The Calgary Surge couldn’t quite put the finishing touch on a successful inaugural season, dropping the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) final on Sunday night.
The Surge dropped their final game 82-70 to the Scarborough Shooting Stars, who were powered by forward Isiaha Mike. Mike had 22 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and five steals in the game.
Mike earned the final’s Most Valuable Player award.
The Shooting Stars scored 23 points off Calgary Surge turnovers, as the Surge had 15 turnovers compared to the Shooting Stars 8.
Calgary was led by forward Jordy Tshimanga, who went 6-10 from the field and scored 15 points and added a game-high 15 rebounds.
Tshimanga reflected on the loss after the game.
“It’s been a family,” Tshimanga said.
“We went through ups and downs, and eventually we got better, and it led us here today. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get it done but I’m proud of the core.”
Tshimanga helped power the Calgary Surge to an early 15-5 lead, but the Shooting Stars kept chipping away. Eventually, they pulled away from the Surge to close out the victory.
Stefan Smith, who’s been a team leader all season, scored 14 and added five assists. Sean Miller-Moore chipped in with 10 and six rebounds while Terry Henderson went 3-7 from three-point range to end with 11 points and four rebounds.
This was Calgary’s first season in the CEBL, and earlier this month the chairman of the Surge, Usman Jutt, said he’d hoped the team could lock up the championship trophy.
Still, it was a successful first go.
“We’ve seen a tremendous amount of inspiration that we’ve been able to give out, particularly in the way I think that we’ve connected with community. That was a mandate from day one,” he said.
