After narrowly winning each of the first three quarters to take a seven point lead, the Browncoats were overwhelmed down the stretch by the white –red knights and bounced from the playoffs Tuesday night. Down 99-98 with 2:42 remaining, Serenity Valley could only muster one three pointer through the end of the game whiles the knights started to pull away. Forced to foul, the Browncoats watched the knights seal up the win with solid rebounding and mediocre free throw shooting.
“We had a good year. It may not have finished exactly as we all would have liked, but let’s recognize what we accomplished this season,” said Coach Russell. “We went further in the National Cup than we ever had before, and certainly deeper than anyone expect us to. We finished 16-6 in a fairly strong conference and were competitive throughout the season. There’s a strong group of young guys here, who will be back next year a little bit hungrier and a little bit wiser.”
Not all SVB fans seemed to be in agreement with Coach J.J., as many seemed pretty disgruntled following the loss.
“It didn’t seem as if they cared enough,” said one young fan, nearly in tears.
“Choke-artists is what they are!” exclaimed another. “No damn heart and just a bunch of quitters!”
Still others expressed concern that management had actually let the team down by transferring away starting SG Greg Cameron and long-time contributor Hud Godfrey right at the deadline in a money grabbing move. Especially since no one was brought in to help strengthen the roster for what was going to be a very tough post-season. These actions may also have affected the team’s morale going into the game.
GM Alec Burke understands the fans’ frustrations, but defended the team’s recent transactions. “We knew that we weren’t going to be able to keep the exact same roster heading into next season, and it made sense not only for the team but also for both Greg and Hud to do those transfers now. We did look to bring in another player, but were unsuccessful. Not that we are disappointed with the players we currently have. A big reason for letting Greg and Hud go is that there just wasn’t going to be enough playing time to go around given the development of the younger players. I feel very confident about this group of guys. We’ll look to add a draft pick or two, but otherwise, I think this is our team for Season 18.”