Retirees find their final resting place following Season 37

MBA SEASON 37 PLAYOFFS SUMMARY

SEATTLE WINS FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP
Thirty-seven seasons after joining the MBA as an original franchise, the Seattle Stampede becomes the last of the original six teams to win an MBA title, and the final team of Tyler Masterson's to capture a crown. They did so with a fine young team, the youngest in the modern era, consisting of three second-season players and two rookies in the starting lineup, along with a bit of luck. The luck part came when they were able to meet the defending champion Charleston Mountaineers, who were missing Hall of Fame center Max Payne, in the first round of the playoffs, then avoiding the overwhelming favorites from Oklahoma City in the Finals. The Lariats, who had twice thrashed Seattle in the regular season,were upset in the opening round by a surprising Philadelphia Phobia contingent. Then, after losing game one of the Finals, Seattle swept the next three to capture that elusive first championship.



POST SEASON LEADERS NOTES
-- Second year center Dis Reflexia of Seattle becomes just the second Stampede player to ever capture the Playoff MVP award. The other was Hall of Fame center Bill Rustler in Season 10. Reflexia is just the fifth center to get this honor and the first to be so-named in 11 seasons.
The other centers who won were:
**Dolf Whizbang, Houston, Season 5
**Hall of Famer Alex Pal, Philadelphia, Season 7
**Hall of Famer Bill Rustler, Seattle, Season 10
**Hall of Famer Diamond Dallas Paige, Oklahoma City, Season 12
**Hall of Famer Jonny Cockaroo, Philadelphia, Season 19
and Cockaroo again, this time with Charleston in Season 26. Cockaroo is the only center to win the Playoff MVP twice.
-- The top three spots in assists all belonged to rookies, with Seattle's Bob Kittle becoming the first rookie since Hall of Famer Shucks Oyster of Philadelphia in Season 17 to be tops in that department. The only other rookies to lead in playoff assists were Hall of Famer Soul Duran of Houston in Season 3 and Angie O'Gram of Seattle in Season 7.
-- Lemon Jell-o of Oklahoma City ties Hall of Famer Oscar Mudcat for the most times leading the playoffs in steals by securing his third title in that department.
-- Seattle's Sven Marquardt sets record for playoff free throw accuracy, going 13 for 13 from the line.



GUMM MAKES HALL OF FAME
-- Benny Gumm, who retired following Season 31, becomes the 40th member of the MBA HALL OF FAME, going in by vote of the Veteran's Committee.
-- Gumm Spent 13 seasons in the MBA, with 11 of those seasons with the Charleston franchise in what has to be considered the golden years of the team. His final two seasons were spent with Seattle. Only three Hall of Famer had longer careers.
-- He was a two-time First Team All-MBA performer in Seasons 25 and 26.
-- He made four MBA All Star Game appearances.
-- He helped lead Charleston to its first two Championship Seasons in Seasons 26 and 27 following a finals appearance in Season 25 that fell just short.
--He led the league in scoring with an 18.2 points per game average in Season 25 and followed that with his highest per game average the next season at 18.9 per game.
-- Gumm burst onto the scene in Season 19, leading Charleston in scoring with 15 per game and leading the league in free throw shooting.
-- He led his team in scoring 3 times, in assists 7 times and in free throwing 3 times.
-- An unusually good rebounder throughout his career, Gumm, a 6-foot guard, averaged 3 rebounds a game throughout his tenure, getting a high of 5.4 per game in Season 26.
-- A tremendous ball handler and shooter to the end, he was always a shitty defender and got worse as time wore on.
-- He enters the Hall of Fame as the 38th best player of all time, just behind another Charleston great, Silo Chamberlin and just ahead of Oscar Mudcat.

MBA Finals Game 4

Seattle 91, Philadelphia 87

YOUNG STAMPEDE CLINCH FIRST FRANCHISE CHAMPIONSHIP

SEATTLE -- The Seattle Stampede, playing before a raucous and appreciative home crowd won a wild and wooly Game 4 of the Season 37 finals, to nab the first title in the long history of this original franchise.

Following a first-quarter barrage of 5 Stampede treys that had the joint jumping, the home team went out to as much as a 14-point lead in the first half, only to see a game Philadelphia team close within 4 points late in the contest.

