PHOBIA HANGS ON TO CONTINUE TITLE DEFENSE
DALLAS--For the second year in a row the Philadelphia Phobia eliminated the Dallas Demons in a decisive third game of the semifinals, winning 59-57 in a contest befitting its significance.
Philadelphia got unlikely heroics from the usually role-playing Zingo Mamaluke, who led the victors with 19 points, including 13 in the third quarter and a short jumper that gave his team a four-point lead with time running out.
The final points came from Dallas stalwart Hacksaw Rooney, who again led all players in scoring with 21 and kept his team in the contest throughout. Subbing for the injured Hall of Famer Mamadou Zongo throughout the series, Rooney, playing in his last season, missed a fast break basket with four ticks left that would have tied the game.
A lynch mob (or was it a congratulatory crowd) was awaiting Rooney outside the locker room as we went to press.
Philadelphia,already holding a record 11 titles, now awaits the winner of the next game between San Jose and Milwaukee to contest the MBA championship.

L.B. DAMNED, SAN JOSE EVENS SERIES
SAN JOSE--Rookie small forward L.B. Damned registered game-highs in points (21) and rebounds (9) in leading the San Jose Fighting Amigos to a 65-54 win over the Milwaukee Greyhounds, evening the semifinal series and sending it to a decisive third game.

PHOBIA SURVIVES SLOG-FEST
PHILADELPHIA--The defending champion Philadelphia Phobia led big early, then hung on at game's end to win 55-50 to send this semifinal series to a third and deciding contest.
Left for dead entering the final quarter, the Dallas Demons, trailing by 11, got within three points of Philadelphia in this low-scoring contest before game MVP and Hall of Famer Boone Doggle potted a trey late to seal the deal.
Hacksaw Rooney of Dallas, the hero of Game 1, did not score from the field until late in the third quarter, but still ended up leading his team in scoring with 13.

GREYHOUNDS CRUSH AMIGOS IN GAME 1
The Milwaukee Greyhounds turned the tables on the league's best defensive team in Game 1 of this best of three semi-final, holding San Jose to just 39 percent shooting on the way to a 70-48 victory.
It was over early, with defensive star Cock A. Doodledoo of the Fighting Amigos picking up early fouls and subsequent bench time and league MVP Hrundi V. "The Party" Bakshi responding with a 20-point first half.
Only 13-year MBA veteran Achilles Heel (in his first playoff game ever) performed well for the losers, who now face early elimination at home in Game 2.
Meanwhile, in addition to "The Party," Milwaukee got big games from game MVP Heater VanMeter (18 points, game-high 7 rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block), and forward Chi CityMaine (14 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals and 7 blocks).
CityMaine ate up rookie forward L.B. Damned of San Jose, with his block total coming within one of the playoff record.

DALLAS LOSES STAR, WINS GAME 1
DALLAS--It was a bad-news, good-news kind of game for the Dallas Demons. The home team lost leading scorer and Hall of Famer Mamadou Zongo halfway through the first quarter for the remainder of the playoffs, but still managed to capture Game 1 of the best-of-three against defending champion Philadelphia by a 82-77 score.
The heroics in this one belonged to 11-year veteran Hacksaw Rooney, who replaced Zongo and had the game of his career, scoring 35 points in an effort that fell just three points shy of Dan Mann's all-time playoff scoring mark.

SEASON 30 REGULAR SEASON

The same four teams that made the playoffs the previous campaign will return to the post-season again in Season 30. Milwaukee (8-2) and defending champion Philadelphia (7-3) were the class of the competition in the very tough Eastern Division, while Dallas (9-1) and San Jose (8-2) rose easily above the competition in the West.
Houston and Oklahoma City were major disappointments, each finishing last in their divisions, despite having high expectations in the pre-season.
The Dallas Demons pulled a first in league history by keeping its entire roster from the previous campaign with not a single personnel change. Proved to be the right move.






HONORS

Long, sharp-shooting Milwaukee guard Hrundi V. Bakshi (aka The Party) captured his second consecutive MVP of the League honor in as many seasons while again leading the league in scoring with a 22.5 ppg clip.
Rookie of the Year honors went to Charleston point guard Lemon Jell-O, a 6-1 do-everything leader for the Rebels who proved capable in all areas of the game and kept a young Charleston team competitive in every contest.
The first-team All-League Team was both young and experienced, with all five members making the honor squad for at least the second time. This group may be one of the best in the history of the MBA, with Hall of Fame forwards Sagittal Occlusal of San Jose and Boone Doggle of Philadelphia being joined by the sesational third-year center Tom "The Bomb" Kondla and scoring machines Bakshi of Milwaukee and Cheetos Jones of Philadelphia who finished one-two in MBA scoring for the second consecutive year.






