MBA Season 31 Playoffs

SAN JOSE EVENS SERIES
CHARLESTON - As expected, this semi-final series will go the full three-game distance; with the only surprise being that the wins by the San Jose Fighting Amigos and the Charleston Mountaineers both came on the road.
In this one, San Jose, led by first-team All-MBA small forward L.B. Damned's game-high 24 points, held off a fourth-quarter charge to secure a 78-73 triumph.

Damned's effort came against perhaps the top defensive forward in the league, Jimsy Redfern, and included scoring from all over the court, including a 2-for-2 day behind the 3-point arc. Meanwhile, Redfern had another stellar game, getting the seventh triple-double of his career with a line score of 10 points, 5 rebounds and 5 blocks. He was one assist away from becoming the first MBA player to record more than one quadruple-double. Only Redfern and J.D. Jedreat have ever recorded a quad.

Walt "Heisenburg" White ignited a near-comeback off the bench for Charleston, bringing the home team within four points halfway through the final quarter, draining 3s to score 12 of his team-high 19 points.

The series, even at one game each, returns to San Jose for the third and deciding game to determine which club goes to the finals.

MBA Playoffs Round 1

Phobia shows no fear of River Dogs
PHILADELPHIA - After pounding them 94-46 during the regular season, the two-time defending champion Philadelphia Phobia gave the Sacramento River Dogs little hope to win this best of three preliminary playoff round, destroying the visitors 90-63.

League MVP Cheetos Jones was spectacular as usual, leading all scorers with 29 points and recording a pair of steals and a pair of blocked shots while fouling out two River Dogs who tried haplessly to guard him. He was the game MVP, but not the only one to turn in an excellent game for Philly. Hall of Famer Boone Doggle, playing in his final playoffs prior to retirement, recorded the 7th triple-double of his illustrious career. He had it secured by the third quarter. Phobia center Ama Spikie was also superb with 22 points in the post.

Kuch-Kuch Hotahey led Sacramento with 22 points.

SEASON 31 PLAYOFFS

CHARLESTON WHOOPS UP ON SAN JOSE IN GAME 1

SAN JOSE - The high-flying Charleston Mountaineers, featuring a record-tying blocked shots performance by game MVP forward Jimsy Redfern and a balanced scoring attack, destroyed the MBA's best defense with an 85-65 Game 1 trouncing.
The offensive explosion came despite the lack of Charleston's top scorer, Hall of Famer Mamadou Zongo, who is lost to the Mountaineers due to injury.
They did not seem to miss him, shooting 75 percent from the floor, taking just 40 shots. San Jose sent Charleston to the line 25 times, with the Mountaineers coming within two made free throws of a playoff record. The visitors stunned the Western Division champions on the boards, too, out-rebounding them 21-9.
The Mountaineers can advance to the finals with a home win in the next game.
NOTES
-- Redfern's MVP performance included tying for game-high scoring honors with 19, 3 steals and the previously mentioned record for blocked shots (8). He joins J.D. Jedreat and Max Payne in the playoff record books for blocked shots in a game. Jedreat, playing for Charleston, blocked 8 Philadelphia shots in Season 8 and Payne of Dallas matched that number against Charleston in Season 28.
-- Redfern's consecutively made free throw streak came to a halt at 35 when he finally missed on his fourth try of this game.
-- Ed Masterson of San Jose surpassed Raisin Sport in most playoff game appearances with this, his 45th playoff game.

Season 31 Summary

SEASON SUMMARY

Cheetos Jones and the two-time defending champion Philadelphia Phobia led the league in scoring capturing the East, while San Jose led the league in defense for the sixth consecutive season to wrap up the West.



The unstoppable Jones and his 26 points per game became the first Phobia player since Stu Nod in Season 14 to win a scoring title and came within 8 points of breaking Tommy Zoop’s 26.7 scoring average record for Oklahoma City in Season 24.

Bull Bunson led the league in assists for a record-tying fourth time and Jimsy Redfern of Charleston and Kuch-Kuch Hotahey of Sacramento tied for the league title in free-throwing, each sinking a perfect 19 for 19 on the year. It was the second consecutive year Redfern did not miss a free throw; he was 13 for 13 the previous year.

Third-year center Tom “the Bomb” Kondla gave the last-place Dallas Demons fans something to watch in Season 31 as he broke his own single-season blocked shots mark with 59 swat-aways. Playing for his fourth team in as many seasons, Kondla also set a new record for most blocks in a game (10) and most triple-doubles in a career (10).

Jones and Milwaukee’s Hrundi V. Bakshi accounted for six of the seven top scoring games of the year, but the biggest single-game scoring barrage came from 5-10 Houston point guard Ching-Chong Chung, who exploded for 41 against Milwaukee.



