Lightning to host IBL championship series
L.A. will take on Oregon Waves in best 2-of-3 at Cal Lutheran
In a year of firsts, the Los Angeles Lightning will host the Oregon Waves in a best-of-3 series for the International Basketball League pro championship at Cal Lutheran in Thousand Oaks. The first two games will be played on July 25 (Saturday) and July 26 (Sunday) with a third game, if necessary, on July 28 (Tuesday). All games will tip off at 7 p.m. in the Gilbert Sports Arena.
"It's going to be awesome," said Mark Harwell, the owner and GM of the Lightning. "We wanted to make it a 2-of-3 series to show off the talent of the league and give both teams equal footing."
The firsts were numerous for the Lightning this season:
-- They captured their first American Conference title with a 132-121 victory over defending IBL champion Bellingham on July 3 in Monroe, Wash.
-- This is the first time a best-of-3 championship series is being held in the five-year history of the IBL.
-- Toby Bailey recorded the first triple-double in team history with 24 points, 10 rebounds and 15 assists on June 14 in a 160-123 rout of the Grand Rapids (Mich.) Flight.
-- For the first time, there were six former NBA players on one IBL team -- Bailey, Lamond Murray, Bryon Russell, Darrick Martin, Fred Vinson and Juaquin Hawkins.
-- Tony Strickland became the first California State Senator to play for the Lightning, hitting a sizzling 59.4 percent of his shots.
The Lightning (16-4) reached the championship series in just their second season in the high-scoring league, which features a 22-second shot clock and one timeout per quarter. They've won eight of their last nine games, capped by victories over the Seattle Mountaineers (128-126) and the Bellingham (Wash.) Slam in the IBL playoffs. Martin, a point guard from UCLA, scored 22 of his 28 points in the final quarter of the conference final as L.A. overcame an early 26-11 deficit to win by 11 points.
L.A. is led by Murray, a 6-7 former L.A. Clipper who ranks ninth among IBL scorers at 24.2 per game, 7-footer Adam Parada (18.4 ppg, 12.8 rpg), Bailey (18.0 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 7.5 apg) and Martin (17.7 ppg, 7.3 apg).
Oregon, a first-year IBL team, won the National Conference title with three victories in three days. The Waves (15-7) topped Snohomish County (Wash.) 148-135 in the conference final behind 34 points from David Jackson (Oregon) and 32 by David Lucas (Oregon State), the 2007 and '08 IBL scoring leader (37 ppg) and the son of ex-Portland Trail Blazer great Maurice Lucas. Robert Day added 22 points and 18 rebounds.
All games can be heard on radio (KVTA 1520 AM, KKZZ 1440 AM) or on the internet at lalightning.net.
Tickets can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com or by calling 800-745-3000. For more information on the Lightning, visit lalightning.net.
