Sea Bears Can Clinch West with Win Over Surge in Regular Season Rubber Match
The Winnipeg Sea Bears (-129) can clinch first place in the Western Conference on Thursday at 7 p.m. MT with a win over the Calgary Surge (-108) at WinSport Event Centre.
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.
It’s the third and final meeting between the Western Conference squads in the regular season, with each team securing a blowout win at home in the season series so far.
The Sea Bears enter the game with a spot in the postseason clinched. At 11-6 and in first place in the Western Conference, Winnipeg now sets its sights on clinching the one-seed heading into the CEBL Playoffs. With the rest of the conference sitting at eight wins or less, the Sea Bears are in the driver's seat.
They can secure home advantage in the playoffs with a win over Calgary. However, if the Surge win, it leaves a path open for
them
to earn the one-seed.
To snag first place, Calgary – who enters the game second in the conference at 8-8 – would need to win all four of their remaining games while Winnipeg lose their remaining games. The Surge hold a narrow lead over third-place Edmonton at 8-9 and fourth-place Saskatchewan at 8-10. Fifth-place Vancouver has a spot in CEBL Championship Weekend secured due to hosting.
Coming into the regular season rubber match, Winnipeg has won back-to-back games while Calgary has lost three of its past four.
Sea Bears’ star Teddy Allen left a stingy Surge defence looking for answers on Sunday (July 16) when he produced a 37-point performance that gave his squad a 100-75 win in the first meeting of a crucial home-and-home.
With the Surge hosting the Sea Bears Thursday, Calgary will find out if they found any answers.
In Sunday’s 25-point loss, the Surge were without star big man Simi Shittu due to personal reasons. Winnipeg forced 19 turnovers and limited Calgary to just 38 per cent shooting from three and 31 per cent from beyond the arc. The Sea Bears averaged almost 90 points against heading into the game but held the Surge to 75.
“This [defence] is what’s going to help us in the postseason,” Winnipeg head coach Mike Taylor said after the game. “You might not be able to score as easily as you want, or one of your stars doesn’t have a great day, you still got to find a way to win—and that way is by defending people.”
In the first meeting on June 18, Calgary’s defence won the day. In a 97-81 win, the Surge contained an explosive Winnipeg offence despite 23 points from Allen. However, Calgary had both Shittu and Trevon Scott in the lineup during the first game.
Shittu has been one of the best bigs in the CEBL this season for the Surge. The dual Canadian-British citizen is averaging 15.1 points per game and a league-best 10.8 rebounds per game — the lone player in the CEBL to average a double-double this season.
Additionally, Calgary forward Sean Miller-Moore leads the team in scoring while providing great defence as well. His athleticism has yielded highlight-reel dunks and blocks, along with a team-best 16.6 points per game.
In the backcourt, Stefan Smith and Admon Gilder Jr. have been consistent contributors for the Surge. Smith produces in a variety of ways, averaging 15.4 points, 5.9 assists and 1.6 steals while Gilder chips in 9.3 points per game.
Overall, the Surge have struggled offensively but excelled defensively this season. Calgary is 10th in the CEBL in points per game, three-point percentage and turnovers per game. On defence, they rank in the top five in points against, steals and blocks.
Calgary will match up with a Winnipeg attack that scores 91.4 points per game – second in the league – and takes care of the basketball better than any other team.
The Sea Bears’ trio of Allen, EJ Anosike and Jelani Watson-Gayle have been consistent and reliable this season. Allen is second in the league scoring at 27.4 points per game, behind only Justin Wright-Foreman. He also tops the CEBL in minutes and field goal attempts, while averaging 7.8 rebounds per game.
Anosike is seventh in the CEBL in scoring at 18.5 points per game, while Watson-Gayle is netting 13.2 points per game off the bench and shooting almost 50 per cent from three.
All three Sea Bears’ star scored over 15 points in Sunday’s contest, but the Surge will look to slow them down in the rematch.
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
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