Calgary’s nominees for Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) and Canadian Player of the Year (CPY) come up huge in the team’s only home playoff game against the provincial-rival Edmonton Stingers.
The final score of 103-95 was sealed by a Jameer Nelson Jr. game-winning layup, his 25th and 26th points of the night.
Nelson Jr., one of the team’s two candidates for DPOY, said he loves competing and the pressure of both playoffs and target time.
“That’s like a game I love, I wasn’t paying attention to no points, I’m just like, we just got to win,” Nelson Jr. said.
The team’s lone home playoff game was a true post-season atmosphere, embodied by the team’s first basket, a crowd-erupting Nelson Jr. three pointer.
Surge Head Coach Kaleb Canales said that winning in front of the team’s home fans has been top of mind.
“To win a home playoff game is big. It is huge for our team, for our organization, and for our fans. We absolutely love our fans,” he said.
“We felt their energy tonight, huge part of the win.”
Despite being the better team in the regular season, Calgary’s win over Edmonton was never certain. The team trailed the Stingers 48-50 at halftime. A regularly scheduled third-quarter comeback swiftly followed, as the Surge took a 78-69 lead into the final frame.
All night, CEBL MVP candidate, Edmonton’s Sean East II, played villain at Winsport Event Centre, finishing with a game-leading 36 points. Throughout the loss, East II received multiple “M-V-P” chants from the outnumbered Stinger-faithful in attendance.
Canales called the Stingers a great team, saying that in the playoffs, you have to expect the best.
“We knew they were playing good basketball, but I absolutely love our team, and I love our chances against anybody,” Canales said.
Having finished their winningest season yet, (17-7), three-year Surge veteran Ruzgy Miller-Moore, said that this year’s team is different then the rest. He highlighted the squad’s composure and athleticism up and down the lineup.
Miller-Moore, who finished the game with 19 points, called the Thursday night win a championship-performance.
“The vibes are high, we’re excited to play, but we also understand that it’s one game at a time. We’re not just looking forward to championship weekend,” he said.
“Vibes are high, we’re young, we’re excited, we’re eager.”
The Surge return to action Saturday, Aug. 16 against the Vancouver Bandits. Canales said the next step for trainers, coaches and players is to win the 48-hour battle of recovery.
With three award finalists, including Nelson for DPOY, Greg Brown III for DPOY and Miller-Moore for CPY, the Surge can look forward to Aug. 21, when the CEBL award winners are announced.
“We’re not into stats here, but he’s had his best year since he’s been here, statistically, but his impact on both ends of the floor, his rebounding, his defense, has been great,” Canales said of the CPY finalist.
