The next season the Zeniths were again the class of the league but this time they only won the division over Anchorage by a game and a half, then lost a hard-fought finals rematch with the Knights in seven games./ For this season, the Zeniths were coached by co-owner and nightclub proprietor Art Stock who bought a stake in the team after his Jersey Shore Bullets folded the previous season. Mauro Panaggio moved to the front office as General Manager, but resumed his duties as head coach for the 1980-81 season until the demise of the team in 1983.