Sea Bears will have support of record crowd in must-win showdown with Stingers

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This article was published 03/08/2023 (1122 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Sea Bears continue to raise the bar in the Canadian Elite Basketball League.

With the upper deck open for business, the Sea Bears (12-8) will, once again, set the league attendance record when they host the Edmonton Stingers (9-11) Friday night at the Canada Life Centre in a play-in playoff game. It’s the first time the club has pulled back the curtain on the third level to allow for more seating.

Winnipeg broke its own record last Saturday when 8,230 fans were on hand for the regular season finale — a 98-86 loss to Edmonton which cost them a bye to Sunday’s quarter-final. After Friday, the Sea Bears will have the seven highest attendance marks in the CEBL’s five-year history.

“It’s a dream come true. The support all summer has been a dream come true,” Sea Bears head coach Mike Taylor said after Thursday’s practice.

Sending the 9,000-plus fans home happy will be a tall task as the Stingers are 2-0 at the Canada Life Centre. Their first win in Winnipeg was on June 12 when they stomped the Sea Bears 97-68.

The winner will hit the road to play the Calgary Surge (12-8), the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, in Sunday’s quarter-final. Whoever prevails in Calgary will advance to the ‘final four’ Championship Weekend in Vancouver (Aug. 11-13).

“I think our confidence is still high. We’ve been working hard the whole year and are one of the few teams that have basically had the same group the whole year. We think that’s going to come into play,” said shooting guard AJ Hess.

Hess is one of several names that need to take their game to another level as the Sea Bears are attempting to make a playoff push without arguably their second-best player, E.J. Anosike. The power forward left Winnipeg for an opportunity with the Nigerian national team.

Anosike averaged 18.4 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 2.2 assists. The good news is import point guard Jelani Watson-Gayle — a contender to win the league’s sixth man of the year award — will play after missing last week with an injury.

“Obviously E.J. was a big part of our team and he did a lot of great things for us this season. But you know, like any team, if someone goes down with an injury or something happens, it’s the next player up mentality,” said Hess, who shot two-for-12 from three-point range last week.

“At the end of the day, we are a team so people are going to have to come in and fill in. Especially having Jelani back is gonna help a lot, but yeah, it’s not just one player, it’s definitely multiple people that have to step up and I would say myself included.”

The Sea Bears will need a big performance from guard Teddy Allen — the favourite to win CEBL MVP. The Stingers had six players score in double figures in Saturday’s victory.

“It’s not a one-man job. It’s a team effort and about preparing our team well,” said Taylor. “The big thing for me is to be the best versions of ourselves and to play to our identity.”

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The Manitoba government announced Thursday morning they are investing up to $1 million to support the Winnipeg Sea Bears’ bid to host the 2025 Canadian Elite Basketball League’s Championship Weekend in the summer of 2025.

The $1-million commitment would go towards required upgrades and resources necessary to help increase Winnipeg’s bid. The upgrades would also help the team’s ability with its year-round community programming.

The championship weekend showcases the final four CEBL teams in a five-day festival. It’s anticipated the weekend would bring in more than 1,300 visitors and engage more than 10,000 spectators.

“I think it’s fantastic the province of Manitoba and the city have stepped up and given us support here. I think it’s been a wonderful summer in Winnipeg, the city has supported us so well,” said Taylor.

“It’s really wonderful feedback to have people step up and say ‘We want to bring the championship weekend here.’ I think the CEBL and people in Canada should be really excited about the Winnipeg market and what we’ve been able to do in our inaugural season.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31