FINAL APPEAL

While the lion (WNBA) waits to roar again, the little league with the big paychecks (ABL) launches its championship playoff series today in Long Beach.

The American Basketball League is about to complete its second season, one more than skeptics gave it after the NBA announced two years ago it was going into the women’s pro basketball business.

So the war in women’s pro basketball continues on, and the WNBA may be in for a long battle as it waits for the ABL to go under so it can raid its deep talent pool.

The ABL attracts top players because its maximum salary is $150,000 and its average is $80,000. The WNBA’s maximum last season was $50,000, and some played for as little $10,000, although superstars Lisa Leslie, Rebecca Lobo and Sheryl Swoopes made $300,000.

Recently, the WNBA raised its maximum to $55,000, a 10% raise seen by many as a conservative, waiting-game move.

“If the WNBA had raised that $50,000 to $80,000, it would’ve knocked the ABL right out of the box,” said player agent Ernest Ruffin, Jr., who represents players in both leagues.

In 12 weeks, the WNBA begins its second year, with attendance projections beyond last season’s crowd counts, which seemed to startle even the WNBA. The league averaged 9,600 per game, after hoping for 4,000.

In the ABL, this season’s average attendance was 4,333, up 23% from the first season.

Meanwhile, the ABL tips off Game 1 of its best-of-five championship series today at 3:30 before an expected sellout of 4,200 at the Pyramid.

It’s the Long Beach StingRays, 26-18 in the regular season, 4-1 in the playoffs, facing the defending champion Columbus Quest (36-8, 2-0).

Game 2 is Monday night at at the Pyramid. The series moves to Columbus for the rest of the series.

Columbus, 4-0 against Long Beach in the regular season, is a prohibitive favorite. But this is a new season, points out one Long Beach’s Beverly Williams.

“We know we’re 0-4 against them, but we’re in our second season now,” she said.

“This time we’ll have a better show for them. We’re coming at them with all guns shooting. We’ll give them a great series.”

The Quest is a hard team to figure.

A year ago, led by ABL MVP Nikki McCray, the Quest went 31-9. Just before this season began, McCray jumped to the WNBA . . . and Columbus went 36-8.

It’s a veteran team with no center, a team with a passing-game offense that no one has successfully defended yet.

The Quest has won 22 straight at home, 17 of its last 18 overall.

Columbus also gets the ball up court faster than anyone in the women’s game.

“All five of those starters can bring the ball up court--they never have to stop and look for a guard,” Portland Coach Lin Dunn said. “When they get the ball, it’s instant go-go-go.”

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One ABL veteran, San Jose’s Jennifer Azzi, predicts a five-game finals.

“Long Beach is a great team and once they get into the finals, they’ll play Columbus tougher than they did in the regular season,” she said. “I see it as a five-game series. Columbus is very versatile, interchangeable.

“Smith can guard a four [forward] player or a perimeter player. Venus Lacy has a hard time guarding people at the three-point line, so that’s where Columbus will try to taker her.”

STINGRAY STARTERS

Yolanda Griffith--The fastest post player in either league. At 6-foot-4, she’s considered one of the three best all-around women pros, with Natalie Williams of Portland and Lisa Leslie of the WNBA L.A. Sparks.

She’s far quicker than those two, and in fact led the ABL this year in steals by a wide margin.

Venus Lacy--A powerful, intimidating inside post player, the 6-4 Lacy seeks to add an ABL championship to her Olympic gold medal (1996) and NCAA championship (Louisiana Tech, 1988) ring.

She turned her’s and the StingRays’ season around at midseason when she overcame early season injuries and began asserting herself underneath, freeing up Griffith for athletic moves around the basket.

Beverly Williams--The 5-9 Williams has an up-tempo, strong defensive game. She’ll be counted on to hold Columbus’ most gifted offensive player, Katie Smith, to or below her average of 17.4 points per game. Deadly mid-range, baseline jump shot.

Clarissa Davis-Wrightsil--A key Long Beach player in the series. When her jump shot is falling, Long Beach almost always wins. But the 6-1 Davis-Wrightsil has yet to score in double digits against Columbus. If she can do it this week, it’s a huge plus for the StingRays.

Andrea Nagy--She has been called the women’s game’s equivalent of the NBA’s John Stockton. Her game is fundamentally solid and she plays possibly the best defense among ABL point guards. The 5-7 Nagy (pronounced: Nawj) has an ugly, off-the-shoulder shot but she finished fifth in three-point accuracy, 40.7%.

THE BENCH

First off the bench is either 6-4 post Cass Bauer or 5-8 guard Niesa Johnson, acquired from Atlanta in midseason. Trisha Stafford (6-1) has a game similar to Williams’--strong defense and versatile, and she’s a gifted passer. Dana Wilkerson (5-6) is a spectacular athlete--arguably the best in the league--who too often makes turnovers. Jenni Ruff (5-11) played only 117 minutes but may be the team’s best three-point shooter, making three in a row in the third quarter at Seattle last month to secure a victory.

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Columbus vs. StingRays

Best of five

* Today: at Long Beach, 3:30

* Monday: at Long Beach, 7

* Wednesday: at Columbus, 4

* Friday: at Columbus, 4*

* March 15: at Columbus, 4*

*--if necessary

Columbus vs. StingRays

The Quest won all four games against the StingRays this season, by an average of 22.5 points. The results:

* Oct. 28, at Long Beach: Quest 98, StingRays 72.

* Nov. 2, at Columbus: Quest 78, StingRays 61.

* Nov. 30, at Long Beach: Quest 79, StingRays 63.

* Feb. 15, at Columbus: Quest 111, StingRays 80.