Calgary Surge host Ottawa BlackJacks in battle of 3-1 teams
Top teams from each CEBL conference will meet in Alberta on Friday night (June 9) as the Calgary Surge host the Ottawa BlackJacks at WinSport Event Centre at 7 p.m.
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.
Each team enters the game at 3-1 to start the season, with the BlackJacks sitting atop the Eastern Conference. Ottawa travels to Calgary after back-to-back home wins while the Surge will try to bounce back from their first loss of the season. Both squads will be well-rested heading into the contest with Ottawa coming off a week-long break and Calgary a five-day rest.
During their two-game homestand, the BlackJacks defeated the Scarborough Shooting Stars 93-82 and the Montreal Alliance 89-75. Ottawa avenged a 21-point loss in Montreal earlier in the season, their lone loss of the campaign so far.
Kadre Gray powered the BlackJacks to victory over the Alliance last week with 20 points and 10 assists. The Canadian point guard is off to an incredible start to the 2023 season, averaging over 20 points and a league-best 8.8 assists per game.
While Gray has led Ottawa as a facilitator, the supporting cast has also been crucial to their 3-1 start. American sharpshooter Michael Flowers is averaging 18.8 points per game on 42 per cent shooting from beyond the arc. Big man Zena Edosomwan is close to averaging a double-double for Ottawa, with 11.8 points per game and 9.3 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Jackson Rowe is also contributing for the BlackJacks with 12.3 points per game and 7.7 rebounds per game.
Ottawa will also look to a new but familiar face joining the team this week. Former Carleton Raven Thomas Scrubb re-signed with the BlackJacks for his third season with the club. The 6'6 forward from Vancouver has averaged 12.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.3 steals in 346 professional games in the CEBL, Spain, France, Italy, Germany and Finland.
On the other side, the Calgary Surge will look to bounce back from their first loss of the season. The Surge fell 84-81 in a tight matchup on the road against the Vancouver Bandits after three consecutive victories to start the season.
Simi Shittu’s interior presence has been a determining factor for Calgary’s success through four games. Against Vancouver, Shittu scored 17 points and hauled in 17 rebounds, just one board short of tying both the team and league records. The Vanderbilt alumnus has been a rebound magnet to start the season, leading the league with 12.5 per game.
Shittu headlines a Surge starting five that has tipped off each of the team’s four games. Sean Miller-Moore, Stefan Smith and Admon Gilder Jr. all average double figures, while fellow starter Trevon Scott falls just below the line at 9.8 points per game.
Calgary has achieved their 3-1 start to the season through excellent defence. The Surge lead the league in both steals and blocks per game while placing second behind the Bandits in defensive rebounding. Despite the defence, the Surge have struggled offensively. Calgary sits last in the CEBL in points per game, three-point percentage, turnovers and ninth in field goal percentage.
The Calgary defence will look to shut down an Ottawa offence that leads the league in both field goal percentage and three-point percentage on Friday night.
The BlackJacks will continue their Alberta road trip on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. MT against the Edmonton Stingers. Meanwhile, the Surge hit the road for a matchup with the Saskatchewan Rattlers on Sunday at 3 p.m. CT.
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.
