PHILADELPHIA -- It took a record-setting comeback for the ages and 22 seasons to do it, but the Chicago Gale, finally captured its third MBA title, winning a wild and wooly Game 5 on the home court of the sports' most dynastic franchise, 73-70.
To do so, the visiting team had to first overcome a 2-0 series deficit in which they lost both games to Philadelphia by 11 points. At that point, they seemed incapable of mustering even one win, let alone three in a row, a feat no team had ever accomplished in the previous 37 seasons of this hallowed league.
And in this, the "all-the-marbles" contest, the Gale fumbled and bumbled its way into a 10-point deficit at the end of the first quarter, and as in past efforts, a championship was evidently, not to be.
But a pair of Hall of Famers, the great 7-foot behemoth Max Payne and Chicago head coach Uncle Bob Masterson would not be denied. With Masterson, who had captured three titles in his brilliant playing career for none other than Philadelphia, exhorting his charges and an exhausted Payne putting on an MVP of the Game performance for the ages, the Gale began coming back in the second quarter.
After being out-rebounded as a team 10-5 in the first quarter, Chicago, led by Payne, buckled down and dominated the boards from that point on. At the half, the deficit had been cut to three. And going into the fourth quarter, Chicago held a precarious 2-point advantage, courtesy of a Payne put-back near the end of the third.
The fourth quarter was a nail-biter, with Chicago jumping out to a 5-point lead courtesy of a 3-point play from Art Vandelay.
Then.....well, here are some of the highlights as the time units ticked down:
-- Chicago point guard Ginger Vampire increased the lead to 7 points on a short jumper with 39 time units remaining.
-- With 36 time units left, Vampire hit Chicago's only 3-point shot of the game, burying a deep trey despite the forced miss by defender Mel A. Noma...Gale now led by 8.
-- With 26 time units left, Philadelphia's big lefty power forward Davis Phillips hit his second 3-point shot of the game to pull the home team within 5 points as the crowd screamed and stripped to its underwear.
-- Following a pair of uncharacteristic point-blank misses by Chicago's Payne, Philadelphia's Noma buries a medium jumper with 21 time units left to bring the Phobia within 3 at 71-68.
-- Chicago two-guard Poppy Poppalucco pops in a short jumper after shaking loose of T.Kanes Masterson, giving the Gale a 5-point lead with 17 left.
-- Poppalucco then blocks a medium shot (it was good) by Masterson and the Gale gets the ball with 15 left.
-- Payne, feeling all of his 13-seasons, misses, wills his way to the offensive rebound, then misses again...Philly gets the board and Masterson scores on the subsequent fast break. The Chicago lead is now 73-70 with 9 time units left.
-- A Poppolucco miss is rebounded yet again by Payne, who is first denied, then fouled by Diss Reflexia. Chicago retains possession.
-- Payne's chance to salt the game away down low is blocked by Reflexia and Philly has the ball with 2 time units left, trailing 73-70.
"At this point," Masterson later related, "all I could think of was 'no foul.'"
-- But with 1 time unit left, Payne fouls Reflexia setting up a chance for a game-tying trey on the final time unit.
-- Thankfully for Chicago, the only inbound pass available was to Reflexia, who had not made a trey all year. He heaved it...CLANK...and Chicago had its long-awaited mother-freaking title.
Index cards were flying everywhere as the Gale reserves stormed the tabletop and shuffled themselves in with the likes of Gatz and Vandelay.
In the locker room afterward, blueberry pie, a favorite of Hank Davia, the last man to center a Chicago championship effort in Season 16, was served and thrown about the room.
Purple lips abounded.
Players took turns going in and out of the venerable cigar box, which was brought out for just this celebration. And why not? The last time Chicago had won a championship, the date was December 29, 2002. That was many rolls of the cubes of chance ago. You do the math.
Meanwhile, Philadelphia, which has won an unbelievable total of 15 championships, has to settle for a second consecutive runner-up finish. Some day they will take solace in yet another unlikely challenge in a season in which they split a record 8 meetings against the club that eventually eeked out the last win.
20-PLUS GVP PERFORMANCES
-- Chicago point guard Ginger Vampire came up huge in the clutch with a game-high 20 points, 4 assists and 2 rebounds.
-- Championships follow around Chicago's Hall of Fame center MAX PAYNE like rats do the Pied Piper. Payne, despite a horrendous shooting day, pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds, scored 14 points, stole 2 passes and blocked 1 shot while holding Reflexia to just 10 points. He was truly MVP of the Game, bringing a long-sought championship to Chicago in his first year with the team. The title is the fourth of Payne's career and he has now won a ring with all four of the franchises he has played with, an unprecedented accomplishment. His last three rings came in the last four seasons for three different clubs. In Season 35, he won with Oklahoma City. In Season 36 he won with Charleston. And in Season 38 he won with Chicago. (He was injured for the playoffs in Season 37 with Charleston. He won his first ring in Season 28 with Dallas). The legend is still growing.
-- Chicago small forward Art Vandelay was again rock solid for the champions with 15 points and 6 rebounds.
--Philadelphia shooting guard T.Kanes Masterson was held below 50 percent shooting by Poppy Poppalucco, but still put in 17 points, had 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal.
--Phobia power forward Davis Phillips' 10-point, 5-rebound first quarter got Philly out of the gate fast. He ended with 19 points and 8 rebounds, both team highs.
NEXT UP: POST SEASON STATS, THE PLAYOFF MVP AWARD AND HALL OF FAME ANNOUNCEMENT.
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