The Calgary Surge are just two games away from potentially hoisting the CEBL Championship trophy, that is, if they can beat the Winnipeg Sea Bears to clinch a Championship Sunday final.
The odds are good, according to Surge players and coaching staff, who spoke about the upcoming match at their final home training session at MNP Centre on Aug. 19.
The team was working hard ahead of their flight to Winnipeg on Wednesday to get ready for their two final games at Canada Life Centre, but with a familiarity built from a season of success.
“I just absolutely love our group, love our boys. Love coaching these guys. These guys bring a professional, a seriousness to their craft, and they’re serious about getting better. We’re serious about winning,” said Surge head coach Kaleb Canales.
“Our chemistry has carried the day for us every day, the environment, the culture that we build. So we’re just going to keep it going.”
A path to victory for the Surge means defeating Winnipeg on Aug. 22, followed by a match against either the Scarborough Shooting Stars or 2024 CEBL defending champions Niagara River Lions, depending on which of those two teams wins.
Philosophically, the team has already been treating every game like a playoff game, said Coach Canales.
“Regardless, home or road, we know it’s going to be a difficult road, but our eyes are on the prize, and we’re locked in to get control,” he said.
That confidence extended to the players who will be taking the battle to Winnipeg on Saturday.
“Jameer [Nelson Jr.], Rugzy [Miller-Moore], Greg [Brown III], Gabe [Osabuohien], Khyri [Thomas], the guys are playmakers anytime they have the ball in their hands,” said Coach Canales.
Clinching the win for Calgary
Miller-Moore, a three-year Surge veteran and twice voted CEBL All-Canadian, said that the team was laser-focused on the championship.
“I think subconsciously, during the season, you think about stats. There’s a lot of bickering. That’s why it’s hard to kind of be a player of this calibre, because there’s a lot of bickering on social media. You’re going to be first team, you’re going to be Canadian Player of the Year, you’re going to be defensive team. So, subconsciously, I feel like you might stat chase by accident,” he said.
“Playoff mode. It’s just about winning. All the stats are behind us. Everything that is submitted from the season is behind us, and we can just focus on what we’re good at, and that’s winning a basketball game.”
Speaking to his own performance against Vancouver on Aug. 16, where the Surge edged out the Bandits by two points for a 105-103 win, Miller Moore said that winning meant being able to pivot.
“Winning a championship… some guys are gonna have to take a back seat sometimes, and some guys are gonna have to step up. That’s just the nature of the game,” he said.
“In Vancouver, we knew it was going to be super fast-paced. We knew we weren’t going to get every call. We knew it was going to be messy. And, yeah, I didn’t play the greatest. I think I went like two for 10, but I played 40 minutes, and that was the most minutes I played in a game. I was just focused on just playing defence and doing whatever it takes to win.”
He said that as long as the Surge sticks to their defence for the championships, the rest of the game will follow in their favour.
“We’re the best defensive team in the league, and we just have to show it. I think playoff time, we don’t have any problem showing it. That’s what we want to do. We want to play defence,” Miller-Moore said.
Bringing home a championship win, after a third attempt, would mean leaving everything on the court, said Miller-Moore.
“I just want to win, because it’ll be huge. This is the third season we’ve been to championship weekend, every season, so we’re right there. I always say third time’s a charm, so it’ll be great to do it in the third season and bring something to Calgary.”
Calgarians can watch the Surge playoff games on TSN, and on CEBL+.
