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CBA Playoffs Kick Off Tonight

March 11, 2008 - Continental Basketball Association 1 (CBA 1) News Release


ALBANY, NY - With two games tonight, the CBA opens its second season, the CBA Playoffs. Five teams, East Kentucky Miners, Minot Skyrockets, Oklahoma Cavalry, Pittsburgh Xplosion, and the Yakama Sun Kings will all vie for the CBA Championship over the next two and a half weeks.

In tonight's opening contests, the East Kentucky Miners will travel to take on the Pittsburgh Xplosion in an American Conference play-in game and the CBA defending champion Yakama Sun Kings make a trip south to take on the Oklahoma Cavalry in lovely Lawton, Oklahoma.

The Miners hold a 4-3 advantage over the Xplosion in their season series. However, the Xplosion are 3-1 at home versus the Miners in Pittsburgh. In their last contest, the Xplosion knocked off the Miners 115-11 (5, 2) in Pittsburgh. Leading the way for the Xplosion in that contest were John DeGroat with 28 points and Chaz McCrommon with 22 points. The Miners had four players score over 20 points in the contest, Mike Dean (24), James "Boo" Jackson (23), Steve Thomas and Josh Pace (22). The Miners will look to Steve Thomas who is averaging 28 points and 14 rebounds to lead the way, while the Xplosion have the steady play of Chaz McCrommon and John DeGroat to combat the Miners. This is the first time the CBA has used a play-in game since the 1994 Dakota Capital Classic Playoff Qualifier in Bismark.

In the other playoff game tonight, the CBA defending champion Yakama Sun Kings travel south to face the Oklahoma Cavalry. The Cavalry have won three of seven games against the Cavalry this season, two at the Great Plains Coliseum. The Cavalry gave the Sun Kings their last loss, a 98-82 (6,1) victory in Yakama. The Cavalry also defeated the Sun Kings 99-88 (5,2) the last time the Sun Kings visited Lawton. The Cavalry have Daryan Selvy (19.7 ppg., 7.7 rpg.) and Marvin Phillips (11.7 ppg. and 11.0 rpg.) as focal points of the Oklahoma attack. Former Sun King draft pick Curtis Haywood has been a matchup problem for the Sun Kings all series. Former NBA star Moochie Norris (9.6 ppg., 6.6 rpg., 8.4 apg.) has been the spark plug all season long for the Sun Kings. Tim Ellis (17.3 ppg.) and 2008 CBA Long Distance champion Desmond Ferguson (14.6 ppg.) will have to continue their stellar play if they want to knock off the Cavalry. This series also serves as a rematch of the coaches from last years CBA finals, Paul Woolpert (Yakama) and Michael Ray Richardson (Oklahoma-Albany 2007).

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