3-peat Now History

Well...God bless 'em...the Kings did it...and in style! First ever NBL 3-peat (three national championships in as many years) and by winning the first two games of the best two out of three against Brisbane in semi-finals...and the first three games in the best three out of five game series in the Grand Final...frst game won by 23 points...second game (in Wollongong) by 25 points...third (and final game) by 27 points.

So proud of these young men. It wasn't as easy as it might sound. The team did not have the same star players that they won the second championship with last year. There were several major injuries during the season and the team didn't really gel as a force until the semi-final round. They lost the penulitmate game of the regular season to Wollonong by over 20 points.
(21 February posting).

In all of the excitement I am probably more thankful however for the opportunity the win will bring for others to hear about the abundant and positive life that Jesus offers the world--even professional basketball players!

For several months now Jason and I have been praying about media opportunities where he could "share his faith" in Christ with others without seeming to be opportunistic or pushy. We had some preliminary discussions on how to answer media questions then prayed for reporteres to ask some appropriate questions. Little did we realize the chance would come one day before the Grand Final when Jason was interviewed by the Sydney Morning Herald. The entire story was "reprinted" on the Sydney Kings website at www.sydneykings.com.au (Title: "Spiritual Leader Led by King of Kings")

Standing on the court in the midst of celebrations after the winning game (and we had to shout in each other's ears to hear) we both agreed that Jason's "supernatural" game of 38 points and 12 rebounds was a matter of God's honouring his earlier public testimony of faith. So proud of him.

Preparing for Game Three

I've been to the Kings training sessions twice this week and I can assure you that they have not let up in the least. In fact, I can't remember being to sessions before that have had such sustained intensity. Things are looking good right now with a recovery day today (Thursday) and (possibly) the final training of the year on Friday AM...with the game on Saturday--looks to be a sell-out (first one of the year).

I had a short talk with Jason yesterday about his uni classes...and prayed with one of the guys (at the side of the court) regarding his injury. We're simply asking that the Lord will give him what it takes to get through the championships so he can recover in off season. Also talked with Wheels about what the Lord was saying to me in regard to my ministry role (he brought it up!). I had a great time over lunch with one of the other players talking about how he could know God personally. It was a very relaxed question and answer time while sharing stories from our lives with each other. He said he was beginning to understand a lot better how Christianity was more about a personal relationship with God than it was a commitment to doing things like reading the Bible and going to church.

What a privilege for me to have this time to input with these young men.

Go the Kings!

Grand Final--Second Win to Kings

Well, only one to go!

The Kings ventured boldly into the heart of the Hawks territory--at the SandPit--Sunday avo.

Despite the overwhelming crowd support for the hometown team, the Kings just seemed to pick up where they left off last Friday. After taking their initial jump into the lead they were able to maintain momentum by the final buzzer to win by 25 points.

Hard to single out individual effort, as each one (including the bench) made a significant contribution...and the entire bench played some minutes.

Behind the scenes, Jason did some more good work on recurring development project. CJ did well inspite of his injury (evidently Goorj told him he was going to have to play through the pain until this was over). Had a photographer from World Wide Challenge (US-based Christian publication) who arranged a press pass and came in after the game to get some shots of the team. He is working on a story about how Jesus changes lives.

Due to my ill-timed travel arrangements, I arrived late to the pre-game coaches talk and our usual time for prayer with those who want to pray. Jason grabbed one of the guys before the pep talk and they had a short prayer together. Encouraging for me to see this taking place even when I'm not there!

The "boys" were on a high as the left the Sand Pit (and rightly so!). It will take a huge effort for Wollongong to win all three of the next three games (two of them in Sydney)...and the Kings would prefer to win the final game at home (for the celebration of course)...so the season could wind up by Saturday night at the Entertainment Centre.

Grand Finals--First Win to Kings

What a huge game!

After losing two of our three encounters with the Hawks in regular season...and the most recent one was a substantial loss...it was really important for the Kings to win the first game of the Grand Final Series last night. It would help even more if they could win big time...

...and they did!

Following Jason's "sterling leadership" (quoting one of the King's support staff) the Kings showed a team to the Hawks that was up a gear (or two) from the last game. We have peaked at the perfect time with a 23 point win in the first game.

More importantly to me is the personal growth and development of the players as men...

...For the three players and two support staff that join in our pre-game prayer it is encouraging to hear them petition the Lord for His helping them to do their best.

...For the guys on the team that are still involved in a "pre-Jesus" aspect of their spiritual journey, it is encouraging to see them showing more and more interest (some even reading Bibles), and expressing appreciation for intercessory prayer in regard to their injuries.

...For Jason in particular (who has expressed his willingness for me to use his name "publically") I have been truly blessed to see God working a deep work in his life in regard to practical outworkings of his faith on court. He is having significant victory in regard to issues that frequently sideline Christian competitors. On the way home last night, he shared three specific instances in the game where he intentionally turned his thoughts (and intended actions) over the Lord and chose to approach the problem differently. Lest this be perceived by some as stiffling his game...he scored twice as many points as any of the Hawks players.

In my opinion, even if they would have lost the game these guys are winners...big time champions!

So on to the Second Game in Wollongong on Sunday avo. It will be tough there!

I'm praying for CJ Bruton (especially) as he is dealing with ongoing injury that could influence his game.

Reminders from a great coach

I recently ran acoss this quote from one of the greatest basketball coaches of all time. Thinking about sharing it with those players who come along to our pre-game prayer meeting before the first game of the Grand Final Series against Wollongong on Friday night.

One of the building blocks in Coach John Wooden's pyramid of success is competitive greatness. Coach Wooden states, "We don't have to be superstars or win championships to reach competitive greatness. All we have to do is learn to rise to every occasion, give our best effort and make those around us better as we do it. It's not about winning. It's about learning to give all we have to give."

Go the Kings!!!

Down to Kings and Hawks

Well, it's "moneytime" in the NBL.

Down to the Kings vs the Hawks for the best three of five in the 2005 Grand Final Series.

With family commitments I didn't see the Kings/Brisbane Game 2. I was concerned that some of the Bullets might see themselves as self-appointed spoilers of the Kings success by laying on the odd intentional career-ending cheap shot. (What a cynic I am becoming?)

Although CJ evidently had a tough night physically, Jason assures me that it was nothing really unusual in the injury and he will be playing in the finals starting on Friday.

Hope to get down to see the boys tomorrow at training but also need to do some development with the ARU in North Sydney so might find it kinda hurried. One of the Kings is showing increased interest in the Bible now that he has started to read a modern translation. Hoping we have some time to chat before it's "all over" (for this year at least...on or before 23rd March).

Kings into Grand Final

For the third time in as many years the Sydney Kings are into the Grand Final NBL Championship. A "3-peat" would make basketball history in Australia.

I haven't talked to any of the players yet but couldn't go to bed last night until I checked the internet for the results of the second game against Brisbane in the playoffs...after finding that they had won (in spite of Brisbane's home court advantage) I couldn't go to sleep!

The news report said several referee calls were questioned by the home crowd but it was still a Kings "W" and now we just have to wait to see if we play Townville or Wollongong in the Grand Final (I would tip Wollongong).

Back to Basketball

I recently suffered through a 10 day withdrawal (from "hoops rush").

Since the Kings won their third minor premiership in a row, they didn't have to compete in the first round of sudden death playoffs in the NBL. The thinking in the dressing room was that the rest could be both positive and negative. Rest can help you prepare physically for a game, but the "do or die" playoff games can hone a hungry team and help them gain momentum.

So the game plan in the first of our possible three games against Brisbane was to get ahead and hang on...slowing momentum by good defense. Which is essentially what happened last Tuesday night. The boys came out firing and got the first points on the board and never looked back. At one point it looked like we could possibly win by 40 points. As it turned out, it was only 34.

Now the concern is that Brisbane, playing tonight to keep their chances alive for at least one more game in the season (and to gain back a little "pride") will be hard to beat on their home court. Should be a good one!

As always, I'm praying that every player will play his best, be protected from injury, and will (regardless of the outcome) find the experience of the game bringing him closer and closer to the Lord.