HALF WAY THERE: TAKING A LOOK AT THE FIRST HALF OF THE SEASON

June 23, 2023

Photo by Jesse Tamayo

Written by Ethan Bomhof

The Calgary Surge have officially crossed over into the second half of their inaugural season in the Canadian Elite Basketball League. The Surge currently sit in the top of the standings, battling with the Winnipeg Seas Bears for the top spot.


Let’s take a look at how we got here and where the rest of the season might take us:


1.  Feeling the energy


Over the past month, the people of Calgary have left their mark as a basketball city. The passion for the Surge has been felt all over the city, specifically at WinSport Event Centre. The Surge players have been feeling the love from the fans and the Surge faithful have fueled the guys on the court.


“Surge fans are amazing,” said star guard Stef Smith after the June 9 win over Ottawa. “If we keep getting this turnout every home game, we’re going to be very hard to beat at home. We really ride the momentum and energy that they give us.”

Photo by Jesse Tamayo

2.  Early season success


The Surge burst onto the CEBL scene with immediate success and established themselves as the team to beat in the league. The home opener victory over Edmonton in front of a sold-out crowd gave Calgary solid footing and an important positive start to a tough 20-game season. Just over 24 hours later, the Surge rematched the Stingers, this time as the away team. Surge battled back from being 16 points down in target time and pulled off the win. Calgary took the Battle of Alberta bragging rights while setting a CEBL record for the largest target time comeback in CEBL history. The Surge then returned home and hosted the Niagara River Lions, pulling off another thrilling win, igniting the home crowd and cementing a 3-0 record. The early success set a tone for the rest of the league that the Surge are a force and here to stay.


3.  Get up or get out of the way!



High-flying, rim-rocking slams best presented in video form:


4.    Learning from losing


Despite having a fantastic start to the season, there have been some inevitable bumps along the road. The Vancouver Bandits handed the Surge their first-ever loss on June 3 in Langley. The loss was a tough pill to swallow but the guys in red, black and white knew they needed to bounce back. The Surge returned home to take on the Ottawa Blackjacks and showed out for their home fans once again. Led by Stef Smith, Calgary took the tight game and improved to 4-1 through their first five games. The next five didn’t go as smoothly and the Surge went 2-3 through those games. As much as it was a great feeling to be rolling early, Surge head coach Nelson Terroba knew that there would be some growing pains and took accountability for his team.


“There are lots of things to work through,” said Terroba after losing to the Montréal Alliance on June 16. “It starts with me. I have to take accountability for it and get our guys more ready for the games.”


Rugzy Miller-Moore has been a leader of the team and knows when to dwell on the hard losses but also when to move forward to the next game.


“It’s human nature. You let it burn for a second, then you forget about it,” said Miller-Moore. “It’s always a quick turnaround in this league. We got to get over it and lock in on our game plan for the next one.”


“With anything we do, we have to stay patient. That means trusting each other and trusting what our coaches tell us to do,” continued Miller-Moore.


5.  The road ahead


The Surge have one more home game in June as they take on Cat Barber and the Scarborough Shooting Stars at WinSport on the 28th. The matchup will be something Calgary basketball fans won’t want to miss. Tickets are available here.


Following June 28, the Surge won’t play another home game until July 20 when they host their western rival, Winnipeg. Until then, the Surge will play three tough road games in July. What does the next while look like for the boys in black?


Calgary continues to match up very well against every team they come across. Their length, speed and size give them an intimating advantage on defence. Led by Admon Gilder and Stef Smith, the Surge lead the league in steals (83). If you get past those guys, then you have to worry about the long arms of Simi Shittu and Kylor Kelley, who help the Surge rank first in blocks (52). Although there have been strong individual games, the Surge find success as a group. Each player finds their role and excels at it. Whether it’s Mason Bourcier putting the clamps on defence and then dishing an assist, Maurice Calloo knocking down a big three-pointer, Trevon Scott driving to the hoop for a tough layup, or anything else called upon one of Nelson Terroba’s players, the Surge are all contributing to one common goal: winning.

The Calgary Surge are finding their identity and will look to strengthen it for the rest of the way in hopes of Surgin’ 'N Purgin’ all the way to Championship Weekend in Vancouver.


Share by: