PHILADELPHIA 69, SEATTLE 58

Phobia takes first big step toward 16th title

PHILADELPHIA -- In a surprisingly low-scoring contest, the home team Philadelphia Phobia bested the Seattle Stampede 69-58 to take a 1-0 advantage in this best of five MBA Finals.

After starting out the game displaying reasonable firepower, both teams went into the tank offensively in the second half. Seattle, especially, was woeful, registering the lowest scoring game for them this season.

During the regular season, Seattle (80.2 ppg) and Philadelphia (79.0 ppg) were second and third in the MBA in offense, and both came into the finals scoring over 80 points per game.

The point guards on both teams dragged down shooting percentages for both offenses, with Rookie Bob Kittle going 5 for 16 for Seattle and Ted Hose, subbing for the injured Mel A. Noma, going 4 for 14 for Philly. They each took the most shots for their respective teams.

The Stampede was never able to mount any kind of a comeback in the second half. They trailed by 7 at the half, got within 5 at one point in the third quarter and finished 11 points back at the game’s conclusion.

20-PLUS GVP PERFORMERS
 Philadelphia small forward Gabba Penton has never been a big scorer, but in this one he led everyone with 17 points, taking advantage of Seattle rookie Jairo Capoiera. Penton also had 4 rebounds and 3 assists, winning the MVP of the Game honors.
 Phobia point guard, the veteran Ted Hose, was his usual inaccurate self shooting the ball, but he put it up enough times to get 11 points and played some excellent defense. Hose led everyone with 4 steals and 2 blocks, while pulling down 3 boards and getting 2 assists.
 Philadelphia center Q-Bert McGuffin continued his amazing shooting streak, despite running up against one of the league’s best defensive centers in Seattle’s Dis Reflexia. For the third consecutive game in these playoffs, the big 7-footer was perfect from the field, going 7 for 7 and making him 27 for 27 from the floor in the three-game span. He tallied 14 points, led everyone with 5 assists and pulled down 2 rebounds.
 Dis Reflexia, Seattle’s fine young center, led his team in scoring with 16, pulled down 5 boards and had 1 block.
 Seattle power forward Sven Marquardt was a behemoth on the boards with 10 rebounds, leading everyone in that category. He had 8 points and 2 assists as well.

PLAYOFF NOTES
 There has never been an MBA Finals featuring two teams with regular season records of 6-4. This is a first.
 Only four teams in the entire history of the MBA won championships after finishing the regular season with marks of 6-4. Those were: Milwaukee in Season 4, Milwaukee in Season 6, Philadelphia in Season 8, and finally, Milwaukee in Season 9.

27 seasons have passed since a 6-4 team won the title, and this season, it is now a sure thing.

Philadelphia shocks the world with win over Oklahoma City

PHILADELPHIA 85, OKLAHOMA CITY 76



(the following from Tyler Masterson following his team's giganto win)

The league is not broken.

In game 3 of a 3 game round one playoff series. The 6-4 Philadelphia Phobia (predicted at the beginning of the season to finish last place in the division of 5 teams) beats the 9-1 Oklahoma City Lariats led by MVP Naf Naf and Rookie of the year runner up Walter Shobchack 85-76. That victory ensures another Tyler title as the Phobia go on to face the only team of mine that hasnt won a title in 37 seasons, the Seattle Stampede.

Nothing in the MBA is given. Everything is earned.

Naf Naf was way off from 3 this game going 3-9 from 3 (his card stats show he should shoot around 60% from there). And, his one weakness, defense reared its ugly head, as the man he was guarding, another rookie, (Mel A. Noma) averaging 7.5ppg on the year went off for 26 in 3 quarters on 11/12 shooting. (Noma was subsequeently injured and missed the entire fourth quarter. He will also miss the first three games of the Finals.)

The game was 66-63 Philadelphia going into the final quarter when that guard that had 26 in 3 quarters, Mel A. Noma, went out with an injury for the rest of the game. Almost certainly dashing the Phobia's hopes. But that's not how the story went.

The monster franchise that is the Phobia emerge from a 3 year slumber after their streak of 5 titles in a row from season 29-33 (those are the stickers on the envelopes) to return to the finals in the most unlikely of fashion.

