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Three-peat in the work for 43rd LRS?

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Chris Hoyler
  • 43rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs
POPE AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. --  Expectations are tough to live up to as a champion.

Win a title, and automatically you become the one everyone is gunning for.

It's a truism in all walks of life, but especially in team sports, where the repeat champion is as rare a feat as any athletic accomplishment.

So to appreciate with the 43rd Logistics Readiness Squadron did March 3 when they won their second Pope Intramural Basketball Championship in as many years, take a look at how many teams have done so in the last 30 years in North America's four major sports.

Between the NFL, NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball, there have been just 18 repeat champions in the combined 119 seasons played since 1978. That's less than one for every six seasons.

But LRS was able to accomplish the task with relative ease, winning all eight regular season games en route to a 4-1 playoff run, capped by their 55-43 win in the championship game against 43rd Mission Support Squadron.

"It feels great (to win back-to-back titles)," LRS guard and head coach Jason Abney said. "Our team played hard every game this season."

While their effort was evident each time they took the court, there were some nights the game probably could have been called off in the first half to spare the opponent's pride.

Take the Jan. 10 win over 3rd Aerial Port Squadron (1) and the Jan. 18 win over 3rd APS (2) as examples. The 65-17 score in the Jan. 10 game and the 70-31 score in the Jan. 18 represented two of the highest scoring outputs for any team in the entire league this season, but it was more indicative of what LRS was built on this year: defense.

"I was part of last year's team, we put up a lot of big numbers last year," Abney said. "This year our defense is what helped us win."

Defense was especially important in the playoffs, when the competition was tougher and LRS had to face two of the better teams in the league four times in a span of six days.

Their National League rivalry with the 43rd Civil Engineer Squadron reached its apex Feb. 26, when the team's met for the first of three playoff meetings. Despite allowing a season-high 50 points, LRS was able to get the defensive stops they needed late and came away with a three-point victory.

Two nights later, with the National League Championship and their season on the line, they eliminated CES by holding them to 39 points in securing a chance to defend their title against MSS.

"We never doubted ourselves in any game," Robert Naylor said. "During the playoffs, we didn't actually look as far as the championship game because it's impossible to look past a great team like CE. Once they beat us in that first game, we knew we had to step it up and leave it all on the floor in the second one.

"After we won that second game, we were happy to be competing for the championship and we were confident that we could win it."

Winning the championship game would have been impossible without Naylor, who poured in a game-high 19 points, including several clutch 3-pointers, to hold off a stingy MSS squad.

"Just like the regular season I never really focused on how many points I scored because my main objective was to win the game," Naylor said. "I just play as hard as I can and try to contribute to my team the best I can. I'm just elated we won and even happier that we could repeat as base champions."

Having talented scorers like Naylor and Kenneth Carter, talented guards like Abney and talented low-post players like Dobie Strong certainly make winning consecutive championships easier, but every team needs a little bit of luck during the season and the willingness to work hard before the season to capture that winning magic.

LRS had both of those. According to Naylor, they stayed relatively injury free during the season, dealing only with the minor injuries every team has when playing several games a week. They also played pickup games with each other prior to the season's first game, ensuring the chemistry from last year's team would carry over.

"We just play well together," Naylor said.

So the next goal is obviously a third straight title, something so rare that the phrase "Three-peat" was trademarked by former Los Angeles Lakers coach Pat Riley when, in 1989, his team set out to be the first NBA franchise to accomplished the feat in two decades.

They ultimately failed, losing the 1989 championship to Detroit in a four-game sweep. But this LRS team, according to Naylor, took the season one game at a time this year, so expecting a different outlook next year is foolish.

"It's hard enough to win one championship so to win two is surreal," Naylor said. "I enjoyed playing with a group of guys who never saw losing as an option and played hard each and every time we stepped foot on the floor."