Semifinals Game 1 San Jose at Charleston

Charleston 96, San Jose 76
NAF NAF BURNS NETS FOR 44; MOUNTAINEERS TAKE OPENER
CHARLESTON -- The most prolific scorer in the history of the MBA went off for his new team to open the Season 41 playoffs, as Naf Naf scored 44 points to lead Charleston over San Jose, 96-76.

In doing so, Naf, now in his fifth campaign, tied the top playoff mark he set in last year's championship clincher for Oklahoma City over Seattle. It was the third time in his storied career that the 6-foot sharp-shooter has reached the 44 mark, which is his personal best for a game. He now holds the three highest-scoring playoff games in MBA history.

As in their regular season cross-over meeting, the game between the league's top two scoring teams was closely contested for three quarters before Charleston pulled away to win by 20 (they won by 19 earlier). The Fighting Amigos kept pace and actually led after one quarter, 22-20, despite Naf exploding for 14 points (4 for 4 on treys). He would scorch the twine for three more triples in a row in the second before finally missing on his eighth.

San Jose stayed within six points of the lead going into the fourth quarter, but when Naf slowed his pace to just 5 more points, the home Mountaineers allowed just 10 to the Amigos and sped away with 24 more tallies of their own.

PLAYER OF GAME
NAF NAF of Charleston was brilliantly efficient in his 44-point effort, going 15 for 20 from the floor, 9 for 11 from beyond the arc and 5 for 9 from the charity stripe. He also grabbed 2 rebounds, had 2 assists and 1 steal. He scored 14 in the first, 14 in the second, 11 in the third and 5 in the fourth.

OTHER 20-PLUS GVP PERFORMANCES
-- He lost the rebound battle to his counter-part, but otherwise, Charleston center J.J. Gargantuan dominated Pippi Pippistrelli. The fourth-year pivot scored 17 points, led both teams in both blocked shots (4) and steals (2), grabbed 2 rebounds and had 1 assist.
-- Veteran Charleston forward B. Quiet scored 15 points, was high on the team with 4 assist, pulled down 2 rebounds and was 2-for-2 beyond the arc.
-- Shooting guard Dayshotta Leo of San Jose tied for his team's top scoring honors with 18 points, grabbed 4 boards, dished out 3 assists and pretty much out-played Beezow Bop-Bop.
-- Playing power forward in the absence of Sven Marquardt, San Jose's Blue "Rondo" Alaturk got the goods on Pietro Destroyer, scoring 16 points, grabbing 5 boards and getting a pair of assists.
-- San Jose's rookie forward Doo-Rag Dripp was outstanding, matching the play of Quiet and earning another start. Dripp tied for his team's high-scoring mark with 18, missing just one of 10 shots, and pulled down 3 boards.

NEXT UP: After falling in overtime, Dallas tries to stave off elimination with an upset home win against Oklahoma City.




Top Scoring Games All Time through Season 41
50 Tommy Zoop, Oklahoma City, Season 24

49 Horn E. Goatweed, Milwaukee, Season 24

44 Naf Naf, Charleston, Playoffs vs. San Jose, Season 41
44 Naf Naf, Oklahoma City, Playoffs vs. Seattle, Season 40
44 Soul Duran, Chicago, Season 7
44 Naf Naf, Oklahoma City, Season 38
44 Tommy Zoop, Chicago, Season 21

42 Funsy VanSlochum, San Jose, Season 26
42 Naf Naf, Charleston, Season 41
42 Naf Naf, Charleston, Season 41

41 Naf Naf, Oklahoma City, Playoffs Season 40
41 Uncle Bob Masterson, Philadelphia, Season 11
41 Ching-Chong Chung, Houston, Season 31

40 Shooter Flatch, Dallas, Season 20

39 Pelton Crane, Chicago, Season 40
39 Silo Chamberlain, Charleston, Season 1
39 Naf Naf, Oklahoma City, Season 39
39 M.E. "Lou" Harris, Seattle, Season 15
39 Simon Barsinister, Philadelphia, Season 36
39 Nipple Rings Raguski, Seattle, Season 20
39 L.B. Damned, San Jose, Season 36

38 Slip Pearson, Houston, Season 8
38 Tommy Zoop, Chicago, Season 22
38 Dan Mann, Milwaukee, Playoffs in Season 9
38 Dan Mann, Milwaukee, Playoffs in Season 12
38 Tommy Zoop, Milwaukee, Season 20
38 Naf Naf, Oklahoma City, Season 37
38 Hrundi V. Bakshi, Los Angeles, Season 40

37 Cappy Gambol, Milwaukee, Season 3
37 Uncle Bob Masterson, Philadelphia, Season 4
37 Soul Duran, Houston, Season 5
37 Uncle Bob Masterson, Philadelphis, Playoffs in Season 8
37 Benny Gumm, Charleston, Season 25
37 Cheetos Jones, Philadelphia, Season 33
37 B. Quiet, Charleston, Season 40
37 Naf Naf, Oklahoma City, Season 40
37 Naf Naf Oklahoma City, Season 40

Semifinals Game 1 Dallas at Oklahoma City

Oklahoma City 72, Dallas 67 OVERTIME
LARIATS ESCAPE WITH OVERTIME WIN IN OPENER
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Season 41's playoffs started with an overtime thriller, with highly favored and defending champion Oklahoma City having to scramble back from a 12-point deficit to win in overtime.

