Cedric Ceballos and Shawn Marion were eliminated from The Amazing Race during the fourth episode of the CBS reality competition's 30th season.

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The "Retired NBA Players" became the third team eliminated from the around-the-world competition after arriving at the fourth leg's Pit Stop at a park called Place Des Lices in Saint-Tropez, France in last place.

"I've been watching for 29 seasons with my whole family and I wanted to win," Cedric said following his team's ouster. "We put on a great show; we just came out on the losing end of the Race. I can't complain. I'm not even supposed to be here. God has blessed me to fulfill another dream."

Shawn added, "We got through it together. We win as a team and lose as a team. It hurt to lose, but man, at the same time, we've got to keep our head high because we competed and it was amazing and I salute it."

During a recent exclusive interview with Reality TV World, Cedric and Shawn talked about their The Amazing Race experience and elimination. Below is the concluding portion of what they had to say.

Reality TV World: Going back to the time penalty you guys received earlier in the season, do you think that was fair? Because at the time, you seemed to think it was uncalled for since Cedric's shoutout didn't actually help Shawn with the task.

Shawn Marion: I do think it was unfair because one, I couldn't hear him, and two, I was talking to the producers right there and I was telling them that they were f-cking with me. (Laughs) Excuse my French! But he was messing with me. Because I'm looking at it, and then, you know what's funny though?

I wish I could go back and replay it. Because I think I did really have it right; it was just backwards! So if it wasn't backwards, it was right. But it is what it is, you know, I couldn't see [the accent on one "O"]. It was just like, "Oh my gosh, this is crazy!" 

Cedric Ceballos: Yeah, I thought it was a bad call because I was so far away and the wind was blowing and those little cars were going too, so like, there was no way Shawn would have heard me.

And what I said had nothing to do with it anyway! It really had nothing to do with it. I said, "Make sure your O's are this, or that, or the other thing." I was like, "Man, come on."

It's funny because we were trending on Twitter, you know, "Mind your P's and O's." That was kind of cool. Other than that, we're not supposed to say nothing, but everybody else was saying stuff during other challenges. It just added more drama to it, so.

Reality TV World: As we saw in the preview for the next episode, there's going to be a U-Turn. If you guys got to the U-Turn board in first place, which team do you think you would have targeted and why? Were you starting to zone in on a particular team as being your biggest competition?

Cedric Ceballos: No, we probably wouldn't have U-Turned. If we had to U-Turn, that would be different. But if we had a choice -- and most of the time, if I know the Race history, you have a choice if you want to U-Turn them or not.

I don't think we would've U-Turned anybody, because at that time, everybody was cool and everybody was gracious. Everybody was working hard, and there were really no advantages or disadvantages where we'd think, "Oh man, they are better than us so we better go ahead and U-Turn them."

Shawn Marion: I do agree. I think at that point, I didn't see nobody potentially winning any challenges. It was up and down! So every team had [its moments], or came in lower or higher, with nobody dominating the field.

So we knew the teams who were very persistent, but for the most part, everybody was on the same playing field. So I guess it got to the point where we felt throughout that Race or throughout that competition, we felt like we were really behind, and if we had an opportunity to do it and make sure we stay, I mean, we'd have to think about it then. But at this point, probably no.

Reality TV World: So it sounds like you guys were getting along with everyone. Was there any team in particular you felt like you were becoming allies with or you hoped to work with down the road had you stayed in the Race?

Shawn Marion: Actually, we became cool with pretty much everybody. Everybody at one point helped each other to some extent with something, I think, you know what I'm saying? Everybody helped us a little bit with something. At times, the X Games [Kristi Leskinen and Jen Hudak], we'd give information.

And the Eaters, [Joey Chestnut and Tim Janus], we gave some information, and stuff like that. And the Musicians, [Trevor Wadleigh and Chris Marchant]. Everybody was kind of helping each other a little bit, especially at certain times. A lot of times if you didn't ask, they wouldn't say anything. But if you asked, it was like, "Okay..."

Cedric Ceballos: Yes! We got a lot of help from the X Game girls. We also helped out the Ring Girls, [Dessie Mitcheson and Kayla Fitzgerald], when they were coming up. They got eliminated the first round, but we helped them out with where to find the parking spaces and where we were supposed to go.

So, like Shawn said, everybody was kind of helping each other. If you saw somebody in distress or confused, especially if you had already done the task.

Reality TV World: At the time of your elimination, were you rooting for a team to win?

Cedric Ceballos: I know I was rooting for the Fireman Twins, [Eric Guiffreda and Daniel Guiffreda]. We really wanted them to win. They were just good guys and cool to hang around with. And we really wanted them. We were pushing for them to win. I wanted them to win.

Shawn Marion: Yeah, I liked the firemen. [One] just had a newborn baby, and they were really cool. But everyone was really cool! I liked the X Game girls too, because they would've been one of the only girl teams to win.

I think it's three all-girl teams that have won the Race so far? Three, or they would've been the fourth team to win or something like that. So I thought that would be kind of cool.

Reality TV World: What was your reaction when you heard or saw that Lucas Bocanegra and Brittany Austin got engaged? Did you get to know the couple at all? Did that surprise you?

Shawn Marion: Oh yeah. They were really nice and I think we kind of knew because everyone was messing with him, like, why he hadn't proposed to her and gotten married. They had been together for like eight years. So when he did it after that leg, it was kind of special, especially in Saint-Tropez. It was really dope; I thought it was really special.

Reality TV World: How were you two cast on The Amazing Race this season? Was it your first time applying?

Cedric Ceballos: We didn't apply at all. The NBA contacted us along with a lot of other players, and they asked to try to grab somebody whom we knew we wanted to play with. At the time, my family members were busy.

So then I went to Ticha Penicheiro, a WNBA player, because we've traveled the globe a lot to help out kids in all funny places. And she knows a ton of languages! And I knew languages would be a big thing on the Race to help me out.

Reality TV World: Would you want to race again if given the opportunity?

Cedric Ceballos: Oh yeah!

Shawn Marion: Yeah, I think I would do it again. I think I'd do it again. It's definitely a lot more challenging than you would expect. It's not easy. (Laughs) Let's put it that way! It's not easy. You're cut off from everything and you don't have sh-t! (Laughs)

Cedric Ceballos: I think we would have a better knowledge of what we need and what we don't need. I think that was the biggest thing, especially with me, knowing the rules and regulations and things -- when I had the problem with the backpack -- there's a lot of stuff we brought that we threw away. It was like, "Man, we don't need this stuff!" 

To read the first half of Reality TV World's exclusive The Amazing Race interview with Cedric and Shawn, click here.


About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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