After a roller coaster of a Season 21, the Drunken Clams of Anchor Bay are eager to bring home a trophy in Season 22.
Season 21 began ambiguously. And after an early win against D3 demotee, uthinkuknow, followed by a loss to the next best team in the conference, Winter Haven Velvets, the Clams carried a 3rd place ranking in the Great 8. A string of wins against the other Great 8 teams earned them a 1st place ranking which they rode into inter-conference play. But an injury-weakened Clam squad lost two straight just before all-star week, giving up a road loss to Big 8 powerhouse LA Killa Beez and a tough loss at the Clamshell to Ulderico Jazz. The injuries kept coming and the Clams gave up first place to uthinkuknow. On the home stretch, injuries and a red-hot UTK squad spoiled the Clams' only opportunity to reclaim the regular season conference title.
After the loss, controversy swirled around Clams' Center, Valtinho Louzano, as he announced he was taking his talents to a Norwegian D2 team. Official reports cited undisclosed personal reasons as his motivation for leaving. But scuttlebutt was that he had an affair with Boyd Eaton's mother and the two could no longer manage their differences on the court.
Clams fans were resigned to another one-and-done post-season without their starting center. And some even insinuated that the Clams Center position might be cursed after Álvarez and Louzano both left the team in the final weeks before the Season 20 and 21 post-seasons, respectively. But to their surprise and delight, back-up center Manolios Arvaras rose to the occasion. And in the first playoff game he pulled a double-double while leading the team in assists as the Clams trounced Winter Haven 85-101. In the Semis, he led the team in scoring as the hyped-up Clams squad upset uthinkuknow 100-87.
The finals turned out to be a story of two arenas. Despite Eng Hua having his best league game of the season, the Clams were thoroughly embarrassed in the opener at the Staples Center (83-113). But the Clams were out for redemption in game 2 at the Clamshell. Arvaras ripped down an almost inhuman 27 rebounds, and Eaton piled on 9 more while leading the team with 20 pts in the (99-107) victory over the Killa Beez. Finally, the season came down to Game 3. The Clams looked good in the first half and went to the locker room up by 1. But the wheels came off in the second half. And in the end, it was clear that there was no answer for the Beez' dynamic duo of Levin and McBride, who combined for 8 rebounds, 8 assists, and 50 points. When the final buzzer sounded and the confetti fell from the ceiling, the Clams were left to walk silently to the showers and mull over how they missed a trip to D3 by 17 points.
Coach Simon spoke to them as they boarded the bus back to Anchor Bay: "Hold your heads up high. Sure, we didn't take home a gold trophy. But you fine gentlemen have made a team of yourselves. At the beginning of this season you were just a couple of trainees, some left-overs and a dream. Now you are conference champs. You've seen the promised land. You've made the journey once. You've tasted victory, but you have to chew on bitter defeat right now." "I like the taste of victory better, coach," interrupted Smith. "Damned right you do! But you've got to earn your place at that table. So eat up, boys. Choke down this loss. Feed on it, learn from it. And then serve heaping helpings of defeat to all your opponents. Season 22 begins now! Every weight you lift, every ball you shoot, every tape you watch, every drill you run is the championship you are fixing for dinner. So get to it! Cook us up some championship Drunken Clams, boys!"