The divine (actually!) force behind Wemby and the ...

playThe Spurs nuns have got some game!! (0:16) AT 6 P.M. THEY gathered inside an elementary school gymnasium, located on San Antonio's westside, to watch Game 7 of the Western Conference finals. Kahlig Auto Group, a local car dealer, had sponsored the watch party with a meal from a local taqueria to feed the nearly 200 attendees, who feasted on enchiladas, rice and beans, chips, guacamole, salsa and four colorful jugs of aguas frescas. Rows of folding chairs faced a projector screen set up on a stage that was lined with black and silver balloons. Some kids made signs -- MAKE SOME NOISE, GO SPURS GO, DE-FENSE -- and ran across the room with them in glee. GO, SPURS, GO chants echoed off the gymnasium walls. Whenever the Thunder controlled the possession, DE-FENSE ... DE-FENSE did too. All the while, some other attendees chanted something else entirely, over and over: Those were the prayers from members of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, a worldwide congregation of more than 10,000 that was founded in Italy in the late 1800s. In San Antonio, they're known by their less formal name: the Salesian Sisters of St. John Bosco, West Province. They're also known as perhaps the biggest and holiest Spurs fans on the planet, with ties to the team dating back nearly 40 years. They were working with kids who loved the Spurs, and the sisters learned to do the same. And they've gained newfound fame as viral sensations amid the team's run to the NBA Finals against the New York Knicks, which continue with Game 3 (8:30 p.m. ET on ABC) on Monday. They've attended Spurs playoff home games, greeted and prayed with Spurs players, and served as symbols either of good luck or, perhaps, even divine intervention -- or somewhere in between -- during the Spurs' late postseason push. To the sisters, who are involved in a range of charitable efforts, including work with disadvantaged kids across the city, all the attention -- the requests for photos, autographs and prayers for their beloved Spurs -- has been a bit overwhelming. "We don't want to be an advertising gimmick or anything like that," says Sister Bernadette Mota. "Our life is dedicated to God. "We're in a very poor and impoverished area. We have a school that's hanging on by an edge right now, so the amount of support that has come through is a real blessing because otherwise we wouldn't be making it. "This really is a godsend for us at this moment." If the prayers of San Antonio's Salesian Sisters are answered, the Wemby Era will begin with their Spurs as champions. Salesian Sisters of St. John BoscoWHEN SISTER SYDNEY MOSS arrived in San Antonio in 2013, she was indoctrinated almost immediately. At the Provincial House, where 36 sisters live, including 20 who are retired, die-hards would bristle if anyone wants to turn off the television at bedtime and the Spurs are still playing. "No," they say, "we're watching the game." Sister Moss would sit next to Sister Angelita Guzman, a longtime Spurs fan who quietly prayed during games. St. John Bosco, sit on the basket so the other team won't make a shot, she'd say. Sister Moss tells the story of visiting one sister's room. In it, there were little personal belongings but no shortage of Spurs memorabilia, including a photo with Spurs legend and former head coach Gregg Popovich. After the Spurs won their fourth title in 2007, Popovich, then the team's coach, visited the Provincial House with some players, spoke with the sisters and took photos with them. "He would kneel down and talk with a sister," Sister Gumzan, who passed away in 2018, previously told ESPN, noting that after his visit she began corresponding with Popovich through letters. "He was very affectionate with us." Popovich played in a charity golf tournament that helped raise money for the sisters. And he'd ask that they pray for the team. By 2019, the Spurs were on the downslope of their dynasty, and some of the sisters who were their biggest fans had gone to heaven, Sister Moss says. New sisters arrived, and, along the way, their connection to the team began to fade. Sister Mota arrived in San Antonio in 2019. She knew the game. She'd played in high school and coached fifth and sixth graders. She loved former UCLA coach John Wooden, read books about him and even aspired to one day coach the UCLA women's basketball team. She'd learned about the sisters' connection to the Spurs and reached out to Popovich's assistant to ask for tickets. The Spurs provided 30 of them for a game on March 16, 2020, but that game was ultimately postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Years passed, including four of the Spurs' worst seasons in franchise history. Still, the sisters cheered them on. Sister Lourdes Trevino, now 87, provided recaps over breakfast, telling her fellow sisters how the team performed and where the team was in the standings. "She knows everything about the Spurs," Sister Moss says. When the playoffs began this season, the sisters t

The divine (actually!) force behind Wemby and the ...

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