PHO-BEE-AHH
PHO-BEE-AHH

20-PLUS GVP PERFORMERS

-- Mel A. Noma, the rookie guard for Philly, goes off on regular season MVP Naf Naf of Oklahoma City, scoring a game-high 26 points in just three quarters. He averaged under 8 per game in the regular season. Noma was 11 for 12 from the field and led everyone with 3 asssists. He also snared 4 boards.
-- All-MBA guard T.Kanes Masterson of Philadelphia was held to 11 points by the Lariats' outstanding defender Lemon Jell-o, but he contributed mightily with a game-high 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal.
-- Phill's 7-foot center Q-Bert McGuffin followed his record-tying 12-for-12 shooting day with a 21-point, 8-for-8 shooting day in this game. The big guy has not missed in two games. He also added 3 rebounds, 2 assists and put the cherry on top of the victory sundae with a full-court basket that went in just as the final gun sounded.
-- Lemon Jell-o was superb in the loss for Oklahoma City with 21 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block.
-- Power forward Reckless Abandon of Oklahoma City led his team in scoring with 23 points, grabbed 3 rebounds and assisted 2 times.

NEXT UP: The MBA Finals...Game 1 is Seattle at Philadelphia

FINALS OBSERVATIONS
-- Philadelphia has won 15 titles. Seattle has won 0.
-- These two teams have met twice before in the finals...Season 7 and Season 14. Seattle has won one game in the finals against Philly, coming in Season 14.
-- In 19 Finals appearances, Philadelphia has failed to win the championship just four times.
-- Seattle has been in four Finals, the last in Season 28 where they lost to Dallas 3 games to 2 after being ahead in the series 2 games to 1. The Stampede led in the final game, only to have future Hall of Fame center Tom "the Bomb" Kondla get injured in the second quarter, never to return. Dallas went on to victory.
-- Should they win it, Seattle could boast the youngest starting lineup in history...two rookies, three second-season players.
-- Point guard Mel A. Noma of Philadelphia's injury (3 games) could be series-changing. His replacement, Ted Hose, has a history of ineffective ball-hogging.

Matchups to watch

-- Look for a lot of scoring from both shooting guards, T.Kanes Masterson of Philadelphia and Wimsy Greenfoyle of Seattle.
-- There will be a battle royale between two of the MBA's top two centers: Seattle's Dis Reflexia and Philadelphia's Q-Bert McGuffin. Both come into the Finals as top Playoff MVP candidates.

Game 2 Round 1---Oklahoma City at Philadelphia

Philadelphia extends series with huge overtime win, 88-86


PHILADELPHIA -- The storied Philadelphia Phobia franchise rose to the occasion once more, besting the highly favored visitors from Oklahoma City in an overtime contest for the ages.

The third and final game of this semifinals will take place in Oklahoma City, where the Lariats soundly thrashed Philly 97-68 in Game 1.

This elimination contest was nip and tuck throughout and finally came down to two huge overtime plays near the end of the game.

With the score tied 86-86, Philadelphia small forward Gabba Penton tipped in a missed shot for what turned out to be the winning basket.

Then, with four time units remaining and Oklahoma City in control, T.Kanes Masterson of Philadelphia stepped in front of the Lariat's Lemon Jell-o and drew a clutch and gutsy charging foul. From there, Philly ran out the clock, dealing Oklahoma City only its second loss of the season.

The game went to overtime when league MVP Naf Naf of Oklahoma City missed a 3-point shot that would have given his team the lead with 2 time units remaining. But Naf Naf was bailed out by fellow rookie Mel A. Noma of Philadelphia, who fouled him. A 58 percent free thrower on the season, Naf Naf made both throws, tying the game 84-84. Noma missed a trey at the horn and the game went into overtime.

20-plus GVP performances

-- The 12-for-12 shooting percentage record by Mable Reed of Milwaukee stood for 25 seasons before being equaled by Dis Reflexia of Seattle yesterday. Then, along comes the big 7-footer, Q-Bert McGuffin of Philadelphia, who ties that mark again in the very next game. The MVP of this Game, McGuffin tied for game-high scoring honors with 26 points and game-high rebounding honors with 7, adding a pair of assists in an impressive display.
-- Philadelphia's rookie guard Mel A. Noma led everyone in assists with 5, scored 15 points and nabbed 3 rebounds.
-- T.Kanes Masterson of Philadelphia had 17 points, 4 boards and took that big charge in overtime.
-- Small forward Gabba Penton of Philadelphia, playing in what could have been his last game ever, came up large with 21 points, scoring his team's last points in both regulation and overtime. He also had 6 boards and 2 assists as well as 1 block.
-- Rookie point guard Naf Naf of Oklahoma City had his usual brilliant game, tying for high-point honors with 26, including the two free throws that put the game into overtime. He added 3 assists and 1 rebound.
-- Veteran two guard Lemon Jell-o of Oklahoma City continued his thieving ways with a game-high 3 steals, knocked in 13 points, grabbed 3 boards and assisted 3 times.
-- Lariats rookie forward Walter Sobchack had 10 points, tied for game-high in boards with 7, assisted 4 times and blocked 1 shot.

