Game 3 Milwaukee vs. San Jose

FIGHTING AMIGOS BACK IN CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
SAN JOSE – The San Jose Fighting Amigos led by the game-high 23 points of guard Cock A. Doodledoo, outlasted the Milwaukee Greyhounds in the deciding game of the first round series and will appear in the championship round for the third time in five seasons.

Milwaukee 21-39-50-64
San Jose.. 16-35-55-70

MVP of Game—Cock A. Doodledoo, San Jose, 23 points 6 rebounds, 2 assists
Top Milwaukee scorer – Chi CityMaine, 18 points
Fouled out—Hrundi V. Bakshi

Round One Playoff Updates

DEFENDING CHAMPS WIN GAME ONE
PHILADELPHIA -- Despite both starting guards fouling out, the defending champion Dallas Demons prevailed handily on the road against Philadelphia, 61-47. Phobia point guard Johnny Hoops was the game MVP with 16 points and five boards, but the Dallas defense held the home team to a paltry 34 percent shooting.

Dallas .........19-37-51-61
Philadelphia 21-31-43-47
Top Scorer-Hoops, Phil. 16
Top Rebounder, Boone Doggle, Phil. 8



MILWAUKEE STAYS ALIVE WITH 60-57 VICTORY
MILWAUKEE -- Rookie MVP Hrundi V. Bakshi of Milwaukee broke open a tight contest with back-to-back treys in the fourth quarter that spurred the Greyhounds to a 60-57 win. Milwaukee trailed 51-50 when Bakshi canned his two back-breakers behind the arc on the way to a game-high 17 points. The series now goes to a final Game 3, with the teams knotted up at one game each.

San Jose...14-26-45-57
Milwaukee.11-27-44-60
Game MVP-Sagital Occlusal, San Jose...14 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocked shots.
Top Rebounder, Occlusal, San Jose, 8.
Funsy VanSlochum of San Jose led both theams with 3 steals.
Ed Masterson led San Jose with 15 points.


TRAPPER ZOID'S BUZZER-BEATER TIES THE SERIES
DALLAS -- Veteran Philadelphia guard Trapper Zoid, pressed into starting service due to an injury to Major Hassle, hit a game-winning medium jump shot at the horn to give his team a 65-63 win. Philadelphia will play the decisive Game 3 at home to determine which team goes to the finals.

Philadelphia..13-25-40-65
Dallas...........10-26-46-63
Game MVP--Momadou Zongo of Dallas, game-high 18 points, 3 Rebounds, 1 steal, 1 assist, 1 blocked shot.
Most assists--Tipsy O'Sullivan, Dallas, 5
Most steals--Johnny Hoops, Philadelphia, 3
Top Philadelphia scorers--Tug Hershorts, Boone Doggle, both with 16

San Jose opens playoffs with big win

SAN JOSE --It was the league's top offensive team (Milwaukee) against the MBA's best defensive unit for the past four seasons. After a fast start, San Jose and defensive stalwart Cock A. Doodledoo put the clamps on rookie MVP Hrundi V. Bakshi (11 points)and finally broke open a close one in the fourth quarter to win 64-55.


Not only did Doodledoo doodle-do a number on Bakshi, but the Fighting Amigos shooting guard led all scorers with 24 points and captured MVP of the Game honors.



Milwaukee 18-30-43-55
San Jose 21-33-45-64



Game MVP -- Cock A. Doodledoo: 24 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists
Top scorer for Milwaukee: Chi CityMaine, 22 points.

S29 Finale and Playoff Preview

It will be San Jose (7-3)versus Milwaukee (6-4)and Philadelphia (8-2) versus Dallas (7-3) in the best of three first round of playoffs for Season 29. Only one team returns from last year's post-season extravaganza, the returning champion Dallas Demons who clinched a spot in the last game of the year with a dominating 67-54 victory over Oklahoma City. Milwaukee, behind stunning rookie Hrundi V. Bakshi, gained a playoff berth be beating Houston twice to end the season. Bakshi was rookie of the year and the league MVP and was also the league scoring champion. Only the great Hall of Famer Uncle Bob Masterson accomplished that triumvirate, and that happened way back in Season 4. As can be viewed by the attachment, the first team All-MBA squad is comprised of all first-time honorees, with the oldest player being just four seasons old. The youngsters are really taking over.

MBA Home Stretch--Season 29

Just two games remain for each team as we head into the Seasson 29 home stretch, and it's still difficult to come up with an overall favorite for the title.
One thing's for certain, however...just six teams remain in the hunt for the four playoff spots.
San Jose, Dallas and Oklahoma City are the contenders for the two Western spots. It appears that the big game will be defending champion Dallas at Oklahoma City in the final game of the year for both teams. Dallas destroyed the Lariats in the previous meeting by a 78-55 score.
Three of Tyler's teams are contenders for the two East Division slots. Philadelphia looks like a shoo-in, while Houston and Milwaukee will play their last two games against each other, with Milwaukee needing a sweep to get in. That's a tall order, since the Iguanas of Houston have the league's longest win streak at five in a row.
Milwaukee is led by rookie guard sensation Hrundi Bakshi, the favorite to win the league MVP award. Bakshi is averaging a league-high 23.0 points per game and is in a battle for top scoring honors with Sacramento's second-year star Cheetos Jones, who currently averages 22.5.
Oklahoma City is on pace for a team rebounding record, boasting the league's top four rebounders in Titfur Tatt (7 per game), Jimmy Wharfdale (6.1), Gulemon Mon-Mon (5.6) and Sanuk (5.3).
San Jose is again playing the stingiest defense in the league and recently held Dallas to a 28-point game to break a record established way, way, way back in Season 4 when Houston held Oklahoma City to 32.
Charleston crashed and burned after Jonny Cockaroo, their Hall of Fame center, went down with a season-long injury in the sixth game of the year. Cockaroo, who led the team during its most prosperous seasons that included two titles, will retire.

