Season 46 Featured Game No. 1

Dallas 86, Charleston 76

DEMONS WIN FIRST MAJOR BATTLE OF S46

DALLAS -- The Dallas Demons began Season 46 with a resounding win over one of their main East Division foes, beating the visiting Charleston Mountaineers 86-76.

Dallas, which got big games from four of its five starters, pumped up 70 shots in the victory; a game in which their opponents chucked up 62.

The Demons, who got a huge-ass game from cut pile draft aquisition Tiger Masterson, demonstrated that they could win without a big scoring game from perennial MVP Chip Battoe, who managed but five shots. 

Meanwhile, Charleston's points came from a top-heavy offense, supported overwhelmingly by its guard tandem of Lapiz Lapiz Boligrafo and Cat Timol, who scored over 60 percent of the Mountaineers' points. That pattern was established early when the two Charleston guards accounted for all 17 of the team's first-quarter points.

The win by Dallas evens up the lifetime head-to-head record between these two franchises, with both having now won 23 games against the other.

PLAYERS OF THE GAME

Getting a surprise start for his new team and responding with the best game of his MBA career was 8-season veteran forward TIGER MASTERSON, who was spectacular with a game-high 26-point performance. Last seen plying his trade with the Kansas City Bastard Angels last season, the 6-8 forward was 12 for 17 from the floor, including a trey and a dunk, and 1 for 2 from the foul line as he dominated one-time All-MBA forward Flip Testerton. Masterson also pulled down 4 rebounds, led his team in assists with 3 and blocked 2 shots. Not bad for a guy who came to the team in the preseason cut draft. This is his second stint with Dallas and his seventh different stop in eight seasons for the veteran. If he keeps playing like this, Demons fans will be ringing the bell for Tiger instead of the other way around.

The other co-POG is another veteran, 10th-year point guard LAPIZ LAPIZ BOLIGRAFO of the Charleston Mountaineers. The 6-foot sharpshooter has led the league in 3-point shooting the past two seasons and delivered four bombs in six attempts, accounting for 12 of  his team-high 23 points (tied). Boligrafo, who played the first four seasons of his career in Dallas, was outstanding in this game, registering the first triple-double of his double-digit career by getting a team-high 7 rebounds and a game-high 5 assists. He was a perfect 3 for 3 from the foul line and thoroughly outplayed Louie Subgum, who attempted to guard him before fouling out. He also ended the contests in a flurry of punches with the other POG, Tiger Masterson with 12 time units left in the game, with Boligrafo getting ousted to a chorus of boos from Dallas fans. Boligrafo responded by raising middle digits on both hands as he exited.

OTHER 20-PLUS GVP PERFORMERS

-- Sixth-year shooting guard Bingo Bango of Dallas contributed 15 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assist to the win, with three of his buckets coming from long range.

-- Last season's All-MBA center, Gotoo Grot showed what a relentless force his combination of size and speed is over the course of a game. He dominated Hall of Fame center J.J. Gargantuan, scoring 16 points on numerous tip-ins and put-backs while leading all players in the game with 8 rebounds. The 7-2 giant also had 1 assist.

-- The other Hall of Fame player in the game, forward Chip Battoe, was not much involved in the offense but still managed to leave a distinctive mark on the win. He was without a miss from the floor, going 5 for 5 with 11 points, grabbed 2 rebounds and had 1 assist. Additionally, the shot-blocker supreme swatted away a game-high 8, with 7 coming in the first half. He so frustrated Charleston's Frog Morton that Morton went to the bench for good starting the fourth quarter.

-- Charleston guard Cat Timol returned to his team's starting lineup after a season of backing up Akbar Zagobia and went right back to his over-achieving ways. How can a grown man want people to call him Cat? Well, when he delivers 23-point games (tied for high on his team) like he did in this contest, he can demand to be called whatever he wants. The 5-10 Timol also pulled down 3 rebounds, had 1 assist, 1 steal, and continued to show his uncanny penchant for blocking shots with a team-high 4. 

East Division Standings

1st -- Dallas 1-0 (points differential tie-breaker)

2nd -- Milwaukee 1-0 

3rd -- Philadelphia 0-1 (points differential tie-breaker)

4th -- Charleston 0-1 (points differential tie-breaker)

Last -- Kansas City 0-1

Upcoming Bracket (No. 2)

-- FEATURED GAME: Los Angeles (1-0) at Dallas (1-0) in a big cross-over clash between two unbeatens. L.A. and the Demons last met in a memorable semifinal series last season which featured three amazing games. The Big One went on to sweep the championship searies.

-- Another early battle of unbeatens as the upstart youngsters of Seattle take on the team favored to win the West, the Sacramento River Dogs.

-- Two of the MBA's youngest teams have a chance to even their record as Oklahoma City travels to San Jose. Both are 0-1. Look for a tussle of talented 7-footers between rookie pivot Chochky Galumpkus of the Lariats and Hunk R. Down of San Jose.

-- The East Division clash between Charleston (0-1) at Milwaukee (1-0) will likely be guard-oriented, with the home team Greyhounds looking to get a leg up on the defending East Division champs.

-- Philadelphia at Kansas City features two teams looking for their first win. Odds favor the veteran Phobia club.