Once a dominant force in the late 80's and early 90s, Canterbury Rams have finally ended a 31-year NBL drought with a 93-82 upset of Auckland Tuatara.
On Monday, they arrived home after a big night out.
Big celebrations were in order, because the trophy hasn't been back in Christchurch since 1992.
"To come home, bring the trophy back to Canterbury... it's pretty crazy," said point guard Taylor Britt. "I don't know that it's fully sunk in yet."
Said forward Max Darling: "This is really big for them and I hope they're proud of us, because we did it for them."
Trailing the Tuatara by two early in the fourth quarter, the Rams went on a charge, with five three-pointers in just over three minutes helping them fleece their rivals to end three decades of pain.
"We kept talking about that team 31 years ago and just, when you win and you win a championship, you do stay in the record books," said coach Judd Flavell.
A key member of that last championship in 1992 was former Tall Black Gilbert Gordon, who travelled north to witness the end of the drought.
"You know, none of them were born, when we won the last championship," he reflected.
This new generation of champions aren't done celebrating yet.
"I'm celebrating for a long time," said American Troy Baxter Jr. "I guess the people of Christchurch, they're going to celebrate for years and years, until somebody else wins."
They'll hope the wait for the next championship won't be so long.
