Anosike’s exit couldn’t come at worse time for Sea Bears

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This article was published 31/07/2023 (1016 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Sea Bears have said goodbye to one of their most important players.

Star forward E.J. Anosike has left the city’s professional basketball team to pursue an opportunity with the Nigerian national squad for a pre-Olympic qualifying event.

The departure couldn’t have come at a worse time for the Sea Bears as they’re preparing to host a CEBL playoff play-in game Friday night at the Canada Life Centre against the Edmonton Stingers at 8 p.m.

The 6-7 power forward from East Orange, N.J., started all 20 regular season games and averaged 18.4 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 2.2 assists.

The Sea Bears had been in discussions with the Nigeria Basketball Federation in hopes of keeping Anosike for the playoffs but things didn’t work out.

“We would’ve loved to have had him for the playoff run, but with the timing of the league, it’s what it is. We’re not the only team in this position,” head coach Mike Taylor said after Monday afternoon’s practice at the Sport for Life Centre.

“There’s many other players who will be leaving to join their (pro) teams for preseason or national teams for competition. It’s been E.J.’s dream his whole life to play for the Nigerian national team so we have to respect that. E.J. has been an excellent player for us and we appreciate how hard he played and how well he played.”

If the Sea Bears lose Friday, their inaugural season comes to an end. A win would advance them to Sunday’s quarter-final in Calgary against the Surge — the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.

The Bears would’ve had the top spot in the West had they not lost 98-86 on Saturday at home to the Stingers. Winnipeg and Calgary both finished the season at 12-8 but the tiebreaker went to the Surge since they went 2-1 in their head-to-head meetings.

The Sea Bears now have to take the scenic route to the CEBL’s ‘final four’ Championship Weekend in Vancouver (Aug. 11-13).

Despite losing their second-best player behind likely league MVP Teddy Allen, the team remains confident it can get there.

“It’s pretty sad he’s leaving us, we had a really good summer and we’re a really connected team. He’s rooting for us but he had to do what’s best for him,” said forward Simon Hildebrandt, a University of Manitoba product.

“But we have such a good group of guys that have been together the whole season. It’s been the same 12 guys all year long so it’s just the next man up mentality.”

Hildebrandt has been playing 20 minutes a night with 5.9 points and 3.1 rebounds. He’ll likely start in Anosike’s place. Fellow big men Chad Posthumus, Shane Osayande and Stephane Ingo will likely have bigger roles as well.

“We’ll definitely miss E.J.’s scoring and his rebounding. We’ll miss his personality and leadership, but again, this is an opportunity for other players to step up,” said Taylor.

“We’ve built our team to stay together. We’ve built our team with flexibility to cover for injuries and situations like this. So, I have confidence we’ll put together a great performance and give ourselves an excellent chance on Friday and hopefully beyond.”

The good news for the Sea Bears is import point guard Jelani Watson-Gayle is expected to play. The London, England resident wasn’t a full participant at Monday’s practice, but the contender for the CEBL’s sixth man of the year award said he’d be good to go for the playoffs. He picked up an injury in Vancouver on July 23 against the Bandits and missed Saturday’s tilt against Edmonton. Watson-Gayle’s absence left the club with just one point guard on the roster: Canadian Glen Yang.

Watson-Gayle recently signed a contract for the upcoming fall/winter season in the Belgian Pro Basketball League.

“I should be good. I just want to ease back into it. I didn’t want to go too hard, too fast and make it flare up again,” said Watson-Gayle, who’s averaging 12.5 points and 3.4 assists while shooting 49 per cent from three-point range.

“It was tough (watching Saturday). I think the toughest part was knowing that you couldn’t contribute and help your team. Seeing that they would have benefited from me playing, it was hard to watch.”

Edmonton (9-11) is 2-0 inside the Canada Life Centre this year as they also whooped Winnipeg 97-68 on June 12.

“Give credit to Edmonton, they’ve done a great job and they play really well together. Their small lineups challenge our team,” said Taylor.

“But from our standpoint, I’m really excited about the playoffs. It’s the first playoff game in team history, and with the fantastic home court advantage that we’ll have, we really want to get this win and keep our dreams alive of getting to Vancouver.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31