Season 49 Finals...Game 4...San Jose at Seattle

SAN JOSE 75, SEATTLE 73

LOS AMIGOS SON CAMPEONES!!!

SEATTLE -- The San Jose Fighting Amigos will be affixing the MBA championship basketball to their envelope for the first time in 24 seasons following a heart-stopping 75-73 road win over a game Seattle Stampede team. 

"Eye-god, this was much harder than we anticipated," proclaimed the old trailhand and 14-year head coach of the winners, Augustus McCrae. "I thought we were the better team all along, but the Stampede put some doubts in my head in this series."

This is just the second MBA title for the Amigos, whose previous championship came 12-plus calendar years ago on September 28, 2009.

After starting out as West Division favorites, San Jose stumbled its way to a 1-4 start before righting the ship and going unbeaten in the second half of the season to earn the division crown. They then upped the win streak to 9 straight before finally falling by a point in the Finals Game 3, going 10-1 in the last 11 games played.

It is the second Dave Team championship in a row and the 10th title by a Dave Team in the last 15 seasons. Dave does not expect to live long enough to catch Tyler's overall total of 34 championships.

The Season 49 clincher was in doubt until the final time unit, as the two Finals teams produced a second straight barn-burner on the heels of Seattle's 1-point Game 3 win.

This finale was even closer, with San Jose never having the lead until about midway through the fourth quarter, then holding on as a 7-point advantage melted away.

The big play came when San Jose's Eddie "the Milkman" Creamer force-missed a bucket by Charles Broccoli of Seattle with 9 ticks left. The rebound by Muscle Shoals of the Amigos ended with a fast-break hoop by Jesse Shershot that put the eventual champs up by 5.

A Potatoes O'Gratin score down low kept hopes alive for Seattle, but Cremeofsum Yunguy dribbled away the clock for San Jose and was fouled shooting down low by Broccoli. He needed one free throw to get the lead to 4, but missed the first, adding to the suspense. The 13-season veteran then nailed the next one, and when the ball went to the short zone on the final time unit, San Jose had its championship (despite a buzzer basket from Broccoli). 

Once again Seattle out-did the Amigos in points prevented, 13 to 4. But the Stampede has to be suicidal about its 12 for 20 free-throwing effort.

Points prevented by quarters

San Jose...2...0...0...2  Total=4

Seattle......5...6...0...2  Total=13

Tops in points prevented

1. Wolfie Gutenabend, Seattle 5

2. Carga Larga, Seattle 4

Second-year power forward CHARLES BROCCOLI of Seattle was magnificent in defeat, topping everyone in scoring with 24 points on 10 of 13 shooting, going 4 for 5 from the foul line.  The 6-10 Broccoli also hit the boards for 6 rebounds and added 1 assist. His team went to him time and again in the second half.

Other 20-plus GVP peformers

-- San Jose point guard Cremeofsum Yunguy was outstanding in the fourth quarter, where he got a majority of his game-high 7 assists. The 5-11 cut pile refugee scored 11 points and added 2 rebounds. 

-- San Jose shooting guard Jesse Shershot shrugged off what could have been a nightmarish 0 for 8 shooting day from beyond the arc by going 9 for 10 inside that zone. The league MVP scored 9 of his team-high 19 points in the fourth quarter, including the big breakawy bucket at the end. He added 2 rebounds and 1 assist. 

-- Fighting Amigos center Sabado Gigante had a strong final game of his career with 14 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocked shots and 1 steal. He adds a ring to his card as he heads off to a retirement envelope. The trade that brought him to San Jose was key.

-- Eddie "the Milkman" Creamer chipped in with 15 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and a humongous forced-miss late in the game. 

-- Veteran Seattle center Carga Larga, who spent last season in the cut pile, got the starting nod from Tyler and responded with 16 points, including his second consecutive 2-for-2 shooting game from downtown. He added 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 rebound while turning away 4 would-be points with his defense.

-- Seattle small forward Reed Lemur was again productive as hell for the Stampede, scoring 14 points and grabbing a game-high 9 rebounds. The 6-6 sixth-year man also had 2 assists and 1 blocked shot. 

THE LAST TIME SAN JOSE WON IT ALL

Magnifico' rookie (and future Hall of Famer) Sagittal Occlusal won both the regular and playoff MVP honors, scoring a game-high 27 points in Game 5 to lead San Jose to a 92-82 road win over Jonny Cockaroo, Benny Gumm and Charleston.

The starting lineup for San Jose back then in Season 25 was:

Point guard...Felipe' Jazzman

Shooting guard...Hacksaw Rooney

Center...Zlatko Korkovic

Power forward...Sagittal Occlusal

Small forward...Ed Masterson

They also featured future Hall of Famer Tug Hershorts, in his rookie season, coming off the bench, along with the new champions' current head coach, Augustus "Gus" McCrae and Funsy VanSlochum.

NEXT UP: Playoff leaders and the naming of the Playoff MVP winner.