MOUNTAINEERS EARN FINALS WITH STRONG WIN
OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Charleston Mountaineers finally looked like a playoff club with this convincing 82-67 defeat of the upstart Oklahoma City Lariats. The win earned them a 2-1 Semifinal record and the team's first Finals appearance in four campaigns. The last time they made it that far, they put an exclamation mark on the perfect Season 42 regular season run of 10-0 by winning it all.
This deciding game was the first time either participating team had even ventured into the 70s point-wise, with the other Charleston win a 61-47 yawner.
The final contest started very slowly but picked up considerably in the second quarter. The 4-point advantage held by Charleston at the half, ballooned to 16 points at one point in the third, courtesy of the hot shooting hands of Cat Timol and Frog Morton.
This will be the tenth Finals appearance for Charleston, with championships in five of the previous nine.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Since moving to point guard with the playoff-ending injury of top scorer Lapiz Lapiz Boligrafo, CAT TIMOL has produced two games in which he has led all scorers. In this Finals clincher, the 5-10 Timol destroyed rookie Flip Phelps to the tune of 21 points, grabbed 4 rebounds, dished 2 assists and blocked 1 shot. The fifth-year veteran was 8 of 10 from the field, pumping in 4 of 5 from downtown and getting 1 of 2 from the foul line.
Other 20-plus GVP performers
-- Retiring two guard Akbar Zagobia of Charleston was not quite ready to call it a career. The 6-4 Zagobia pulled down a game-high 8 rebounds, scored 10 points and delivered 2 assists.
-- Hall of Fame Charleston center J.J. Gargantuan rebounded from his poor Game 2 performance to net 17 points against the tough defense of Willie Carry McCoffee. Gargantuan added 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot.
-- Sophomore power forward Frog Morton of Charleston contributed 16 points, snagging 6 boards and blocking a game-high 2 shots.
-- Charleston small forward Flip Testerton followed his POG effort in Game 2 with 14 points, 7 rebounds, a game-high 2 steals and 1 assist.
-- Despite being hounded by the hulking Zagobia, 5-11 Oklahoma City shooting guard Hurricane Furrwizard scored a team-high 19 points, adding 1 assist.
-- All-MBA forward Anurag Dickshit ended his best season with 14 points, a team-high (tied) 5 rebounds and 1 assist.
NEXT UP: The Big One for the Big One and the Demons to see who advances to the Finals as the favorite to win it all in Season 45.
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