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.