In their 50th season, the Bananahorns are finally USA Tournament champions. For a franchise with two NBBA championships but four unsuccessful trips to the tournament finals, there had been a notable void in the team trophy room. And they were committed to seeing that end.
“We learned some tough lessons last year that helped us re-focus and shift our priorities,” Coach Shnuffy opined. By most standards, season 60 had been wildly successful. The team tied for the league’s best record (18-4) and finished with two silver trophies by making both the league and tournament finals. But the team ran out of gas, faced a string of injuries, and made two pricey acquisitions too late to have an impact. “I don’t like to sit players, and my players don’t like to sit. But this year we were committed to stop chasing extra regular season wins at the expense of game shape and health.”
With an eye on Cup success, the ‘Horns sputtered through an uninspiring regular season, holding a losing record for much of the year and barely squeaking into the playoffs. Still, the team found themselves as underdogs in the tournament finals versus a surging Sofuegg squad. But they saved their best for last.
Coach Shnuffy rolled the dice and developed a defensive gameplan that went all-in on stuffing the Sofuegg’s interior game, a key factor in the Bananahorns’ 115-95 victory. “Telling my best perimeter defender that he would be guarding the paint the entire game might have sounded crazy, but Curt [Moeller] is always up for a challenge,” Shnuffy gushed. “And he hit a few big shots too,” he added with a wink.
Moeller only had 11 points on 3-14 shooting early in the 4th quarter, but exploded for 16 points over the final 9 minutes to break open a close game and secure the victory. Moeller led all players in scoring, but it was the team’s two longest tenured players who stole the spotlight.
“I can’t express how happy I am for Shawn [Miles] and Avarell [Lively],” their coach said with a tear in his eye. “They’ve been the heart and soul of this team for 16 years. They’re both former MVPs and scoring champs who accept any role I ask of them now and do whatever it takes to win. And they had absolute monster games tonight.” The pair of 33-year-olds combined for 44 points on 16-25 shooting.
“I told them, just like I’m telling all our fans. We’re not done yet! I’ll be celebrating with a bottle of bourbon tonight, but tomorrow we get back to work on achieving our ultimate goal. An NBBA championship!”
At press time, the team had listed nearly $400k worth of players on waivers for a dollar, indicating the team would, in fact, not be competing for an NBBA championship.
Last edited by Coach Shnuffy at 8/4/2023 1:42:25 PM
Last edited by Coach Shnuffy at 8/4/2023 1:42:48 PM