Alliance visit Sea Bears in Rematch of Last Week’s Barnburner

The Winnipeg Sea Bears (-154) are on the hunt for revenge as they welcome the Montréal Alliance (+114) to Canada Life Centre on Friday at 7 p.m.CT.

The game will be available for streaming on TSN+, CEBL+ powered by BetVictor and on the CEBL Mobile app available on iOS and Android devices.

The Alliance stunned the Sea Bears at Verdun Auditorium last Monday (July 3) by a narrow 89-85 margin in their first meeting of the season. Homegrown Montréal big man Nathan Cayo led the squad to victory with a game-high 28 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. 

Winnipeg’s star-studded duo of Teddy Allen and EJ Anosike was still productive in the loss. Anosike notched a huge double-double with 24 points and 14 rebounds, while Allen netted 24 points to go along with seven rebounds and six assists. 

However, the Alliance limited the high-powered Winnipeg offence to just 34 per cent shooting from the field and 29 per cent from three. That included Allen and Anosike, who combined to shoot 16-43 from the floor. Winnipeg will look to improve upon the previous matchup, while the Alliance seek to continue to disrupt defensively. 

Montréal has teeter-tottered between wins and losses over their past four games. After defeating Winnipeg, they lost 77-74 to Calgary at home on Wednesday. 

The Alliance are in a tightly-contested battle for a spot in the CEBL Playoffs. Montréal sits fourth in the Eastern Conference with a 6-8 record, which would put them in a play-in game if the season ended today. The Alliance are one game ahead of fifth-place Brampton and 1.5 games behind third-place Scarborough with six games remaining in the regular season. 

Meanwhile, the Sea Bears enter Friday’s contest in the Western Conference’s pole position. The Sea Bears are first in the west at 9-6 with a one-game advantage over 8-7 Calgary in second and a 2.5-game advantage over 7-10 Edmonton in third. 

Winnipeg has slowed of late, losing three of their last four games to Ottawa, Montréal and Saskatchewan. Their last loss came in a thriller against the Rattlers that saw the league’s top two scorers duel. Allen paced the Sea Bears with 36 points, while Saskatchewan guard Justin Wright-Foreman scored 29. 

With host Vancouver guaranteed a spot in CEBL Championship Weekend in August, the four remaining Western Conference teams are grappling for three playoff spots. The Bandits are currently fifth in the conference and at this point, Winnipeg can guarantee a playoff spot with three more wins.  They also hold the head-to-head advantage over fourth-place Saskatchewan. 

Both Winnipeg and Montréal rely heavily on a “big three” for major contributions. Winnipeg’s trifecta of Allen, Anosike and Jelani Watson-Gayle have fuelled the team’s conference-leading record. Meanwhile, the Alliance have looked to Cayo, Ahmed Hill and Treveon Graham to step up, especially after Blake Francis picked up an injury earlier in the season.

Allen is on a tear in 2023 and leads the league in both total points and minutes, while ranking in the top 10 in rebounds per game at 8.1. The American is in a race with Wright-Foreman for the CEBL scoring title with the Saskatchewan guard leading the league in points per game at 29.9 and Allen close behind at 26.3. The pair could become the first players in CEBL history to average over 25 points in the regular season. 

Meanwhile, Anosike is also a top 10 scorer in the league with 18.7 points per game, while averaging 7.2 rebounds as well. Winnipeg’s Watson-Gayle has been outstanding off the bench this season, hitting clutch shots at an outrageous efficiency. The British marksman is averaging 12.9 points per game on 48 per cent shooting from the field and a league-best 50 per cent from three. 

On the other side, Hill has emerged as Montréal’s go-to offensive option. The former Guelph Nighthawk is averaging 19.7 points per game on 43 per cent from the field and 37 per cent from three. Cayo’s 14.9 points per game and 6.6 rebounds per game have provided the team with a tough player to guard on the low block. The NBA-experienced Graham is one of two players in the CEBL to average a double-double so far this season with 14.1 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. 

Both teams boast supporting casts that prominently feature homegrown talent. Winnipeg’s Chad Posthumus leads the league in total offensive rebounds, while 2023 first-overall pick Simon Hildebrandt has shown flashes of greatness off the bench. Meanwhile, Montréal’s Alain Louis and Mamadou Gueye have made clutch plays in important moments for the Alliance all season. 

Since mid-June, Montréal’s defence has led them to a 4-3 record and a competitive stretch of play. The Alliance allowed over 90 points just once since June 16, while averaging 84 points against during that span. 

On Friday, they’ll match up with the Sea Bears' high-scoring offence. Winnipeg is ranked in the CEBL’s top five in points per game, field goals made, three-point percentage, offensive rebounding and turnovers (low to high).   

All games are available for streaming on TSN+, CEBL+ powered by BetVictor and on the CEBL Mobile app available on iOS and Android devices.

A league created by Canadians for Canadians with a mission to develop Canadian players, coaches, sports executives, and referees, the CEBL boasts the highest percentage of Canadian players of any pro league in the country with 71 per cent of its 2022 rosters being Canadian. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international pro leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. Nine players have moved from the CEBL into the NBA following a CEBL season, and 28 CEBL players attended NBA G League training camps during October. The CEBL season runs from May through August.  More information about the CEBL is available at CEBL.ca and @cebleague on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.