NEXT: The finale of this semi finals series as the teams travel to Oklahoma City.

Seattle upstarts eliminate defending champion Charleston in a rout

Seattle 86, Charleston 67

SEATTLE -- The Seattle Stampede, the MBA's youngest team, will be heading for the Season 37 Finals following its 2-0 sweep of the defending champion Charleston Mountaineers.

The Stampede, led by the remarkable second-year pivot Dis Reflexia, destroyed Charleston before the Seattle hometown crowd 86-67, rushing out to an 8-0 lead and never letting the Mountaineers back into the game. In doing so, Seattle out-rebounded the Mountaineers 31 to 10. The home team set the dominating tone in the first half, out-rebounding Charleston 20 to 5. It was so ridiculous that Seattle's rookie point guard, the 5-11 Bob Kittle, tied the entire Charleston team in first half boards.

The three rookie amigos from last season's playoff team led the way for Seattle again, with Reflexia (24 points), forward Sven Marquardt (22 points) and shooting guard Wimsy Greenfoyle (16 points) leading the way.

This marks the first time since Season 28 that the Stampede has advanced to the championship round. In that season, Seattle came within one victory of winning the first MBA title in team history. They also came within one win of the title in Season 14. They are the only Tyler franchise without a championship and the only original MBA team without one. Seattle and Sacramento are the only two franchises without a title.

The Stampede, which will be in its fifth Finals, awaits the winner of the Oklahoma City vs. Philadelphia semifinal, which Oklahoma City leads 1-0.

20-plus GVP performances

-- Charleston point guard Jesus Moron Joseph had another good game, netting 17 points, assisting 3 times, grabbing 2 boards and registering 1 steal before fouling out again.
-- Charleston shooting guard Beezow Bop-Bop had 15 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and led everyone with 2 blocked shots.
-- Mountaineers power forward B. Quiet led his team in scoring with 18, pulling down 2 rebounds and getting 1 assist.
-- "The Pocket Pivot," 6-7 Seattle center Dis Reflexia, took full advantage of the absent-by-injury Hall of Famer Max Payne of Charleston. Reflexia led everyone in scoring with 24 points, tying a playoff record with a perfect 12 for 12 shooting night. (The record was set way way back in Season 12 by Hall of Famer Mable Reed of Milwaukee against Oklahoma City.) Reflexia also topped everyone in assists with 4. Payne's 6-11 substitute, Shits McGriddle, had no defense for Reflexia, who scored on a variety of moves in the lane and around the bucket.
-- Shooting guard Wimsy Greenfoyle of Seattle had 16 points, despite being guarded by Bop-Bop. He also contributed 8 boards to the cause, while dishing out 2 assists.
-- Seattle's power forward Sven Marquard matched his 22-point total from the first playoff game, pulled down 5 rebounds, dished out 1 assist and registered 1 steal.

NEXT UP: Oklahoma City travels to Philadelphia, the city of championships, with eyes on ousting the Phobia. The Lariats lead the series 1-0.

MBA Season 37 Playoffs...Game 1, semifinals, Philadelphia at Oklahoma City

Lariats stun Phobia in playoff opener, 97-68



OKLAHOMA CITY -- Following a closely contested first quarter, the favored Oklahoma City Lariats took total control of this best of three semifinal against the Philadelphia Phobia, gliding to a 97-68 victory.
Boasting the league's best offense and defense, the home team demonstrated both ends of their effectiveness before this one was in the books.
The MBA's best guard tandem from Oklahoma City, Naf Naf (27 points) and Lemon Jell-o (28 points) dominated throughout.
Philadelphia escaped a major injury when rarely-used substitute forward Shag Bark entered the game briefly in the first quarter and was seriously injured. He is out for the remainder of the playoffs. His replacement from the cut pile is the familiar Joe "Blue" Pulaski.
Unless Philadelphia comes up with a way to slow down the Lariat offense and score on its defenders, this will be a short series. Even All-MBA guard T. Kanes Masterson was held in check, as Jell-o, perhaps the best guard defender in the league, held him to 12 points, 6 under his average.
Jell-o also had 5 steals in the game, consistently thwarting the Phobia before they could get their offense flowing.
Rookie forward Walter Sobchack was also excellent in this one, scoring 20 points for the Lariats and pulling down a game-high 7 boards.
Center Q-Bert McGuffin was a bright spot for Philly, with a 20-point game.

