abilities.
Hrundi V. Bakshi followed his 34-point Game 1 explosion with a 20-point outing in this contest, but Milwaukee could never close the gap entirely, although they stayed within reach of Philly throughout the game.
The Greyhounds trailed by 12 with a time unit to go in the third quarter, when Bakshi drained an acrobatic trey, was fouled and converted his free throw to keep his team within 8 points going into the final frame.
The visitors got within three, but after Sunny Osiris muscled his way to the hoop for a bucket that increased Philly's lead to 68-63, Milwaukee coach Raisin Sport went ape-shit on the sidelines, throwing his coat on the court and drawing a technical foul.
Spikie made the subsequent free throw for the Phobia, then passed to Osiris for another Philadelphia basket to give his team a comfortable 71-63 lead that they held to the end, despite another late Milwaukee charge.
Did Sport's histrionics cause his team the game?
"Well," noted Milwaukee guard Benny Lava, "if we would have made our fucking free throws this could have been our game."







MILWAUKEE 101, PHILADELPHIA 73 (GAME 1)

MILWAUKEE--The Milwaukee Greyhounds, led by the 34-point effort of Hall of Fame guard Hrundi V. Bakshi, registered the MBA's first 100-point game of Season 32 to win the opener of the best of five finals series against the three-time defending champion Philadelphia Phobia.
The 101-73 victory was the third in three meetings this season against the Phobia, as the home team played a practically perfect offensive game, coming within five points of the playoff scoring record set by the same Milwaukee franchise in Season 6 against Dallas.
All five Greyhound starters were in double figures and had excellent games, but none more so than the MVP of the Game, Bakshi. The 6-7 guard was red-hot from the start, hitting his first 11 shots in a game in which he was 15 for 17 from the floor. His 34 points was four short of the MBA playoff scoring record set by Dan Mann of Milwaukee on two occasions (Season 9 and Season 12).
Milwaukee, which has now bested Philadelphia in all three of their meetings this season, out-rebounded the Phobia 26-12, shot 66.2 percent from the field and put up an astonishing 71 shots in the game.
"We may have to put Cheetos Jones on Bakshi," said Philadelphia's head coach, Curly Hogbottom. "That's hard for us to do because it takes Jones away from the point, where he is so effective offensively. Plus, Lava has been playing very well for them and could really go off if we move Jones off of him."
An exhausted Ama Spikie would not answer any questions after the game, staring at the wall, just inches away, as if in a motionless trance for a prolonged period of time in the locker room.
"He does that sometimes after a loss," said Hogbottom. "He'll be ready for Game 2."