AUSTIN — After the San Antonio Spurs won their first NBA championship in 1999, a group of men who had been close friends since their glory days as players in the 1970s began calling themselves the “Foul Five.” The guys were Tom Gola, George Gervin, Dave Corzine, DeBusschere and Fat Lever. Together they dominated the NBA in the 1970s, earning three trips to the NBA Finals with the Milwaukee Bucks and two titles with the Spurs in the early 1980s. For many years after they parted ways after the Spurs won the title, those four men remained friends and remained in contact with one another. On Saturday night at halftime of the first game of the 2015 NBA Finals between the Spurs and the Cleveland Cavaliers, the four decided to get together and reminisce about their playing days, their championship run and all the many memories they shared. “We have so many great memories,” Corzine said. “We thought it was important that the four of us get together, because the Spurs had won their first championship and were in the spotlight. So we wanted to be able to tell the story in person. But we didn’t know if we would all get together.” The guys all met up at an airport lounge in San Antonio on Friday, took a private plane to Cleveland and then went to the Q bar, owned by former NBA player Shaquille O’Neal, where the four reunited and, as George Gervin once said, “started that ol’ foul” all over again. There, they sat and talked about what they had all accomplished in basketball. “We were all champions,” DeBusschere said. “We came from a small town, and we never really got the accolades that we should have gotten. The NBA had gotten bigger in the country after what the ABA did, but it still wasn’t as glamorous as it is today. There was no Internet, no television. But all the things they had today were not available then. To make it to the NBA was a big deal, and to make it to the NBA Finals was another level. “The more you talk about it, the better I feel about it. Those times were just like now with the technology with all the devices and everything, the Internet and everything. We’re like the old guys. We’re still trying to find it.” When they started their professional careers, the four of them went to different colleges: Lever attended Arizona, DeBusschere Northwestern, Gervin attended Mississippi State and Corzine went to Ohio University. But before long, all four became successful in the NBA. Lever and Gervin teamed up as players and soon found they were much better as teammates than competitors. The two became the dominant forces of their respective teams, leading them to numerous championships and earning numerous championship rings. “We were playing together for a reason,” Gervin said. “We liked each other and we trusted each other. We knew if we played hard, we were a force, and that’s what happened. We could always trust that when we were getting down, we could turn it around.” Together they helped the Bucks to the 1971 NBA Finals and then again in 1974 when they won the championship, and they won again in 1978 after the 1978 merger with the NBA. In all, Lever played in seven NBA Finals, winning three titles and Gervin played in six Finals, winning five titles. Corzine played in four NBA Finals, winning one title and DeBusschere was also a part of the 1976 championship team. The men met again at the beginning of the 1980s when Gervin was working with Corzine as an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors and Corzine was helping Gervin as an assistant coach with the Spurs. It was from that connection that the Spurs won their first title in 1999. “That (1999) championship was the culmination of a lot of things,” Gervin said. “We had all played for coach (Bob) Lanier (of the Spurs) and it all came together at that time. I was already coaching with Tom with the Warriors, and Tom had gotten us together with (the Spurs). “The Spurs were also one of the best (NBA) organizations. At that time, Coach (Dick) Motta had retired and Jerry (Tarkanian) was the coach, and then at that time they changed, when Lamar (Odom) was there.” DeBusschere has said that he was supposed to be on the floor in 1999 when Gervin hit the last shot in the final seconds to win the game, but he missed the tipoff because he overslept. So instead, he took the microphone and pumped the crowd up in the closing minutes of that final game. “I wasn’t ready,” DeBusschere said. “The game was too fast, and I thought I’d be ready and be part of it. But that game went by so fast, and it was still a great experience, but I didn’t know it was going to be my last chance.” After the 1999 championship, the group of men came together as a championship team once again with the Detroit Pistons. “(The 1999 title) was so nice,” Gervin said. “We had been friends, and a lot of people know who we are, so we wanted to do something nice for our fans and our community. We had been talking about getting together and doing something special for years. It all came together, and that’s when the celebration was held.” While it was a celebratory event for the group of men, they were happy for the city of San Antonio, which was so excited that they actually elected Tequila as mayor during the championship season. “We knew how much it meant to the city of San Antonio, and we were all proud of that,” Lever said. “We were proud of Tequila, and we were very happy to see how proud the people were and all of the young people in the city. When we were gone, they still loved us. They had a parade, the party that went on in the streets, and it was great to see how supportive the people were.” From there, the four men got together a few times over the next several years as the years went on. But it wasn’t until this past June when all four friends reunited in San Antonio that they began planning for the party that was Saturday night. They all said they didn’t know how many people would be able to attend the party, but they were told that about 7,000 attended. “That was just something that was supposed to be for us four, and it took a life of its own,” DeBusschere said. “After the game, the mayor of San Antonio called and said ‘I want to do something, too,’ so the whole city became involved and had a part in this. But we didn’t realize that it was going to have this much of an impact on San Antonio. It’s a small town and everybody knows everybody, and the people are great. “We’ve been to a lot of cities and to a lot of places around the world, and this is a great city, and we’ve been treated so well in this city. It’s really neat. It’s something I’m going to always remember.” The group of friends enjoyed their day in Cleveland and said they had a great time at the party. They plan to enjoy the rest of the 2015 Finals and then perhaps see what’s next for them. “What’s next?” Lever asked. “Who knows? But we’ll have to go up there (to San Antonio) and get another party together. We’ll have to see what comes up, but we had a great time with this one.” After the party, the group all agreed to one thing. This was only the beginning of what they have planned for the future, but for now they’re focused on one more opportunity to enjoy each other’s company. “Just a great week, that’s all it was,” Gervin said. “It was one of the most wonderful experiences I’ve had in my life, and hopefully a lot more are going to come.”