Only once before had a division II team won the battlers tournament. The Drunken Masters victory in season 7
(10334474) had been largely forgotten, or otherwise regarded as a relic of a past era that would never happen again. To even make the final as a second tier team was seen as a great achievement only managed by j-jacks in recent times, and so whatever happened in the season 61 final, Bonkers Ballers could walk away happy.
But unlike j-jacks before them, Bonkers did not settle for the finals. An aggressive defensive call against Sharpshooters53 paid instant dividends as they took a Q1 and HT lead in the battlers tournament final. People began to believe that the white whale of BB basketball could happen again. But no ABBL team goes down that easily, and Sharpshooters53 would force overtime, with
Chen Xianxin first scoring a 3, then defending the game winner from Dominick Dries. Still, the ABBL giant was hobbled under controversial circumstances; two of their starters, Chu Chuan and Pielak, had been ejected on fouls when neither had fouled out all season to that point.
Overtime, like regulation, was back and forth, but Bonkers Ballers had the advantage in the final minute, and were up by 3 after Jean Lorent held his nerve at the line. Xianxin took position in the corner and was ready to try and send the game to double overtime... but as he received the ball, Dries wrapped him up and gave him only 2 free throws with no time on the clock. This only added further controversy to the way the referee had called the game, as some said this should have either been a flagrant, or called a shooting foul for 3 FT's. Xianxin couldn't even miss on purpose because there wasn't time for a tip in, and so Sharpshooters53 fell to the underdogs by 1;
(125832055)The FT count and foul outs should not take anything away from Bonkers Ballers accomplishing the rarest of wins in this game. Even if the referee was Deaf Blinders, that wasn't something they could control and in any case, they played the game of their lives to even be in position to win off it. The team sadly could not stay intact; Bonkers focusing on the cup meant they didn't have HCA for the division II playoffs and ultimately they would fall in the semi-final to Adelaide Ducks. Of their starting 5 for that cup final, only Dominick Dries remains on the team.
Sharpshooters53 meanwhile made the ABBL playoffs but were never a serious contender, losing to peaceNroll in the first round. The result had to sting for JT1953, as you don't get a chance to win a national championship often in this game unless you're bryce_gibbs, and this one slipped away in agonizing fashion.
Last edited by Jay (OTT) at 09/05/2023 01:29:21