After a 46-year wait, Leicester Riders fans were celebrating this weekend when their team secured the British Basketball League title.
The players' 93-70 victory at home over Durham Wildcats saw them win the league for the first time in the club's history.
While the team still have three games to play this season, the win ensured they cannot be toppled from top spot, with nearest challengers Newcastle Eagles eight points behind.
Fan Alan Johnson, 65, from Narborough, who has followed the team for almost 30 years, watched the Riders clinch the title on Saturday at De Montfort University's John Sandford sport centre.
"It was well worth the wait," he said.
"We expected to win last night to be honest, but you just never know.
"The atmosphere was absolutely brilliant.
"Everyone was very, very happy and stopped and waited for the trophy presentation.
"Fantastic.
"It was definitely the highlight of the season."
The team, led by coach Rob Paternostro, ended a 12-year wait for silverware in January when they won the British Basketball League Cup Final by beating Newcastle Eagles.
But they had never won the league title – until Saturday.
Fan of more than three decades Chris Stone, 52, of Stoneygate, Leicester, paid tribute to the team spirit of the Riders.
"They are a team who have played team basketball and we've got no selfish players that just want to do it for themselves," he said.
"The points are shared around and this success is really a team effort."
He said fans never thought they would win the league – but are now looking forward to the next success. "What a great achievement this is and after all this time I don't think many of us thought we would win the league," he said.
"Bring on the play-offs."
Club chairman Mark Ellis, a supporter since 1991, said: "This has been 46 years in the making, and those few minutes from the end of the game to the start of the trophy presentations said all you need to know about this club – there were families hugging each other and their neighbours. A long wait was over and our time had come. It felt very good.
"This club is much more than just the team; it is about families and it is about the community."
The club has had a turbulent past.
Founded in 1967 as the Loughborough All Stars, the Riders moved to Leicester in 1981, but had to leave the city for Loughborough with the closure of Granby Halls in 2000.
In 2004, they returned to the city thanks to a sponsorship deal with De Montfort University and they now play at the university's John Sandford Sports Centre.
Fans helped stave off liquidation in 2007 by forming a consortium to raise funds and, when financial crisis loomed again the following year, county builder Jelson Homes stepped in to save the club.
For the match report see P43.