SEASON 29 MBA HALFWAY POINT

As can be seen from the Season 29 halfway standings, it's readily apparent that the power in the MBA resides in the West.
Not only has the West defeated the East in every single crossover game (see top left), the West has three excellent teams (Oklahoma City, Dallas and San Jose) all resting at 4-1 at the break.
Meanwhile, in the East, only the resurgent Philadelphia squad is above .500 at 4-1, with Charleston and Houston vying for the second playoff slot with records of 2-3.
Here's a quick team-by-team summary.

THE WEST

OKLAHOMA CITY LARIATS (4-1)-- The Lariats success is predicated by the brute-force rebounding of its front line, which is rebounding at a record 31-boards per game pace, almost 10 better than the next closest team. Perennial all star center Titfur Tatt (6-11) and forwards Gule Mon-Mon (6-11) and Jimmy Wharfdale (6-9) hit the boards like Katrina smashed The Big Easy. Tatt and Mon-Mon are 1-2 in the league in rebounding and Wharfdale is fifth in the league in scoring at 17.8 per game. Scoring from the guards is, however, a team weakness.
DALLAS DEMONS (4-1)--After being dismantled by San Jose in the season opener, the defending champions have rattled off four straight victories and appear formidable once again. Most impressive is the fact they are winning comfortably despite down years from their two best players, Hall of Fame guard Mamadou Zongo and 7-foot center Max Payne. Picking up the pace has been 9-year veteran guard Tipsy O'Sullivan (team-leading 15 points per game, forward Bisquero Cutoff (14 points per game) and 10-year vet Hacksaw Rooney (10.6 off the bench).
SAN JOSE FIGHTING AMIGOS (4-1)--Third-year defensive gem Cock A. Doodledoo has added improved offense to his game this season. The guard is averaging 19.4 per game (third in the league) and his running mate, Funsy VanSlochum has rebounded from a poor year with a 14-per game average. San Jose has been the MBA's top defensive team three seasons in a row, and this year is no different. Except this season they have improved dramatically on offense, despite the fact that Hall of Fame forward Sagittal Occlusal is having (for him) a down year.
SACRAMENTO RIVER DOGS (2-3)-- The River Dogs have already doubled the previous season's win total, thanks mainly to the league's top scorer, guard Cheetos Jones. Sacramento snared him away from San Jose in the draft, and the second-year gunner is popping away at 22.4 points per game. Sacramento has replace four of five starters since last season.
SEATTLE STAMPEDE (1-4)--Decimated by retirments, the Stampede has replaced 60 percent of its roster this season and struggles to score (last in the MBA in points per game).

THE EAST

PHILADELPHIA PHOBIA (4-1)--After three consecutive last-place finishes, the winningest team in MBA history reluctantly fired longtime coach Oscar Mudcat, hired former team great Curly Hogbottom and has returned to the top. The resurrection is the direct result of a spectacular draft in which the team picked up four starters, the two biggest being Hall of Fame forward Boone Doggle (6-10) and longtime backup forward Tug Hershorts (6-11), who has blossomed with the opportunity to start. Center Ama Spikie also appears very solid.
CHARLESTON REBELS (2-3)--Hall of Fame center Jonny Cockaroo is showing his age in his 12th season and has announced his retirement after this season. And losing Hall of Famer Boone Doggle to the Phobia simultaneously has made the usually potent Rebels a team that struggles to find points. But despite a guard tandem that lacks defense the Rebs are still in the playoff hunt.
HOUSTON IGUANAS (2-3)--The perennial playoff team shocked by losing three straight out of the gate but are on a two-game win streak now. The revamped Iguanas had four players named to the all-star team, so the talent is obviously there. They lead the MBA in scoring with 80.8 per game thanks mainly to Ching Chong Chung (19.0) and vastly improved Tom Kondla.
MILWAUKEE GREYHOUNDS (1-4)--Rookie sensation Hrundi V. Bakshi is the real deal. The tallest guard in MBA history (6-7) leads his team in points (21.8) and rebounds (5.2).
CHICAGO GALE (1-4)--The Gale added nobody of value from last year's 4-6 team and has shown an inability to stop anyone from scoring. They are last in the league in defense.



NOTES ON THE MID-SEASON ALL STAR TEAMS FOR THE WEST AND EAST
Conspicuous by their absence are three Hall of Famers: Jonny Cockaroo of Charleston; Mamadou Zongo of Dallas; and Boone Doggle of Philadelphia. Of the three, only Doggle has performed well this year. He was edged out by a strong group of forwards in the West. The fourth Hall of Famer, Sagittal Occlusal of San Jose, barely made the team.

NOTES ON ANNOUNCED RETIREMENTS

Jonny Cockaroo will retire, at minimum, tied with the great Diamond Dallas Paige of Oklahoma City, as the most honored center in MBA history.
Oklahoma City center Titfur Tatt hangs it up after just six seasons. He was rookie of the year and named to five all star games.
Philadelphia will be losing both of its starting guards.


MBA OF GLOBAL INTEREST

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Titles, by team

As requested by retired MBA great Fly Davia, here is a team-by-team breakdown of titles won.

Philadelphia--10--most recent in Season 24
Milwaukee--7--most recent in Season 18
Dallas--3--most recent in Season 28
Houston--3--most recent in Season 12
Charleston--2--most recent in Season 27
Chicago--2--most recent in Season 16
San Jose--1--most recent in Season 25
Still waiting--Oklahoma City, Seattle and Sacramento