All season long, the Green Dot Ballers have found themselves playing from behind the rest of the field in the City of Alexandria 2019 Winter League session. An infusion of new competition in the league, by way of the Squad and Alfred Street Church, increased the scarcity of playoff spots in the 12 team league. Perennial GBD rivals Joy Boys, Durangos and Self Check once again featured experienced teams and recent titles (Durangos - Summer 2018, Self-Check - Fall 2018). G-Men upgraded their starting backcourt and the Monstars surprised everyone with their hot start to the season, winning their first four games. All of these factors combined to present the Ballers with their stiffest regular season challenge to date. When the defending champs lost two of their first three games, the risk of missing the playoffs for the first time in franchise history was a clear and present danger. The fact that the one win was only rescued when Mike Reamy nailed a three pointer just before the buzzer in Week 2 had Baller faithful dubious that the chance at another title run was in the mix.
However, the GDB crew has never been one to back down from a challenge. Just last season the Ballers entered the postseason as the #4 seed and turned in a performance for the ages in ousting an undefeated Grant Thornton team and the defending champion Joy Boys by a combined 29 points to claim their second winter league title in three years. The response this season came in the form of a 6-1 dash to the finish line after that slow start
Unfortunately for the Ballers, the depth of competition in the league meant that a one game improvement on their regular season win total over last season would not only put them on the bubble, but likely have that bubble bursting due to poor tiebreaker combinations. Wins by Durangos and G-Men seemingly had the defending champs on the outside looking in for the tournament. The G-Men captured the regular season title with an 8-2 record. That left five teams deadlocked at 7-3 and three of the other four teams in the deadlock were teams that the Ballers had lost to in the early part of the season.
As the minutes ticked by and the playoff schedule release imminent, hope began to dwindle that the Ballers would find their way into the playoff field. Each email that hit the Baller franchise servers presented the chance that the season was over. Then at 1:22pm EST a golden ticket was delivered from the league office. The Green Dot Ballers were indeed getting their chance to defend the title. The number 6 seed had been assigned and the playoff schedule was set. 8pm on Tuesday was designated the time and place to square off with #3 seed Alfred Street Church. Baller co-founder Chris Larson issued a comment to the media "We are grateful to the league for providing us the opportunity to determine things on the court. It is a credit to the league that they recognized the depth this season and allowed the teams to play it out instead of relying on multi-level tiebreakers."
If the Ballers are to defend their title, it will be further proof of their franchise excellence, as it will require 3 wins in three nights, the first two of which are against teams that they lost to in the regular season. We will have more coverage of the matchups in our playoff preview.
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