Sea Bears make dazzling debut

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This article was published 27/05/2023 (865 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Canadian Elite Basketball League’s shiny new Winnipeg franchise made its on-court debut Saturday.

The game and the hoopla surrounding it had a little bit of everything.

A mascot named Churchill rappelled from the rafters in pregame, there were multiple lead changes, a public marriage proposal during a third-quarter timeout (yes, Louise Hemedes accepted Zach Unrau’s proposal) and a sell-out crowd of 7,303 — setting a league record — filled the lower bowl of Canada Life Centre.

The only thing missing was a victory by the hometown team, which the Sea Bears provided in the form of a 90-85 triumph over the Vancouver Bandits.

“It’s a dream come true for us,” said Winnipeg GM and head coach Mike Taylor. “For an organization to be born a few months ago and have all the background work and groundwork that we’ve done together, from (owner) David (Asper) and (president) Jason (Smith) and everyone on down, putting together this situation here in Winnipeg. And then to have the response from the city, a record-breaking crowd.

“The only thing you can’t guarantee is a win and I’m so proud of our players, our staff, and everyone that took the challenge and really competed together today. It wasn’t pretty for sure.”

The hosts held a 13-point lead with 3:48 left in the game but under the CEBL’s unique Elam Ending rules, the clock is turned off in the final four minutes and the game ends when either team reaches the target score — equal to the leading team’s point total plus nine.

The healthy Winnipeg lead evaporated quickly during an 18-5 run by the Bandits and the teams were tied 85-85 before the real drama began.

Jelani Watson-Gayle’s three-pointer and Chad Posthumus’ put-back basket off a Teddy Allen miss gave Winnipeg its inaugural victory.

“It was big,” said Watson-Gayle, the club’s new guard who arrived in Winnipeg from England on Monday. “I felt like in Elam we was kind of scrambling, we didn’t have a rhythm, we was kind of rushing. And I feel like we just kind of needed something to just to settle us. I felt like that three kind of just settled us… and we’re able to go ahead and win.”

Posthumus, a 32-year-old Winnipeg product, celebrated his hometown pro debut after a tough start. Battling Vancouver big man Nick Ward, he was assessed two fouls in the opening quarter and heading for the bench, going scoreless in 5:16 of playing time in the first half.

He was a different player after the intermission, finishing with nine rebounds and 10 points in 13:45 of action.

“It was phenomenal,” said Posthumus. “I mean, it was a rough game. It’s tough for all of us out but to have a 36-30 first half, that’s not usual game for anybody. A lot of fouls. (It was) just the first game this season and getting into the flow of thing, but to come back was really special.

“A solid third quarter for myself and our team and then we carried a nice lead into the Elam ending, which is what you need to do in this league, because as you can see, even with 12-13 point lead, anybody can come back.”

Watson-Gayle led the Sea Bears with 22 points while E.J. Anosike added 21. Teddy Allen and University of Manitoba star Simon Hildebrandt chipped in with 13 apiece for the winners. Allen had 12 rebounds.

“I missed my first couple of shots but my teammates just keep telling me to shoot the ball, ‘We know you can shoot it, we have faith in you,’ so a huge confidence boost that they trust me and they get me the ball in good spots so I can score,” said Hildebrandt.

Hildebrandt, who will return to the Bisons this fall for his second season in U Sports, impressed his fellow Winnipegger.

“We had Simon Hildebrandt come in play phenomenal as a young guy,” said Posthumus. “He’s a really special player. He’s somebody who’s going to be somebody to watch as potential NBA player down the road, man, he’s phenomenal. So watching guys like that and getting excited for them when they’re making big plays when they’re on the court, you’ll see me on the bench the whole game like that.”

Anosike, who hails from East Orange, N.J., didn’t sound surprised that Winnipeggers have embraced his new team so quickly.

“Who doesn’t like basketball?” said Anosike. “… From what I heard, this is my eighth day in Winnipeg, and I’ve heard a lot of good things. It’s a very prideful city but a really big for their sports teams. So I’m just proud to wear a Sea Bears jersey and have a whole community and (support us).”

D.J. Steward led the Bandits with 30 points while Giorgi Benzhanishvili and Ward added 21 and 19, respectively. Ward also had 10 rebounds.

“You have to take your hats off to everybody involved here — the city, their staff,” said Bandits head coach Kyle Julius. “… I grew up in Thunder Bay, so to see 7,000 people here in Manitoba at a basketball game, you know, it’s pretty special.”

The Sea Bears embark on a four-game road trip before their next home game, which is slated for June 12 against the visiting Edmonton Stingers.

“You walk into this arena with all those Sea Bear towels on all those seats and it looks like an NBA playoff arena,” said Taylor. “It was first class. And I particularly loved the fourth quarter when the crowds starts chanting, ‘Let’s go Sea Bears.’ They started getting into it and you could see the guys responding.”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14