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.
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