Season 53 Featured Game No. 9...Philadelphia at Oklahoma City

PHILADELPHIA 88, OKLAHOMA CITY 55

PHOBIA CRUSHES LARIATS TO STAY ALIVE

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The visiting Philadelphia Phobia (now 5-4) took their playoff hopes to the final bracket of the regular season, crushing the team they're chasing, the Oklahoma City Lariats, 88-55.

The beat-down began in the first quarter when Philly exploded for 34 points to just 15 for the home team, silencing the fans who had come to celebrate a playoff-clinching win.

The size of the victory may come into play as the third tie-breaker (behind division wins and head-to-head competition) is overall team points differential, the advantage of which Philadelphia now holds.

Still, all Oklahoma City has to do is beat last-place Milwaukee to earn a playoff berth. A loss to the Greyhounds (who have won two of their last 3 games) and a Phobia win over Charleston would make their records identical, and since the two teams split the season series, points differential would come into play.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

32 GVP...Retiring Philadelphia center TACO TOOSDAE dominated the center position in this game, scoring a game-high 22 points on 9 of 10 shooting that included 4 of 5 from the charity stripe. The 6-11, 7th year man added 6 rebounds, tied for team-high in assists with 3 and blocked 1 shot in this important win.

Other 20-plus GVP performers

30 GVP...Smooth Philly forward D. Fenestration hauled in a game-high 7 rebounds while scoring 19 points, tied for team-high in assists with 3 and blocked 1 shot. He absolutely dominated Buba Lipa of Oklahoma City.

26 GVP...Fourth-year Philly mainstay Ehhy Table tickled the twine for 20 points while pulling down 3 boards and tying for team-high in assists with 3. He dominated Handsy Joe Potatoe, who was the POG of their previous meeting.

23 GVP...Phobia point guard Dick Papers scored 16 points, snagged 2 boards, tied for team-high in assists with 3 and swiped a game-high 2 steals. 

21 GVP...Oklahoma City's rookie forward Phillip Mianus tied for his team's top scorer with 12 points, prevented a game-high 8 points, blocked a game-high 5 shots, grabbed 3 rebounds and handed out 1 assit. He leads the league in blocked shots with 32 and would be the first rookie since Hall of Famer Chip Battoe to do so.

Points prevented by Philadelphia=14

Points prevented by Oklahoma City=12

Tops in points prevented

1. Phillip Mianus, Oklahoma City 8

2. Wawa Wewa, Philadelphia 6

3. D. Fenestration, Philadelphia 4

Changes in standings since last bracket

The only change in either division was Sacramento moving past Seattle into second place in the West, thanks to the R-Dogs beating (and eliminating) San Jose and Seattle getting upset by Milwaukee. 

COMING UP: The final bracket of the regular season starts with San Jose over Gillette. That game has no bearing on the playoffs, but is notable for it being the last contest ever played by Hall of Fame guard Jesse Shershot of the Fighting Amigos.

That contest is followed by the FEATURED GAME of the final bracket, Sacramento at Seattle, with the winner advancing to the playoffs. Sacramento bested Seattle at the buzzer 79-78 on a short jumper at the buzzer by Kevin Duran-Duran of the River Dogs. 

The third and fourth games of the bracket are playoff pressure pots, the first being Charleston at Philadelphia, followed by Milwaukee at Oklahoma City. Philly needs a win and a Lariats loss. Oklahoma City just needs a win to make the playoffs.

Season 53 Featured Game No. 8...Oklahoma City at Dallas...PLUS BONUS

OKLAHOMA CITY 63, DALLAS 62

PERFECT SEASON HALTED

DALLAS -- So you say there's a chance?

The Oklahoma City Lariats now 6-2) gave themselves an inkling of post-season hope with a 63-62 victory over the previously unbeaten (and thought-to-be unconquerable) Dallas Demons (now 7-1).

The defensive struggle came down to the last few time units, with Oklahoma City ahead by three. Dallas guard Juvan Djinn took a short jumper and was fouled, but the shot did not go down. He then made both free throws (he's the league leader with 19 for 19 in that department), erasing Dallas hopes of a make, miss, offensive rebound basket scenario that could have tied the game.

The teams thus split the season series, with Dallas having beaten the hell out of OKC 100-68 in their previous meeting.

The Whiz Kids suffered another loss in this one as veteran forward Al A. Orden was injured in the second quarter and will miss the remaining regular schedule games, plus the first playoff game. Orden was already subbing for former All-MBA forward Satan Israel, who suffered a season-long injury early in the campaign. 

Six-ten rookie forward Philibuck Davia will now man the starting forward position for the Whiz Kids until Orden can return. 

PLAYERS OF THE GAME 

24 GVP...Going head-to-head with a fierce battle throughout the contest, the point guards for both teams set the pace in this excellent contest. Fourth-year Oklahoma City star KING CZARDINES, the league leader in assists, led everyone in that department with 3 while scoring 16 points, grabbing 4 boards and registering 1 steal. The team's top overall scorer was 8 for 12 from the floor (0 for 2 from deep). It was his second POG of the season.

AND

24 GVP...The league's leading scorer, KOPI LUWAK of Dallas, had a tough shooting day (7 for 17) but still tied for game-high scorer with 17 points, dropping in 3 long ones in 7 tries. The second-year man also tied for team-high in rebounds with 5 and team-high in assists with 2.

Other 20-plus GVP performers

22 GVP...League MVP candidate Pete "the Steakman" Marzano shut out his man Buba Lipa, accounting for a game-high 4 blocked shots while scoring 10 points, tying for team-high in rebounds with 5, tying for team-high in assists with 2 and getting his team's only steal. 

