Sports stats



CBA 1 Continental Basketball Association 1

2006 CBA Finals Will Pit No. 1 Seed Gary Steelheads vs. No. 2 Seed Yakama Sun Kings

March 22, 2006 - Continental Basketball Association 1 (CBA 1) News Release


Boise, ID (March 22, 2006) - The field for the 2006 Continental Basketball Association Finals has been set following the Yakama Sun Kings' 132-114 (7,0) defeat of the Albany Patroons last night. The No. 1 seed, and Eastern Conference and regular season champions, Gary Steelheads, will take on the No. 2 seeded and Western Conference-champion Yakama Sun Kings. The Sun Kings and Steelheads each finished with 14 total quarter points, the two highest totals of the six teams in the first round of the playoffs.

Gary will have the home-court advantage for the best-of-three-game series due to its overall No. 1 seed. The best-of-three-game series will begin Thursday, March 23, at the Yakima Valley SunDome. Tip-off for Thursday's game is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. (PST). Game two will be played in Gary, Ind., at the Genesis Convention Center on Sunday, March 26, with tip-off scheduled for 3:05 p.m. (CST). Game three, if necessary, will be played in Gary on Monday, March 27 at 7:05 p.m. (CST).

All nine first-round games of the 2006 CBA Playoffs were won by the home team, with Gary and Yakama each going 2-1 in their three contests.

Gary finished the regular season with a 29-19 record and a league-best 197.0 quarter points (4.10 avg.), capturing the Eastern Conference title. This will mark Gary's first appearance in the CBA Finals in the franchise's six-year history. The Steelheads were led by CBA Coach of the Year, Jaren Jackson, in addition to All-League Second Team forward Randy Holcomb (19.2 ppg., 7.3 rpg., 3.1 apg.).

Yakama finished the regular season with a league-best record of 31-17 with 195.5 quarter points (4.07 avg.). The Sun Kings were paced by the CBA Player of the Year, Anthony Goldwire, who averaged 17.7 ppg. to go along with a league-high 341 assists (8.5 apg.). Sun Kings coach Paul Woolpert will be making his second CBA Finals coaching appearance, having led Yakama to the 2000 Championship.

The Sun Kings are 3-0 in the CBA Finals, winning the league championship in 1995 (Mo McHone), 2000 (Paul Woolpert) and 2003 (Bill Bayno).

The end to the 60th anniversary season of the CBA was one of the greatest ever. It was the closest finish between the top four teams in the CBA since the league began the quarter point system 25 years ago. The top four seeds ended the regular season separated by only 5.0 quarter points.

2006 CBA Playoff Seedings (final regular season records)

Eastern Conference Western Conference

1A) Gary (29-19, 197.0 QP) - 4.10 avg. 1B) Yakama (31-17, 195.5 QP) - 4.07 avg.

2B) Rockford (30-18, 192.0 QP) - 3.96 2A) Sioux Falls (30-18, 194.0 QP) - 4.04 avg.

3B) Albany (20-28, 149.0 QP) - 3.10 avg. 3A) Idaho (25-23, 176.5 QP) - 3.68 avg.

2006 CBA Playoff First-Round Results (Home Team in CAPS)

Tuesday, March 14

Yakama 114, Rockford 108 (6,1)

Wednesday, March 15

Sioux Falls 106, Albany 97 (5,2)

Thursday, March 16

Rockford 108, Idaho 105 (5,2)

Gary 106, Yakama 98 (6,1)

Saturday, March 18

Albany 108, Idaho 104 (5.5, 1.5)

Gary 124, Sioux Falls 92 (7,0)

Monday, March 20

Sioux Falls 104, Rockford 93 (7,0).

Tuesday, March 21

Idaho 100, Gary 90 (6,1)

Yakama 132, Albany 114 (7,0)

2006 CBA Finals Schedule

Thursday, March 23

Gary at Yakama (7:05 p.m. PST)

Sunday, March 26

Yakama at Gary (3:05 p.m. CST)

Monday, March 27 (if necessary)

Yakama at Gary (7:05 p.m. CST)

2006 CBA Playoff Format

This season's CBA Playoffs will include the top three teams from both the Eastern and Western Conferences (six total teams). The three highest quarter-point averages in their respective conferences will qualify for the playoffs. The six teams will play three contests each in the first round in a round-robin format versus the three playoff qualifiers from the opposite conference. The three teams from each conference will be seeded one through three based upon their quarter-point averages during the regular season. The two top teams in each conference, along with the second-place team with the better quarter-point finish, will play two home games and one road game. The two third-place teams in each conference and the second-place team with the lower quarter-point finish will play two road games and one home game.

For the first time since the CBA began using quarter points to determine regular-season standings in the 1981-82 season, the league will be using quarter points to decide which teams advance from the first round of the playoffs. The two teams that accumulate the most total quarter points in their respective three first-round games will advance to play in the CBA Finals. Potential ties will be broken first by head-to-head playoff play. If two or more teams are tied, or if two teams that did not play each other in the playoffs are tied, then the team that is the higher seed will advance.

The finals will be a two-out-of-three game series using a (1-2) home-court format, with the lower seed hosting game one and the higher seed hosting games two and three (if necessary). Quarter points will not be used in the CBA Finals.

CBA Quarter Point System

The quarter point system is unique to the CBA. Regular season conference standings are determined by points won, with a team receiving three points for winning a game and one point for winning a quarter (four quarters in each game). If a quarter is tied, teams split the point. No points are awarded for overtime. Therefore, there are seven possible points to win in each game.



Continental Basketball Association 1 Stories from March 22, 2006


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central