20-PLUS GVP PERFORMANCES
--Jell-o of Oklahoma City gets MVP of the Game with a game-high 28 points on 13 of 15 shooting, 5 steals, 2 rebounds and 1 assist.
--League MVP and Rookie of the Year Naf Naf Of Oklahoma City started out slowly but finished with 27 points and a game-high 4 assists. He also had 4 rebounds.
--Oklahoma City forward Reckless Abandon had 14 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal and played solid defense.
--The other Oklahoma City forward, rookie Walter Sobchack, led everyone with 7 boards and scored 20 points, adding 2 assists, a steal and 2 blocked shots.
--Seven-footer Q-Bert McGuffin was impressive for Philly, scoring a team-high 20 and pulling down 4 boards, adding 1 assist.
--Power forward Pythogoras Theorum of Philly had a fine game with 15 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists.

NEXT UP: Defending champion Charleston faces elimination at Seattle, which leads the series 1-0

Seattle steals Game 1 of semifinals against defending champs

CHARLESTON, W.VA -- The young, visiting upstarts from Seattle came from behind in the fourth quarter to snatch victory away from the defending champion Charleston Mountaineers, 91-90.
Free throws played a huge part in this one, with Seattle going 20 for 24 while Charleston settled for 8 made on 12 attempts.
The win gives the Seattle Stampede the upper hand in the best of three semis, making the next game in Seattle an elimination contest for Charleston.
The same two teams met in this same round last season, and Seattle also shocked the MBA world with an opening win before bowing out in three.

With Hall of Fame Charleston center Max Payne out with injury in the first two games of the series, Mountaineers forward B. Quiet, high point man in the game at this juncture, fouls out with 45 time units remaining and his team ahead 79-75.

Then, the barn-burning final 29 time unit highlights went like this:

-- Rookie Seattle point guard Bob Kittle hits a medium jump shot to tie the game 82-82.
-- At 20 time units, Seattle shooting guard Wimsy Greenfoyle hits a big 3-pointer to give the Stampede their first lead of the game, 87-86.
-- The Seattle lead is stretched to 3 after a Charleston miss and a fast-break layup by Kittle.
-- After stealing the ball, Charleston's Beezow Bop-Bop scores over Seattle's Dis Reflexia to cut the Stampede lead to 89-88 with 6 time units left.
-- After Charleston's Jesus Moron Joseph fouls out, Seattle's Greenfoyle drives to the hole and scores with 2 time units left, giving Seattle a 91-88 lead.
-- Shits McGriddle of Charleston slam dunks at the horn, but the Mountaineers lose 91-90.

20-PLUS GVP PERFORMANCES
-- Last season's MVP of the Playoffs, Beezow Bop-Bop, gets the MVP of the Game nod in this one, but could not quite bring his Charleston team the victory. Bop-Bop led the home team with 20 points, tied for tops in steals with 2, had 3 rebounds, 3 assists and a blocked shot.

-- Charleston point guard Jesus Moron Joseph had 19 points, tied for game-high with 5 assists and pulled down 3 boards before fouling out.
-- Charleston center Shits McGriddle did himself proud subbing for the injured Payne. In his first start ever, the 6-11 McGriddle produced a triple-double, with 16 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists.
-- Before fouling out, Charleston forward B. Quiet was on a roll. He left the game with 16 points, 4 rebounds and 1 blocked shot.
-- All five of Seattle's starters were over the 20-GVP mark, starting with rookie point guard Bob Kittle, who threw in 21 points, grabbed 2 rebounds, assisted 3 times and had 1 steal.
-- Scoring guard Wimsy Greenfoyle of Seattle was tied for game-high scoring honors with 22 points, grabbed 4 rebounds and had 2 assists.
-- Seattle center Dis Reflexia just missed a triple-double with 11 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and a game-high 2 blocks.
-- Second-year forward Sven Marquardt tied Greenfoyle for top scorer, netting 22, getting a pair of rebounds and 1 assist. Marquardt, who was 3 for 27 beyond the arc in the regular season, was 2 for 3 in this game.
-- Rookie small forward Jairo Capoeira led everyone with 7 rebounds, scored 12 points, had 3 assists and 1 steal in the win.

NEXT UP: Philadelphia travels to Oklahoma City to take on the favored Lariats in game 1 of that best of 3 semifinals.

SEASON 37 REGULAR SEASON WIND-UP

NEXT; THE POST-SEASON BEGINS