Brendan Joyce believes the 'basketball gods' helped get his team past the Wollongong Hawks on Friday night.
Clinging to a frail 1-12 record and on the road against a club and community saturated in dissonance towards Brendan and son Daniel, the basketball gods decided enough was enough and it was time to give the Joyce's a break.
Even corny b-grade movies wouldn't have had Dan Joyce's character stroking a deep trey from the wing to steal a thrilling victory in such a tense atmosphere.
But facing a hostile crowd and an unlikely scenario, Daniel Joyce hit the biggest shot of his career to stun his biggest doubters.
The basketball gods, the same gods that had cursed Gold Coast with a horror start to the season, saw the perfect opportunity to end the Joyce's torment or at the very least temporarily suspend their pain.
It was more than just a basketball game for the team Joyce, for them this was their chance to silence the haters, to vindicate Daniel's fast-tracked career and Brendan's dismissal from Wollongong.
But for everyone else, this was just a basketball game.
Joyce and Joyce Junior couldn't have celebrated much harder, Dan screamed and gestured towards heckling fans and father viciously barked at anyone and everyone in his path, including former assistant Eric Cooks and his premiership winning MVP Glen Saville.
For a coach and player that just registered their second win, this was the pinnacle of their season.
If the Blaze were to miraculously make the playoffs, and by some fluke claim the championship, the feeling for Brendan and Daniel would be nowhere as sweet as escaping Wollongong with an amazing game winner and opportunity to vent.
A few weeks before Brendan was exiled from the Hawks in 2006 and directly after he was given a warning for his court conduct he began wearing a suit and tie to games.
Since then, Brendan has continued to be the only NBL coach to consistently don professional garb, perhaps to signify a professional and polished approached to his trade.
However, on Friday his post-game behaviour clearly lacked professionalism and sportsmanship.
As for Daniel, he appears to carry a colossal amount of emotional cargo whenever he sets foot in the Wollongong Entertainment Centre.
On this occasion his fist pumps and solo conversation psyche-ups exorcised his basketball demons, if only he used this manufactured intensity in every game and at every stadium he played.
In the midst of the Grand Final hangover, Daniel failed hit a shot or record a point in 26 minutes against an Adelaide side fielding one import.
The Blaze fell to 2-13, another loss to keep them firmly pasted to floor of the competition, but what do Brendan and Dan care?
They've already had their Grand Final.
The photos only show the very end of the exchange - after the encounter with Sav moments earlier.
Hopefully both the Joyces will get hold of it, and realise it WAS only a basketball game, and yes, they're still sitting bottom of the table after yet another loss against Adelaide.