In clinching a maiden Premier Division championship on Sunday, Devonshire Cougars proved that life goes on without such key players as Raymond Beach, Heys Wolfe and Omar Butterfield.

When the trio were banned in January for refusing to take a third mandatory drugs test ? a requirement at the national level ? many had predicted Cougars would fall like the proverbial deck of cards.

But as the late US rapper Notorious Big once sang: ?They were dead wrong!?

Adopting a disciplinary stance, publicly blasting his players and placing emphasis on team effort rather than individualism, paid huge dividends for coach Andrew Bascome and a team loaded with raw talent but still a little rusty around the edges.

While stalwart Shawn Smith will go down in the history books as scoring the goal that earned Cougars a first league championship, it was the veteran?s two converted penalties along with skipper Kwame Steede?s last-minute header against Southampton Rangers in February which went a long way towards the club?s season-ending success.

Then there was diminutive defender Jeremy DeShield?s 88th-minute equaliser at the Den against Dandy Town earlier this month which really started the championship ball rolling ? and, according to the coach, even clinched the coveted title for the Big Cats.

?I think Jeremy?s goal against Town actually won the league for us,? said Bascome.

?No three players are a team and from my experiences coaching down at St.David?s with no quality players, I have learned how to work with the tools you have at your disposal.

?At Cougars we were able to come up with players capable of doing the job.?

One such player was towering striker Mark Steede ? brother of skipper Kwame ? who came out from under the shadow of his sibling late in the season, while youngsters Chris Caisey jr and Reginald Baker, along with Aljame Zuill, Domico Coddington and Kori Goddard each held their end of the bargain

Skipper Steede also elevated his game to another level this season, wearing the captain?s armband while stalwarts Smith and Ryan Swan weighed in by providing a young nucleus with valuable experience.

In short, Cougars? success story can be attributed to a total team effort from one end of the pitch to the other.

But winning the league could prove to be only the beginning of even better things to come as the Big Cats now gun for a second major cup title in as many weeks when they take on PHC Zebras in this Sunday?s Friendship Trophy final at the National Sports Centre.

Cougars and Zebras last met each other in the Friendship final in 1972-73, PHC running out comfortable 3-0 winners at the former National Stadium.

But Bascome is confident the result will favour his team this time around when the two old rivals meet on the ?carpet?.

?PHC are going to be a tough order as they haven?t won anything yet,? he warned. ?In the games we have played against them so far we have been able to get away. But we know they are coming out to play on Sunday and we will have to match them in order to come away with the desired result.?

Sunday will be Cougars? third and Zebras? tenth overall appearance in the Friendship Trophy final.

Recalling Sunday?s narrow title-clinching 3-2 win over Somerset Eagles ? courtesy of an injury-time penalty ? Bascome took delight in having the football Gods smile on his side for a change.

Cougars were defeated by Town in the inaugural Champions Cup final at White Hill Field earlier this year.

?I guess you can say fate was finally on our side,? he said, with the true look of a champion on his bearded face. ?If you remember Carlos (Town striker Carlos Smith) scored late penalties (two) against us. So I?m happy for the team and it was really a big stress reliever. The last week has been very nerve-racking but now we still have to remain focused and set our sights on another cup title.?