The game's exciting conclusion played out thusly:

15 TUs left, Seattle leads 85-81
13 TUs left, Seattle forward Vermin Supreme, subbing for fouled out Jairo Capoeira, hits a cold-blooded medium jumper with Philadelphia's Gabba Penton all over him...Seattle leads 87-81
12 TUs left, Philadelphia rookie point guard Mel A. Noma scores down low cutting the Seattle lead to 87-83.
10 TUs left, Seattle power forward Sven Marquardt hits a short jumper following a pass from Bob Kittle, Seattle 89-83.
9 TUs left, Philadelphia's Pythogoras Theorum makes short jumper, Phobia within 4 again, 89-85.
8 TUs left, Seattle rookie guard Bob Kittle makes a strong drive to the hole and scores his 20th point of the game, Seattle up 91-85.
5 TUs left, Philadelphia's Theorum misses short jumper, Seattle's Marquardt gets rebound, all but ending Phobia hopes.
Philadelphia would score once more before game's end, followed by Seattle coach Neville Chamberlin stripping bare and running wildly around the arena before being knocked to the floor by a security guard and removed.
But they could not remove the smile from the Stampede leader's face.

20-plus GVP Performances
-- Mel A. Noma returned to the lineup for the first time in the finals for Philly and the rookie point guard had a perfect 7 for 7 game for 15 points. He added 4 assists and a rebound.
-- T.Kanes Masterson of Philadelphia finally came up big offensively for the Phobia, leading his team with 22 points and winning co-MVP of the Game honors. He tied for game-high in rebounds with 6 and added 1 assist.
-- Philadelphia forward Pythogoras Theorum had 14 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and led all with 2 steals.
-- Playing in what turned out to be the final game of his career, retiring Philadelphia forward Gabba Penton went out with a 16-point effort, grabbed 2 boards and assisted 3 times.
-- Rookie point guard Bob "Fats" Kittle of Seattle played a whale of a game, scoring 20 points, directing the new champs with a game-high 7 assists and grabbing 2 rebounds. He won co-MVP of the Game honors in this biggest of all games.
-- Seattle super center Dis Reflexia led everyone in scoring with 23 points, thoroughly outplaying Philadelphia's fine 7-footer Q-Bert McGuffin for the second consecutive contest. Reflexia was held to 1 rebound. He's a lock to win the MVP of the Playoffs award.
-- Stampede power forward Sven Marquardt did his share of the dirty work in this championship run and in this game. He scored 14 points and grabbed a game-high (tied) 6 rebounds.

NEXT: THE PLAYOFF SUMMARY

MBA Finals Game 3

SEATTLE 88, PHILADELPHIA 66

SEATTLE ROAD ROMP PUTS STAMPEDE ON DOORSTEP OF FIRST TITLE

PHILADELPHIA -- The Three Amigos from last season's rookie class dominated this 88-66 road win for the Seattle Stampede, putting them one victory away from clinching their first title as they head home to the Northwest.

Seattle leads the best of five series 2 games to 1, having won two in a row.

The remarkable second-year center, Dis Reflexia led the way for the visitors, registering the first triple-double of what continues to be a remarkable beginning of a storied career. Reflexia, who came into the game neck and neck for Playoff MVP honors with his adversary, center Q-Bert McGuffin of Philly, just dominated the much bigger man.

Meanwhile, in the battle of the shooting guards, Wimsy Greenfoyle of Seattle continued to outplay All-MBA player T. Kanes Masterson, and Stampede power forward Sven Marquardt returned from injury in a big way.

Seattle was strong right out of the gate, hitting its first seven shots of the game, but could not shake a determined Philadelphia team. The Stampede went up by six at the half, but in the third quarter. Seattle blew the doors off the Phobia 29-11 and never looked back. On the way their ball movement accounted for 19 assists, just 2 shy of the playoff record set in Season 18 by Philadelphia.

The Phobia will be getting back starting point guard Mel A. Noma, whose heroics against Oklahoma City actually put the Phobia into the Finals. They will need to come up big on the road to get back into this series.

20-plus GVP performances
-- Center Dis Reflexia, already having an outstanding playoffs, took it to the next level with the first triple-double of his career. Relexia had 20 points on 10 of 12 shooting, tied for game-highs in rebounds (8) and assists (5) while registering 1 steal and 1 blocked shot. The 6-7 pivot also thwarted Philadelphia's big 7-footer numerous times with excellent defense.
-- Wimsy Greenfoyle of Seattle was the game's top scorer for the second contest in a row, following his 21-point effort with 23 in this one. He also grabbed 3 boards and assisted 3 times.
-- Seattle power forward Sven Marquardt had 18 points, banged the boards for a game-high (tied) 8 rebounds and dished out 1 assist.
-- Philadelphia point guard Ted Hose played very much under control in this game, getting 12 points on just 11 shots, dishing out 5 assists, getting 2 rebounds and 1 steal. He'll still go to the bench in favor of Mel A. Noma.
-- T. Kanes Masterson led the losing home team in scoring with 14, but has yet to break out in this finals, which is what the Phobia needs if they are to win the next two games. Masterson grabbed 4 boards, dished 3 assists and had a steal as well. In last season's playoffs, playing for Houston, Masterson led everyone in scoring with 22.4 per game. He's averaging just 12.5 per contest this season in the playoffs.