Substitute guard Theon Greyjoy of Oklahoma City, playing for fouled out Akbar Zagobia, hit an open medium jumper on the last time unit of regulation to tie the game 61-61 and send it to overtime. Up to that point, Greyjoy missed all three of the shots he took. Getting the assist on that key hoop was Lariats point guard Yipeekayee Masterfalcon, who dished out 8 helpers in the win.

Wimsy Greenfoyle started the extra period with a driving bucket for Dallas, but Greyjoy then hit a trey to give the home team a lead it never relinquished. The game was put on ice when Hall of Fame Oklahoma City center Max Payne got his fifth block of the contest off Naceg Gecan, which was immediately followed by the first trey of the game by Masterfalcon, who was fouled and made the resultant free throw. That gave the Lariats a 5-point lead with just 8 time units remaining, all but sealing the victory.

In a game that featured the top two rebounding teams in the MBA, Dallas out-boarded the home squad 29-18, accounting for much of their success throughout the contest.

This was the 10th consecutive victory by Oklahoma City.

They now hold a 1-0 edge in the best of three semis.

PLAYER OF GAME
He had a rugged time from beyond the arc, but pin-point passing by YIPEEKAYEE MASTERFALCON of Oklahoma City led to numerous key buckets and a game-high 8 assists. The 7-year vet, retiring after this season, scored 15 points on 5 for 11 shooting (1 for 7 from 3-pt Land) and was 4 for 7 from the free-throw line. The 6-4 guard also pulled down 4 boards and had 1 steal. He opened the scoring for the Lariats with a slam-dunk put-back.

OTHER 20-PLUS GVP PERFORMERS
-- Now in his 16th season, All-MBA center Max Payne led the fourth-quarter charge for the Lariats, ending the game tied for high scorer with 16. He pulled down 3 rebounds, had 1 assist and swatted away a game-high 5 shots. He was a perfect 7 for 7 from the floor.
-- Second-year small forward Sloppy Dollop of Oklahoma City played his usual well-balanced game, getting 10 points , pulling down 3 boards, dishing 4 steals, blocking 2 shots and getting 1 steal.
-- Retiring shooting guard Wimsy Greenfoyle of Dallas tied for game-high in scoring with 16 points, pulled down 5 rebounds, had 2 assists and 1 steal.
-- Seventh-year center Naceg Gecan of Dallas, second in the league in rebounding this season, pounded the glass for a game-high 8 rebounds, scored 8 points, had 3 assists and 1 steal.
-- Now in his 15th season, Dallas power forward Gulemon Mon-Mon again accosted the backboards, grabbing 7 rebounds (he was third in the league behind Gecan in this department). Mon-Mon scored 13 points and dished out 1 assist in a solid outing.



Dallas prevented 20 points via defense while Oklahoma City prevented 18.
Dallas caused 5 turnovers while Oklahoma City caused 9 turnovers.

Max Payne of Oklahoma City prevented the most points -- 10
Gulemon Mon-Mon and Matthew Vanden Boogart of Dallas each prevented 7 points.

Max Payne and Pap Smearz of Oklahoma City tied for causing the most turnovers with 3 each.
Matthew Vanden Boogart of Dallas caused 2 turnovers.

NEXT UP: San Jose (5-5) travels to Charleston (8-2) in Game 1 of the other semi-final series. San Jose was defeated 99-78 during the regular season by the Mountaineers.

Season 41 Regular Season Wrap Up

As you can see, only three of the MBA's 10 teams finished with positive point differentials. Those three, plus Dallas, will be in the post-season.
Milwaukee and Seattle are out from last year's playoff teams, replaced by San Jose and Dallas.
As was the case last season, the two division winners, defending champion Oklahoma City and Charleston, are heavy favorites to meet in the finals. Charleston was derailed by Seattle in the semi-finals last season, but it is expected that this year, the power-packed finals will see the Lariats vs. the Mountaineers.
The Semi-finals match Oklahoma City with Dallas and Charleston against San Jose.
Charleston beat San Jose in a regular season cross-over game 97-78.
Oklahoma City bested Dallas in a regular season cross-over game 78-62.
Should they meet in the finals, keep in mind that Dallas and Charleston split their two games, while Oklahoma City pretty much destroyed San Jose in both meetings.
Charleston and Oklahoma City did not meet during the regular season. In fact, the last time they met was five seasons ago in Season 37 during a cross-over game won by Charleston by 3 points in another season they both won division titles.
The last time Charleston met Oklahoma City in the playoffs was Season 27 when defending champion Charleston bested Oklahoma City 2 games to 1 in the semis. (Gule Mon-Mon of Dallas played for the Lariats in that series and was injured the final two games.)
Any predictions from the MBA public?
My predictions: sweeps in the first round by Charleston and Oklahoma City, then Charleston besting Oklahoma City in the finals 3 games to 1.










