Prior to the WDG, the Statesmen lost every championship match at the National Dwarf Games to the Towers for three straight years.

“I’m excited we beat New York,” Zach Roloff, co-captain of the Statesmen, said. “That win was long past due.”

Players and coaches from both sides stressed the importance of this game and the tough road that led to it.

“We’re three-year-straight national champions, but you got to play every game to win a game,” New York Towers coach Clinton Brown said before the match. “We take this very serious. We didn’t come here for silver.”

Brown watched over his players warming up and told of their dedication.

“It’s taken a lot of hard work,” he said. “They believe in the program. They believe in the team. We’re trying to build men, not just basketball players. This is what we’ve been working for for the past four years. It means everything.”

Eddie Piedra, co-captain of the Statesmen, spoke highly of his opponents and said the match meant more than a rivalry.

“This game means a lot,” Piedra said. “Right now we’re battling to see who represents the best dwarf basketball team in the world.”

Saturday meant also the last chance to say goodbye.

“It’s hard going back into real life,” Roloff said. “Not only is it vacation, it’s a special vacation. The first few days back are shell shocking, but you get used to it again.”

He added that the games provide an opportunity to introduce young dwarfs to a positive and supportive community.

“It’s great having another year of the dwarf games behind me,” Roloff said. “It’s like every year I feel like I’m getting a little older, but at the same time it’s fun watching, like right now we’re watching the juniors play. It’s fun watching new kids come up through the DAAA and feel that specialness that DAAA brings.”

MSU grad student and USA competitor Jeffrey Astrein participated in and completed his first World Dwarf Games.

“This is the first opportunity I’ve ever had to compete with people my height,” he said. “I’m half relieved it’s over. It will be a memory that will stay with me forever.”

Astrein said that a post-dwarf games MSU will not be a thing of sorrow.

“Going back, it’ll just be my everyday living again,” he said. “The thing I’ll miss is the people I bonded close with. They come from all over the world. Now they’re going home.”

“It’s a memory that won’t disappear.”