The MVP campaign by Jones was the first for the dominant Phobia since all-time great Curly Hogbottom garnered the award in Season 22. It marked the eighth time a Philadelphia player captured the honor.

Milwaukee small forward Bruno Pantanal became the fourth Greyhound player to win Rookie of the Year honors, the last being Bakshi in Season 29.

Guards Jones and Bakshi and center Kondla sewed up first-team All-MBA honors for the third consecutive season, while the forward spots went to first-timers Gato Do Mato of Milwaukee and L.B. Damned of San Jose. This was one of the youngest All-MBA teams ever. Not one of the quintet is older than four seasons.


PLAYOFF PREVIEW

PHILADELPHIA (8-2) VS SACRAMENTO (6-4)

The Phobia, gunning for its third-consecutive title, should make short work of the River Dogs, who are making surprised in the West to capture their first playoff berth since Season 24.
The key for Sacramento was their defense at the forward position, where Kuch-Kuch Hotahey and Bisquiero Cutoff made life tough for the opposition. Cutoff, however, was hurt in the final game of the regular season and will only return if the River Dogs miraculously make it past the first round. Starting guard Zingo Mamaluke, who has played on the last three championship teams, will also be lost to Sacramento in the playoffs.
Meanwhile, the Phobia, in the final season of Hall of Famer Boone Doggle, will attempt to become just the second team in league history to win three title in a row.

SAN JOSE (8-2) VS CHARLESTON (7-3)

No team has been in the finals more often lately than San Jose, with the Fighting Amigos making the championship round four out of the last six seasons, but the league’s best defensive team will have its hands full with the Charleston Mountaineers in round one of Season 31.
San Jose is led by forwards L.B. Damned and Hall of Famer Sagittal Occlusal. Charleston, which beat out the favored Milwaukee Greyhounds for a playoff spot, will be without Hall of Famer Mamadou Zongo, who will likely miss all of the playoffs for the second year, thanks to injury.


OTHER MBA NOTES

To answer the query of MBA fan P. Davia, the record for the longest MBA win streak belongs to (who else) the Philadelphia Phobia, which won 13 consecutive. The Phobia won three straight to capture the Season 5 title, then rattled off a 10-0 season in Season 6 before finally coming up short in the first game of the Season 6 playoffs. The Season 5 and 6 Philadelphia team is generally considered the best in league history, and is the only team to start an all-Hall of Fame lineup. They were: Uncle Bob Masterson, Oscar Mudcat, Alex Pal, Raisin Sport and Rowdy Ron Clutch. Milwaukee would eventually beat them for the Season 6 title.
The Houston Iguanas of Season 26 won 12 games in a row before finally bowing in the championship round to the eventual champs from Charleston.

AND FINALLY

Season 31 marks only the third time in league history that three of Dave’s teams have advanced to the playoffs in the same campaign. The other two times were Seasons 17 and 27.
In comparison, Tyler teams have dominated post-season play in 20 of the previous 30 playoffs. Three of Tyler’s teams made it to The Final Four in 17 seasons. And in Season 19, Season 20 and Season 23 (we refer to those as “the dark years”) all four playoff teams were provided by the Ty guy.

Madman game!!!!!!

Houston 107, Milwaukee 101
Iguanas now 3-6, Greyhounds now 5-4
Game MVP Ching-Chong Chung of Houston, 41 points, 3 assists, 1 rebound, 1 steal
Hrundi V. Bakshi of Milwaukee gets 30 in losing effort.
Chung's running mate at guard Wes Montgomery gets 26.
Rookie forward Bruno Pantanal of Milwaukee scores 20.
Next game: Charleston (5-3) at Seattle (4-4)

Chung's 41 points is the highest total (by 6) for any MBA player in Season 31.
Chung's total of 41 ties him for sixth all time with Uncle Bob Masterson for the most points scored in one game. He is the first player to make the single-game scoring list since Funsy VanSlochum of San Jose went crazy and scored 42 in Season 26.

This marks just the second time in MBA history that both teams reached the century mark in the same contest. The last (and only other) time it happened was 10 seasons ago in Season 21 when Seattle set the record for most points in a game, outscoring Oklahoma City on May 19, 2006, 118-103. Center Gram Parsons was the only player to have played in both historic games. He played sparingly for Milwaukee in their loss tonight, but was a giant contributor, scoring 27 points off the bench for Seattle in their Season 21 triumph. By the way, no player on either side scored more than 27 points that game, with Nipple Rings Raguski also scoring 27 for Seattle.

The Houston-Milwaukee barn burner was reminiscent of the last game of the Season 29 campaign which determined which of these same two teams made it into the playoffs. Milwaukee won that game at home 93-88, despite a game-high 30 points from the 5-10 Ching-Chong Chung of Houston.

