A year ago, Bangor Christian boys basketball player David Chrisos watched from a hospital bed and his home as his teammates and good friends won the Eastern Maine Class D title.

A starting guard for the Patriots, Chrisos was severely injured in a car crash and was in a coma before recovering enough to be released and go home.

“I didn’t even know if I was going to play this year,” Chrisos said. “After my accident, the doctors didn’t know if I could play or not.”

He not only played; he returned to the team this season and resumed his role as captain and starting guard. He helped the Patriots defend their title by scoring 10 points in a 61-49 victory over East Grand of Danforth in the final Saturday.

“That’s unbelievable. David’s my best friend,” said senior forward Greg Patterson. “When he was in the accident last year, there was a lot of stuff going around and a lot of emotion. This year it was great to play with him again.

“Probably the biggest thing is, we had Dave back, as far as getting back here.”

Despite the graduation or loss of three tournament starters, the Patriots returned to the tourney, this time as a No. 7 seed after being No. 2 last year, and won it again.

“A lot of people didn’t think we’d make it this far,” Patterson said. “A lot of our fans didn’t think we’d make it this far, but the team and the coaches had faith in ourselves and we knew what we needed to do.”

What the victory meant to Chrisos was evident from the wide smile on his face and the sparkle in his eyes after the game as he celebrated the victory with his teammates and his father, Don Chrisos, an assistant coach for BC.

“The Lord brought me that far last year and he’s brought me this far this year,” said Chrisos. “I guess it shows if you just play hard, and you wait and you’re patient, I think good things will come to you.”

Chrisos wasn’t the only one smiling. His teammates and coaches were glad to share in the feeling of the moment.

“It’s real nice to watch him go and pick up his award,” said senior center Ben Sobey. “It’s something he couldn’t do last year even though he earned it.”