POST SEASON MATCH-UPS

It's a four-way toss-up in this post-season. Any one of this quartet could emerge a champion without surprising. Truth be told, this could be the strongest group ever to make the MBA's final four.

Milwaukee Greyhounds vs. San Jose Fighting Amigos--In a classic rematch of round one from last season, Milwaukee pits its the No. 1 offense in the league against San Jose's traditionally stingiest MBA defense. The Amigos' Cock A. Doodledoo shut down "The Party" from Milwaukee last post-season on the way to winning the post-season MVP award. But Milwaukee shored up its rebounding deficiencies of Season 29 by adding stalwart rookie forward Gato DoMato. The 6-11 rookie sensation led the league in rebounding and finished runner-up in Rookie of the Year voting. Meanwhile, Sagittal Occlusal regained his scoring touch this campaign and finished second in MVP voting while leading the way again for San Jose, which finished runner-up to Dallas while being the only team to take the Demons down.

Dallas Demons vs. Philadelphia Phobia--This one is also a rematch from last year's early round, won by Philly in three games. Philadelphia again features the tallest and best forward combo in the league with Boone Doggle and Tug Hershorts. The defending champs went out and corralled Cheetos Jones, who again ran rampant with a 20.4 per game average. The Phobia's only three losses came in the three games that Jones missed due to injury. Meanwhile, Hall of Famer Mamadou Zongo and 7-0 center Max Payne had arguably the best seasons of their career. Zongo, in his 16th season, scored 19-per game, matching a career-high. Payne also had his best scoring year at 16.7 while playing spectacular defense. It should be a corker of a series.

SEASON 30 HALFWAY SUMMARY

SAME FOUR TEAMS DOMINATING
Defending champion Philadelphia (5-0), Milwaukee (4-1), San Jose (4-1) and Dallas (4-1) -- the same quartet of teams that made last year's playoffs, appear once again to be the cream of the crop in Season 30's MBA at the halfway mark.
Philadelphia, however, was dealt a serious blow in the all star game when the league's leading scorer, Cheetos Jones, was injured and will miss three of the next five remaining games. Lacking a point guard to replace Jones, the Phobia will turn to rookie Totes McGoats or Rob "Pitter Patter" Petrie, who was picked up from the cut pile.
Somewhat surprisingly, Philly was picked for third by both experts prior to the season. But the real shockers have been Houston (1-4) and Oklahoma City (0-5, both extremely disappointing when preseason picks are considered.



JONES LEADS LEAGUE IN SCORING AT THE BREAK
Third-year superstar Cheetos Jones has played his part for his new club the Philadelphia Phobia, leading the league with a 21.6 scoring average prior to falling to injury in the all-star game.
Superb rookie power forward, the 6-11 Gato Do Mato, has solidified the front line for Milwaukee with a league-leading 5.4 rebounds per game.
Another newcomer to his team, point guard Bull Bunson has made his mates better than expected with excellent ball distribution on the way to a league-leading assist total.





PHOBIA, SEATTLE DOMINATE ALL STAR SELECTIONS
As expected of a 5-0 team, the Philadelphia Phobia dominated all-star selections, placing four players, including two starters, on the mid-season all-star team.
The Seattle Stampede (2-3), picked in preseason polls as the league's worst team, also had four players selected for the star squad, led by second-year star Smokey Talisker. Not bad for a team that was earmarked for a winless season.
Meanwhile, for the first time in history, the disappointing Houston Iguanas failed to place a player on the all-star team.



WEST WINS FIRST BUZZER-BEATER IN ALL STAR GAME HISTORY
DALLAS - Oklahoma City rookie guard Jerry Curl hit a medium jump shot at the horn to give the Western Division all stars their fourth consecutive victory.
It was the 10th victory in the series for the West, with the East having 20 wins.
Max Payne of the home city Dallas Demons became just the second center (and the first since Mable Reed in Season 8) to win game MVP honors with 17 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and a pair of blocks.
But perhaps the biggest news of the game was the injury to Cheetos Jones of first-place Philadelphia, who is the league's leading scorer and led all scorers in the all-star contest with 23.



SEASON 30 RETIREMENTS ANNOUNCED
Just 12 players, including only two starters, announced that they will be hanging up the old gym shoes following the conclusion of Season 30.
The pair of big names who will not return include longtime starting guard Tipsy O'Sullivan of Dallas and starting all-star center Trey Bon of Charleston, who is having the best season of his career.
All three current Hall of Famers, Mamadou Zongo of Dallas, Boone Doggle of Philadelphia and Sagittal Occlusal of San Jose will return; Zongo for his 17th season.