MBA Standings … Season 53

EAST DIVISION

DALLAS………………….7-1 (clinched playoffs)

OKLAHOMA CITY…..6-2

PHILADELPHIA………3-4

CHARLESTON………. 3-4 (eliminated from playoffs)

MILWAUKEE……….. 1-6 (eliminated from playoffs)

 

WEST DIVISION

GILLETTE…………. 5-2

SACRAMENTO…4-3

SEATTLE…………..3-4

SAN JOSE………….3-4

LOS ANGELES….. 1-6

 

NEXT UP: Sacramento at Los Angeles...The River Dogs destroyed last-place L.A. 81-44 in their previous meeting. The Big One has lost five in a row. 

BONUS

DYLAN IS FAVORITE AMONG ROOKIE OF THE YEAR CONTENDERS AFTER 7 BRACKETS 

Note how the GVP order is a direct reflection of the prime pick order in which these rookies were drafted. 

25.1 GVP...Gillette 6-11 center BLOB DYLAN (3rd pick in the draft, 1st prime pick)...15.6 ppg, 5.9 RB, 11 blocked shots...Not only the favorite for Rookie of the Year, but currently in the hunt for overall MVP. He has the Humps in the unfamiliar spot of first place in the West.

22.0 GVP...Oklahoma City 6-8 power forward PHILLIP MIANUS (4th pick in the draft, 2nd prime pick)...11.9 ppg, 24 blocked shots, 5.0 RB...League's leading shot blocker has changed the Lariats defensive identity.

20.0 GVP...Seattle 5-11 point guard BELLYBUTTON INQUISITION (6th pick in the draft, 3rd prime pick)...12.9 ppg, 8 steals, 3.6 RBs...Steadying force on the Stampede...team's top assist man. Big rebounder for his small stature.

18.9 GVP...Milwaukee's 6-foot shooting guard ITSTHA BISHOP (9th pick in the draft, 4th prime pick)...14.6 ppg). Top scorer on his team despite being guarded by top defenders in the East.

18.6 GVP...7-foot center CHINA P  (11th pick in the draft, 5th prime pick) 10.6 ppg, 5.7 RBs...Leads the River Dogs in rebounding. Came to team in trade with Los Angeles, who originally drafted him.

Season 53 Featured Game No. 7...Dallas at Oklahoma City

DALLAS 100, OKLAHOMA CITY 68 (Slaughter rule enforced)

DEMONS UNRAVEL LARIATS

 OKLAHOMA CITY -- As if anyone needed further authentication as to which team rules the roost in Season 53, the visiting defending champs from Dallas destroyed the would-be challengers to their supremacy, crushing the home team Lariats 100-68.

The game was a close, spirited affair for one quarter before things got totally out of hand. After out-scoring Oklahoma City 27-17 in the second quarter, the Whiz Kids held a 12-point lead at halftime, where they had already accumulated 10 blocked shots.

They would go on to tie the single-game record for blocks (15...established twice by Seattle; once in Season 27 and once in the playoffs in Season 49) while becoming the first team in Season 53 to hit the 100-point mark. The triple-digit score was achieved on the final time unit of the game when Dallas sub Philibuck Davia scored down low, was fouled and converted the free throw.

For the game, Dallas shot a ridiculous 74.5 percent, while Oklahoma City was held to 41.2 percent.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

42 GVP...A game-high 29 points, a game-high 8 blocked shots, 4 rebounds and 1 assist. Those were the final totals for fourth-year Dallas superstar guard JUZAN DJINN who totally frustrated his counterpart Handsy Joe Potatoe, sending one would-be 3-pointer after another back in his face. (Potatoe was 1 for 13 from deep). Djinn was a solid 11 for 16, canning 2 of 6 from beyond the arc and maintaining his perfect season at the free throw line, where he went 5 for 5 (he now leads the league there at 15 for 15.) This is the kind of game that could vault him into his first regular season MVP honor.

Other 20-plus GVP performers

32 GVP...Dallas center Biggus Dickus totally destroyed two-time All-MBA pivot Chochky Galumpkus, allowing him just 3 points while scoring 26 of his own. Lariats back-up Chat Bot fared slightly better, but not much. The second-year 7-footer added 3 blocked shots, 2 rebounds and 1 assist to his superb outing.

27 GVP...The lone bright spot in the game for Oklahoma City was point guard King Czardines, who led his team in scoring with 18 points (including 3 buckets from deep), tied for game-high in assists with 5, pulled in 2 boards and registered 1 steal. 

25 GVP...The leading candidate for MVP going into the game, second-year forward Pete "the Steakman" Marzano had another stellar game, scoring 15 points, grabbing a game-high 5 rebounds, swatting away 4 enemy shots and adding 1 assist.

22 GVP...The league's leading scorer, Dallas point guard Kopi Luwak, contributed 16 points, grabbed 4 boards and added 2 assists to the massacre.

MBA Standings … Season 53

EAST DIVISION

DALLAS………………….7-0

OKLAHOMA CITY…..5-2

PHILADELPHIA………3-3

CHARLESTON………. 3-4

MILWAUKEE……….. 0-6

 

WEST DIVISION

GILLETTE…………. 5-1

SACRAMENTO…4-3

SEATTLE…………..2-4

SAN JOSE………….2-4

LOS ANGELES….. 1-5

 

NEXT UP: Win-less Milwaukee travels to Philadelphia. A win by the Phobia puts them just one game behind Oklahoma City, and the Lariats have to play Dallas again the next game while Philly gets the Greyhounds. It’s getting close.