Seattle 75, Philadelphia 72

STAMPEDE EVENS UP FINALS WITH HARD-FOUGHT HOME WIN

SEATTLE -- The Seattle Stampede won their first MBA finals game since Season 28, edging the Philadelphia Phobia 75-72 to even the best of five series one game each.

It was a much snappier game than the dreadful series opener, with second-year shooting guard Wimsy Greenfoyle going off for 11 fourth quarter points to lead Seattle to the triumph.

Trailing by 7 points with 33 time units remaining, the Phobia closed to within 3 with 7 time units left. Philadelphia small forward Gabba Penton, attempting a game-tying 3-pointer, had the proverbial blanket thrown on him by Seattle rookie Jairo Capoeira. Two consecutive deny shots were followed by a good trey from Penton, only to see Capoeira deny the game-tying hoop for the third consecutive time.

Two time units later Capoeira hit an open short jumper after a beautiful pass from Dis Reflexia to give his team a comfortable 5-point lead.

The Stampede nailed down the important win despite the loss to injury of power forward Sven Marquardt, who left the game with 27 time units remaining in the second quarter, never to return. At the time he was the leading rebounder in the game. Seattle trailed 27-23 at the time.

20-GVP PERFORMERS

-- Wimsy Greenfoyle of Seattle led everyone in both scoring and rebounding with 21 points and 6 boards, thoroughly outplaying two-time All-MBA guard T. Kanes Masterson of Philadelphia. Greenfoyle also had 4 assists and 2 steals.
-- Seattle center Dis Reflexia battled Q-Bert McGuffin to a virtual standstill, getting 14 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and a blocked shot.
-- Ted Hose has been an enigma throughout his career and continued in that vein in this game. The Philly point guard, subbing for the injured starter Mel A. Noma, nearly had a triple-double with 9 points, 5 boards, 5 assists and a pair of steals. But he was 4 for 15 from the field doing it.
-- Phobia center Q-Bert McGuffin had another fine game with 19 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal.
-- Undersized power forward Pythogoras Theorum of Philly had a big game with 20 points, high on the team, 2 rebounds and 2 steals.
-- Philadelphia's small forward Gabba Penton put in 15 points, had 2 boards, 3 assists and led everyone with 2 blocked shots.

PHILADELPHIA 69, SEATTLE 58

Phobia takes first big step toward 16th title

PHILADELPHIA -- In a surprisingly low-scoring contest, the home team Philadelphia Phobia bested the Seattle Stampede 69-58 to take a 1-0 advantage in this best of five MBA Finals.

After starting out the game displaying reasonable firepower, both teams went into the tank offensively in the second half. Seattle, especially, was woeful, registering the lowest scoring game for them this season.

During the regular season, Seattle (80.2 ppg) and Philadelphia (79.0 ppg) were second and third in the MBA in offense, and both came into the finals scoring over 80 points per game.

The point guards on both teams dragged down shooting percentages for both offenses, with Rookie Bob Kittle going 5 for 16 for Seattle and Ted Hose, subbing for the injured Mel A. Noma, going 4 for 14 for Philly. They each took the most shots for their respective teams.

The Stampede was never able to mount any kind of a comeback in the second half. They trailed by 7 at the half, got within 5 at one point in the third quarter and finished 11 points back at the game’s conclusion.

20-PLUS GVP PERFORMERS
 Philadelphia small forward Gabba Penton has never been a big scorer, but in this one he led everyone with 17 points, taking advantage of Seattle rookie Jairo Capoiera. Penton also had 4 rebounds and 3 assists, winning the MVP of the Game honors.
 Phobia point guard, the veteran Ted Hose, was his usual inaccurate self shooting the ball, but he put it up enough times to get 11 points and played some excellent defense. Hose led everyone with 4 steals and 2 blocks, while pulling down 3 boards and getting 2 assists.
 Philadelphia center Q-Bert McGuffin continued his amazing shooting streak, despite running up against one of the league’s best defensive centers in Seattle’s Dis Reflexia. For the third consecutive game in these playoffs, the big 7-footer was perfect from the field, going 7 for 7 and making him 27 for 27 from the floor in the three-game span. He tallied 14 points, led everyone with 5 assists and pulled down 2 rebounds.
 Dis Reflexia, Seattle’s fine young center, led his team in scoring with 16, pulled down 5 boards and had 1 block.
 Seattle power forward Sven Marquardt was a behemoth on the boards with 10 rebounds, leading everyone in that category. He had 8 points and 2 assists as well.

