D-I Final Dallas vs. Milwaukee

This match opened, as expected, in aggressive style. Dallas, using a full-court press, quickly moved to a 10–5 lead. Based on the torrid up-and-down play of the first quarter, which included five lead changes and three ties, Dallas and Milwaukee seemed equally matched. Dallas’s Glasbrenner and Milwaukee’s Lade rolled to scintillating starts, each knocking down 9 points in the first quarter.

But the scoreboard hinted mildly at an upset of favored Dallas when it flashed 23–22, Milwaukee, at the end of the first period. Milwaukee appeared confident, launching aggressive forays into the teeth of Dallas’s insatiable full-court press.

The tug of war continued during the first five-plus minutes of the second period. Following four more lead changes and three more ties, Dallas took a lasting 2-point (33–31) lead with six minutes remaining in the first half. That advantage came as a result of a dramatic 3-pointer by Dallas’s formidable swing man, Raul Ortega, who would go on to limit the explosive Lade’s production in the second half. The first half came to an end with Dallas on top, 42–37.

When Dallas’s shooting percentage rocketed to 67% in the second half, Milwaukee was finished. In a typical Dallas surge, the team stretched its lead to 71–52 by the end of the third period.

Dallas gained even more distance on Milwaukee, stretching their lead to 26 points (97–71) in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter following an assist by Glasbrenner that produced a basket by the ever-improving Willie Hernandez.

Dallas cruised to a 97–79 victory, its sixth NWBA title in the last nine years.

Division I Semifinal

In the opening game it appeared, at least in the first half, that the Florida Force would offer competition to the highly favored Dallas Wheelchair Mavericks, winners of five of the last eight NWBA championships. Dallas, ably coached by Dug Jones, was also graced with the ultra-athletic presence of Jeff Glasbrenner. Yes, the same athlete who fashioned a record-setting 63-point, 26-rebound masterpiece while toiling brilliantly for Denver, who defeated Dallas in last year’s championship game, 110–99. And Florida also faced the unenviable task of stopping Dallas’s marksman and playmaker extraordinaire, Paul Schulte.

While Dallas held the lead by relatively modest margins throughout the first half, the Force proved competitive, even outscoring Dallas, 23–20, in the second quarter. With their talented Canadian import, Richard Peter, contributing 15 first-half points, almost offsetting the 13 scored by Dallas’s towering Jason Van Beek, Florida crept to within 3 points (41–38) at the end of the initial 24 minutes of play.

But the Dallas offense caught fire during the opening five minutes of the third quarter, outscoring Florida,

15–0. By the end of the quarter they had stretched their lead to 25 points (73–45). Dallas’s all-court defensive pressure, thanks to its players’ blazing speed, stifled most of the Force, and the Mavs cruised to a 97–57 victory.

In the other D-I contest, the Phoenix Suns also seemed bent on taking the same demoralizing tour of Blowout City as the Florida Force, when the Milwaukee Bucks rolled quickly to a 26–10 lead by the end of the first quarter. But the Suns settled down and almost matched the Bucks basket for basket the rest of the way. The Suns demonstrated admirable scoring balance. Five players scored in double figures, beginning with Nate Dove’s team-leading 16 points, followed by veteran Mark Shepherd’s 15, Bob Knight’s 11, and 10 each by Paul Hill and Tony Greco.

The Suns defense, however, proved porous against the technically superior Bucks, who drained shots at an estimable rate of 52%. They canned a near sensational 64% of their trifectas. Gavin Cloy and David Durepos—the latter, yet another Canadian who has made a significant contribution to the U.S. game, President Vines—each totaled 20 points.

But it was Milwaukee’s young point guard, Jeremy Lade, who played the most significant, electrifying role in the Bucks impressive 94–76 win.