The Calgary Surge fought a nail biter battle on July 27, battling all the way to the end of the fourth quarter to take a 85-67 win over their rivals, the Edmonton Stingers.
The Surge consistently trailed from behind the Stingers by between six and nine points through the first three quarters, which led to the incredible turnaround victory from a 50-59 deficit at the start of the fourth.
The change, said Surge guard Mason Bourcier, was turning a game with 20 turnovers into a game with just one.
“Talking to assistant coach at halftime, he said they had 24 points off turnovers in the first half. And us having 20 turnovers means 20 possessions and shots,” he said.
“We weren’t turning it over because they were pressuring us. We were just stepping out of bounds, little things that are pretty unique in basketball, and we just kept doing it. So it was just like an unlucky night with a good team.”
The Surge’s head coach Nelson Terroba said that it wasn’t luck that the team had a turnaround victory.
“I think just simplifying, narrowing our options on offence, cutting the menu down a little bit, and just keeping things simple w”as a good good recipe for us in the fourth quarter.”
“And to be honest, our defence created our offence which makes it easy to score when that’s when that’s happening.”
That turnaround from that defence came with guard Sean Miller-Moore tying up the game, 60-60, with a pair of free throws. Forward Simi Shittu, and Guards Terry Henderson Jr. and Stefan Smith rallied for the remainder of the quarter, ending with three dunks in a row by Smith to take the team to 85.
“I’m proud of the guys, we’re happy for them,” said Terroba.
“The team is finding it’s recipe in that we can trust a lot of different people to help us win the game, and they’re okay with letting it work out in the wash and letting the game kind of dictate who that is for the night.”
The game was the fourth between the two rivals, with the Surge finishing the regular season Battle for Alberta with three victories to one over the Edmonton Stingers.
The team is playing the Saskatchewan Rattlers next on July 28 at the SaskTel Centre. The Surge, which cinched their playoff berth earlier this month, begin the Western Conference games in August.
Heading to playoffs big for new team
Surge Vice-Chairman and President Jason Ribeiro said that taking the team to a inaugural season playoff series was surreal.
“But I gotta say, this is a competitive sport, it’s a competitive arena, and I think everyone from myself from Usman and all the way through our staff and through our players, we’re just a little bit dissatisfied,” he said.
“While it feels good on paper to clinch a playoff spot, job’s not finished. And so I think we’re going to enjoy the moment for what it is right now, but that little bit of being dissatisfied is what’s going to carry us through to, hopefully, a good run to end the season and hopefully a playoff run into championship weekend.”
Ribero thanked his coaching staff including Terroba, general manager Shane James, and the team’s special advisors for working to get the team to the highest level of performance in the first season.
“What they’ve done is been able to take a very new group, a very young group—probably one of the youngest rosters in the entire league—that’s extremely talented, extremely committed to I think being good individuals and good players on the court, and rode this wave with them.”
“That came with highs and lows as all professional sports teams do, but but to see our guys leading the league in categories, whether it be rebounds or steals, seeing every day in that top five a Surge player there for points of time leading the entire league, having the best record in the league, and now clinching a playoff spot, how do you not say job well done, mandate fulfilled.”
Ultimatly, said Ribero, the inaugural season has been one for the fans.
“I pace like a maniac around during the games, bart of it is because I can’t sit in my seat… but also because part of it is touching the flesh and looking people in the whites of their eyes and saying thank you.”
“It’s not a given. For many of them, we sold them the future. I remember when we launched we didn’t have a coach, didn’t have players ,didn’t really know what this would look like.”
He said for the fans to have come out in the thousands each game, and to be the biggest supporters of the Surge in growing the team in Calgary, was a way of seeing that dream of professional basketball in Calgary being fulfilled.
“We’re in the process of season ticket renewals right now, and many are coming back. It’s it’s a crazy crazy high percentage.”
Photos from the final regular season Battle of Alberta