Although this has been a down year for Houston, they have the distinction of being the only team to beat Philadelphia thus far in Season 31. When both Chong and Montgomery are hot simultaneously, the Iguanas have shown they can play with anyone.

This latest Milwaukee loss gives Charleston two chances to clinch a playoff berth in either their next game against Seattle or their final game against Dallas. Meanwhile, Milwaukee can only cling to fading hopes by winning its final season game against powerhouse Philadelphia.

It must also be reported that the Sacramento River Dogs also clinched a playoff berth in the West with their latest win over Oklahoma City. A check of the records indicates that they cannot be headed by Seattle even if the Stampede wins out, since the first tie-breaker (division wins) belongs to Sacramento. The River Dogs thus advance to the playoffs for the first time since Season 24. The dog on the envelope salutes you for breaking this six-season dry spell.

SEASON 31 HEADING FOR HOME

It is officially crunch time in the MBA as the last fifth of the regular campaign of Season 31 gets under way. All but three of the 10 teams have a shot at the playoffs.

As of now, only San Jose has clinched a playoff spot.

Philadelphia, the two-time defending champion, looks to be in the driver's seat in the East, with Charleston (without injured superstar Mamadou Zongo) trying to hold off Milwaukee for the second spot. The Mountaineers have an easier road, with remaining games against the West's Seattle and Dallas teams, while Milwaukee needs to win out against Houston and Philly to keep their hopes alive. Charleston holds the cards in the event of a tie-breaker, having bested Milwaukee twice during the season.

In the West, San Jose has clinched its sixth playoff spot in the past seven seasons, with Sacramento, Seattle and Oklahoma City, in descending order of likelihood, jostling for the final perch. Oklahoma needs to win out to keep its hopes alive and faces a do-or-die game against Sacramento right away. A win by Oklahoma City opens up numerous possibilities in the three-way race, with Sacramento facing San Jose in the finale while Seattle plays Oklahoma City.

No matter how things shake out, Philadelphia has to be considered the favorite for the championship, yet again.

In the individual achievement department, Philadelphia's point guard Cheetos Jones is running away with the scoring title, averaging 26.9 points per game. He is currently ahead of the all-time mark of 26.7 registered by Hall of Famer Tommy Zoop, set in Season 24 for Oklahoma City.

Jones also seems to be way ahead in the MVP race. Rookie of the year seems to be between Dr. Gottum Gupta, Oklahoma City's center, and forward Bruno Pantanal of Milwaukee.

Jones, guard Hrundi V. Bakshi of Milwaukee and center Tom "the Bomb" Kondla of Dallas look like shoo-ins for their third consecutive All-League team. L.B. Damned of San Jose leads all forwards for one of the two available all-league forward spots, and any one of five others could get the coveted star.

Kondla looks like he will destroy his blocked shots record for one season, which he set two campaigns ago with 52 swats while playing for Houston. He has 50 now with two games remaining.

Answering Fly Davia

CUT PILE HEROES AND OTHER FUN FACTS

To answer the queries of Phil Davia, Dog Dirt Davis is a relatively young 7-seasons old; Jebediah "the Reverend" Wacknut is 9 and the Davia favorite Buck-Buck Bagaak is currently in his 11th season (the last five of which has been spent in the cut pile.)

To further respond to cut-pile inquisitor extraordinaire Davia, the player with the most cut pile time at present
is the center Pug Mahone, who has spent 14 full seasons in the cut pile and parts of others in his 20-season “career.”
He did spend parts of six other seasons in the league on someone's squad, but only one entire season on anyone's roster since joining the league way, way, way back in season 9. That was Season 16, which he spent with Houston, getting in 9 games and producing a 1.8 points per game average on 50 percent shooting.

If you’re looking for someone who has never seen the MBA light of day, we present guard Jalapa Valley, who is currently in his 14th consecutive cut pile season and will return to add to that string next campaign. It is the longest anyone has ever spent in the cut pile without ever seeing actual action. It will be interesting to see if Pug Mahone or Jalapa Valley will eventually claim the all-time title, since both are still “active.”

Thirteen other players who have retired from MBA non-action did so without stepping on an MBA table. They are:

Frank “Free Drinks” Meridien (6 seasons)
Tico Ticotac (6)
Silvio Banian (6)
Orville Gibson (6)
Skip Dingles (6)
Rudy Shmegangas (7)
Buddy Sorrell (7)
Epi Phone (7)
David Skywalker (8)
Kent Powers (8)
Wa-Wa Chuckles (9)
Stumpy Stewart (11)
Grumbles Williamson (11)