(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.
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