Most people would argue that SuperCoach requires a touch of divine intervention.
David van der Giessen's inspiration came from heaven in another form.
A Brisbane father became the inaugural SuperCoach NBL champion when his DoIt4Jack team – named after his late son – finished 177 points clear of second place at the end of the NBL24 regular season.
“You play SuperCoach and you never think you're going to be someone who's going to win one day,” Van der Giessen said.
“To see Jack’s name lit up there, and his name being SuperCoach Champion, I have absolutely no doubt (that he was involved).
“There was something about this season… There were things that happened in this SuperCoach season that can only happen when someone looks down on you and is proud of what you do.”
Jack was diagnosed with anencephaly – a neural tube defect that results in a baby being born without parts of his brain and skull – while David's wife Lil was pregnant.
He survived for just 13 hours after being born two minutes after his twin brother, Oliver.
“Basically, everything looked completely normal – the hands, the feet, the heart – but unfortunately, the skull above the brain does not form during pregnancy,” Van der Giessen said.
“This condition means that babies with this condition will usually only last from a few hours to a week or so once they are born.
“It was a very difficult time for my wife who had to carry twins throughout the pregnancy knowing we would lose one.”
Jack died on Good Friday in 2019 and is survived by five siblings – Sophie (nine), Annabelle (six), Oliver (four), Charlotte (two) and six-week-old Elijah.
David and Lil stayed at Hummingbird House, Queensland's only children's home, during Jack's short life.
The 40-year-old channeled his grief into helping other bereaved parents and raised millions by advocating for the service that helped his family in their time of need.
“Oliver was born at 12.58am and Jack was born at 1am. Jack died at around 2pm on Good Friday and we moved into Hummingbird House on Easter Sunday.
“It's one of those things, and obviously it makes Easter a very difficult period for us now. It's always been somewhat synonymous with it. It's one of those really difficult things as well because Oliver's birthday is the same day his twin brother died.”
“It's just one of those things when you go on this journey that we've been on, you have to find a new base. It's a tough balance.”
David has represented Hummingbird House in several SuperCoach charity competitions using the team name DoIt4Jack.
“It's not easy but I also feel like because I'm doing something in Jack's memory and helping people along the way, it helps with healing in so many ways,” he said.
“All of these things, as difficult as the journey with Jack has been, we've also been through a bunch of things…and they're all positives that have somehow come out of something so tragic.”
Four of Jack's five siblings are aware of the brother they have known only briefly.
Elijah will come to learn about Jack's legacy as he grows older.
“(Twin brother Oliver) is doing well with everything,” David said.
“I really love that you hear him talk about Jack too. We've made sure he knows who he is and that's great. He can explain it to his lovely teachers and all that kind of stuff in little presentations, who Jack is.”
David somehow found time to juggle his SuperCoach commitments with raising five children, including a newborn who arrived just as he entered the competition for the overall prize – a Mitsubishi ASX valued at more than $29,000.
“When I became a father and husband, I obviously had a lot of things I loved to do,” he said.
“Then your priorities change and it becomes about your family. I've found a little outlet when it comes to SuperCoach.
“I found that it was something I was able to do, you could do the research when the kids went to bed at night.
“Over the years when I started running all the office SuperCoach competitions, it was something I was able to find that joy in.
“Once the house is all clean and the kids are asleep and you're in bed at night, you can check out all the relevant podcasts… and invest your time that way.”
The arrival of Elijah meant Van der Giessen had to juggle life with a newborn with his weekly SuperCoach ritual – where he monitors every press conference for nuggets of information that would give his team an advantage.
In the end, all David needed was some guidance from above.
As the name of his team suggests, he did it for Jack.
“I'm so happy that his name is synonymous with something I've achieved and I'm really proud of – to be crowned SuperCoach champion,” David said.
“Just one of those things you never think you'll achieve.”
