Sports stats

CBA 1 Continental Basketball Association 1

First Round Schedule for 2006 CBA Playoffs Announced

March 13, 2006 - Continental Basketball Association 1 (CBA 1) News Release


Boise, ID (March 13, 2006) - The first round of the 2006 Continental Basketball Association Playoffs tips off Tuesday, March 14, in Yakima, Wash., where the Western Conference Champion Yakama Sun Kings will host the Rockford Lightning. The Gary Steelheads, the No. 1 seed in the playoffs, will begin their postseason run on Thursday, March 16, when they entertain Yakama.

The nine-game, first-round schedule will take place over the next eight days with no games scheduled for Friday, March 17, and Sunday, March 19. The CBA Finals schedule will be released via the league office by Wednesday, March 14.

While the field of 65 for the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament was announced on Sunday, the CBA had its own anticipation and drama on the final day of the league's 60th anniversary regular season.

The six teams who were going to compete in the 2006 CBA postseason had been known since last week. However, the determination of the exact seedings came down to the last quarter of the 192nd and final game of the regular season. 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.

The Gary Steelheads clinched the Eastern Conference crown on Saturday, March 11, with its 104-94 victory over the Michigan Mayhem. Gary recorded 5.5 quarter points in the win to finish the regular season 29-19 overall with 197.0 total quarter points and a 4.10 quarter point average. Whether Gary would be the top seed for the postseason, though, would not be decided until the final quarter in the final league game of the year between the Yakama Sun Kings and the Sioux Falls Skyforce.

Sioux Falls traveled to Washington on Sunday following a 114-101 (6,1) loss to the Idaho Stampede on Saturday. That forced the Skyforce to record 2.0 quarter points to win the Western Conference and 4.0 quarter points to earn the overall top seed in the playoffs. Yakama captured the first two quarters of the game, holding a 64-56 lead at halftime. Sioux Falls came out strong in the second half, winning the third quarter, 22-15, and cutting its deficit to one, 79-78, heading into the fourth quarter. However, Yakama took care of business in the fourth quarter, downing the Skyforce 25-15 for the period and 104-93 for the game, garnering 6.0 quarter points to Sioux Falls' 1.0.

Therefore, Gary will be the No. 1 overall seed for the 2006 CBA Playoffs, followed by Yakama (1B), Sioux Falls (2A), Rockford (2B), Idaho (3A) and Albany (3B).

2006 CBA Playoff Seedings

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.

Gary (1A) will host Yakama and Sioux Falls, travel to Idaho

Yakama (1B) will host Rockford and Albany, travel to Gary

Sioux Falls (2A) will host Rockford and Albany, travel Gary

Rockford (2B) will host Idaho, travel to Yakama and Sioux Falls

Idaho (3A) will host Gary, travel to Rockford and Albany

Albany (3B) will host Idaho, travel to Yakama and Sioux Falls

2006 CBA Playoff Schedule (All times local)

Tuesday, March 14

Rockford (2B) at Yakama (1B), 7:05 p.m.

Wednesday, March 15

Albany (3B) at Sioux Falls (2A), 7:05 p.m.

Thursday, March 16

Idaho (3A) at Rockford (2B), 7:05 p.m.

Yakama (1B) at Gary (1A), 7:05 p.m.

Friday, March 17

No games

Saturday, March 18

Idaho (3A) at Albany (3B), , 7:35 p.m.

Sioux Falls at Gary, 7:05 p.m.

Sunday, March 19

No games

Monday, March 20

Gary (1A) at Idaho (3A), 7:10 p.m.

Rockford (2B) at Sioux Falls (2A), 7:05 p.m.

Tuesday, March 21

Albany (3B) at Yakama (1B), 7:05 p.m.

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 13, 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