Next Up: Let the playoffs begin. First game will pit Dallas at Oklahoma City.

MBA at the Halfway Point -- Season 41

NEXT BRACKET
-- Sacramento at San Jose for first of two consecutive home-at-home meetings which may decide a playoff spot.
-- Seattle at Oklahoma City in first of two straight home-at-homes. Stampede needs at least one of these games.
-- Milwaukee at Charleston in a first- vs. second-place battle in the East.
-- Philadelphia at Chicago in first of two home-at-homes with both teams coming off big victories.
-- Los Angeles at Dallas in cross-over contest that could put Demons back in playoff hunt.






FINAL ALL STAR GAME NOTE: Oklahoma City's Yipeekayee Masterfalcon's 6 made treys in the All Star Game move him up to a tie for third place all time on the All Star Game career list with Ching-Chong Chung. He now has 17 treys (and forever will due to his retirement after this season), trailing 1. Cheetos Jones, 24 2. Naf Naf 19 3. Mamadou Zongo 18.

41st All Star Game and recent MVPs

The 41st All Star Game Teams Announced

ALL STAR GAME FACTS
-- Only two players who started the Season 40 game return as starters this season...Colquitt Croix and Pippi Pippistrelli.

-- 12 of the 20 All Stars are back from last season's game

-- Just two rookies made the All Star Game, both from Chicago...Santo Thomas and Norman Conquest

-- The oldest player in the game is Hall of Fame center Max Payne of Oklahoma City...in his 16th season

-- Payne's 10th All Star Game appearance ties him with Uncle Bob Masterson and Mamadou Zongo for most all time

-- Ginger Vampire and Naceg Gecan join a list of 30 players who have played in at least 6 All Star Games

-- The East has won 25 times and the West has won 15

-- Since Season 34, when the West won, the teams have alternated victories...if this pattern continues, the West would win this game

-- Three of the last four games have been won by just two points...the exception was Season 38 when the West won by scoring a record 106 points.

-- Conspicuous by their absence: Hall of Famer Hrundi V. Bakshi of Los Angeles, Chicago's Reckless Abandon, Charleston's B. Quiet, Philadelphia's Diss Reflexia, and of course, the injured Naf Naf of Charleston.

-- The most difficult position to make the All Star team has shifted to West Division forward, where 6 players exceeded 20 GVP...the two who missed out were: Tea Time Typhoo of Seattle (22.8) and Kyle Sherwood of Sacramento (22.4).

-- Other players who exceeded 20 GVP but did not make the team were: Steve Carter of Sacramento (20.4), Naf Naf of Charleston (21.1), and rookie Poodle "Stix" Jackson of Philadelphia(20.4).

-- The All Star Game asterisk added to their cards brings the following players that much closer to the Hall of Fame (10 honors needed): Beezow Bop-Bop (7), Naceg Gecan (7), Pippi Pippistrelli (7), Ginger Vampire (7), and Yipeekayee Masterfalcon (8). Masterfalcon is retiring after this season but still has time to make the Hall this season or via the Veteran's Committee after retirement.

-- The addition of his 10th All Star Game asterisk gives Hall of Famer Max Payne 18 lifetime honors, pushing him past Stu Nod and Link Lennex in the Hall of Fame rankings and tying him for sixth greatest player all time with Boone Doggle and Mamadou Zongo.

Season 41 Retirements

A record 26 MBA players announced their retirements, including the great Hrundi V. Bakshi of the Los Angeles Big One.

Tyler lost 8 players to retirement, including 5 starters.
Dave lost 10 players, with 5 of those being starters.

Seattle was the lone team to escape the retirement cube of chance.
Charleston and Milwaukee each lost three players, but two of the three, in Milwaukee's case, were starters.
Los Angeles and Chicago joined Milwaukee in losing two starters.

We will go over this list in more detail at another time.
However, we did go back and check on retirement numbers per season ever since the league began retiring players in Season 6. This is by far the highest number of retirements in any one year. Only five other times has the number of retirements hit the 20 mark, with the highest prior to this season being 22.
Of course, 8 of the retirements this season came from the Cut Pile, which softens the blow considerably for the loss of talent.

Season 6 -- 10
Season 7 -- 9
Season 8 -- 15
Season 9 -- 20
Season 10 -- 13
Season 11 -- 14
Season 12 -- 16
Season 13 -- 15
Season 14 -- 15
Season 15 -- 15
Season 16 -- 13
Season 17 -- 20
Season 18 -- 18
Season 19 -- 17
Season 20 -- 9
Season 21 -- 19
Season 22 -- 14
Season 23 -- 13
Season 24 -- 13
Season 25 -- 17
Season 26 -- 17
Season 27 -- 17
Season 28 -- 21
Season 29 -- 15
Season 30 -- 12
Season 31 -- 13
Season 32 -- 17
Season 33 -- 22
Season 34 -- 14
Season 35 -- 20
Season 36 -- 13
Season 37 -- 16
Season 38 -- 11
Season 39 -- 15
Season 40 -- 19
Season 41 -- 26