PLAYOFF NOTES
 There has never been an MBA Finals featuring two teams with regular season records of 6-4. This is a first.
 Only four teams in the entire history of the MBA won championships after finishing the regular season with marks of 6-4. Those were: Milwaukee in Season 4, Milwaukee in Season 6, Philadelphia in Season 8, and finally, Milwaukee in Season 9.

27 seasons have passed since a 6-4 team won the title, and this season, it is now a sure thing.

Philadelphia shocks the world with win over Oklahoma City

PHILADELPHIA 85, OKLAHOMA CITY 76



(the following from Tyler Masterson following his team's giganto win)

The league is not broken.

In game 3 of a 3 game round one playoff series. The 6-4 Philadelphia Phobia (predicted at the beginning of the season to finish last place in the division of 5 teams) beats the 9-1 Oklahoma City Lariats led by MVP Naf Naf and Rookie of the year runner up Walter Shobchack 85-76. That victory ensures another Tyler title as the Phobia go on to face the only team of mine that hasnt won a title in 37 seasons, the Seattle Stampede.

Nothing in the MBA is given. Everything is earned.

Naf Naf was way off from 3 this game going 3-9 from 3 (his card stats show he should shoot around 60% from there). And, his one weakness, defense reared its ugly head, as the man he was guarding, another rookie, (Mel A. Noma) averaging 7.5ppg on the year went off for 26 in 3 quarters on 11/12 shooting. (Noma was subsequeently injured and missed the entire fourth quarter. He will also miss the first three games of the Finals.)

The game was 66-63 Philadelphia going into the final quarter when that guard that had 26 in 3 quarters, Mel A. Noma, went out with an injury for the rest of the game. Almost certainly dashing the Phobia's hopes. But that's not how the story went.

The monster franchise that is the Phobia emerge from a 3 year slumber after their streak of 5 titles in a row from season 29-33 (those are the stickers on the envelopes) to return to the finals in the most unlikely of fashion.

PHO-BEE-AHH
PHO-BEE-AHH

20-PLUS GVP PERFORMERS

-- Mel A. Noma, the rookie guard for Philly, goes off on regular season MVP Naf Naf of Oklahoma City, scoring a game-high 26 points in just three quarters. He averaged under 8 per game in the regular season. Noma was 11 for 12 from the field and led everyone with 3 asssists. He also snared 4 boards.
-- All-MBA guard T.Kanes Masterson of Philadelphia was held to 11 points by the Lariats' outstanding defender Lemon Jell-o, but he contributed mightily with a game-high 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal.
-- Phill's 7-foot center Q-Bert McGuffin followed his record-tying 12-for-12 shooting day with a 21-point, 8-for-8 shooting day in this game. The big guy has not missed in two games. He also added 3 rebounds, 2 assists and put the cherry on top of the victory sundae with a full-court basket that went in just as the final gun sounded.
-- Lemon Jell-o was superb in the loss for Oklahoma City with 21 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block.
-- Power forward Reckless Abandon of Oklahoma City led his team in scoring with 23 points, grabbed 3 rebounds and assisted 2 times.

NEXT UP: The MBA Finals...Game 1 is Seattle at Philadelphia

FINALS OBSERVATIONS
-- Philadelphia has won 15 titles. Seattle has won 0.
-- These two teams have met twice before in the finals...Season 7 and Season 14. Seattle has won one game in the finals against Philly, coming in Season 14.
-- In 19 Finals appearances, Philadelphia has failed to win the championship just four times.
-- Seattle has been in four Finals, the last in Season 28 where they lost to Dallas 3 games to 2 after being ahead in the series 2 games to 1. The Stampede led in the final game, only to have future Hall of Fame center Tom "the Bomb" Kondla get injured in the second quarter, never to return. Dallas went on to victory.
-- Should they win it, Seattle could boast the youngest starting lineup in history...two rookies, three second-season players.
-- Point guard Mel A. Noma of Philadelphia's injury (3 games) could be series-changing. His replacement, Ted Hose, has a history of ineffective ball-hogging.

Matchups to watch

-- Look for a lot of scoring from both shooting guards, T.Kanes Masterson of Philadelphia and Wimsy Greenfoyle of Seattle.
-- There will be a battle royale between two of the MBA's top two centers: Seattle's Dis Reflexia and Philadelphia's Q-Bert McGuffin. Both come into the Finals as top Playoff MVP candidates.