1st-place Bandits square off with Surge in Western Conference Final

The Western Conference was a battle all season.

Soon, someone will emerge as the last team standing.

The Vancouver Bandits (14-6) meet the Calgary Surge in the West final on Friday at 5:30 p.m. ET / 2:30 p.m. PT / 3:30 p.m. MT at Montreal’s Verdun Auditorium. Broadcast coverage of the game is available on TSN and Next Level Sports & Entertainment, while you can live stream the contest on CEBL+, TSN+ and Courtside 1891.

The winner will play for the CEBL championship trophy on Sunday against either the Niagara River Lions or host Montreal Alliance.

Despite the tough nature of the conference, Vancouver held down the top spot for most of the season thanks to an 8-2 start.

And while the second half wasn’t as smooth for the Bandits, they still finished the campaign with wins in six of their last 10.

On Wednesday, the Bandits dominated the league’s awards gala as point guard Tazé Moore was named MVP, Kyle Julius took top coaching honours and Koby McEwen was crowned the top Canadian.

“I couldn’t have done it without my teammates, for me to play well, for me to play free,” McEwen said moments after winning the award. “I don’t wanna say I’m not happy, but definitely not satisfied. There’s a lot of things we gotta do this weekend, just trying to stay even keel about things. But I’m definitely grateful for the league recognizing me and stuff like that.”

While Moore and McEwen buoyed the Bandits for most of the season, the team also received some late reinforcements in Canadian brothers Duane Notice and Marcus Carr as well as Australian big man Mitch Creek.

Over six contests, Creek averaged 25.8 points per game to go with eight rebounds and 2.7 assists.

Meanwhile, the season wasn’t as smooth-sailing for Calgary, which lost two of its first seven games to dig an early hole.

But the Surge seemed to discover their identity as a fast, physical and never-say-die squad in a 97-94 win over the Bandits last month, the second of a four-game winning streak that launched them firmly into playoff contention.

Despite missing some key players in NBA Summer League, a next-man-up mentality led by Mathieu Kamba, Corey Davis Jr., and mid-season addition Kyler Edwards helped propel the Surge forward.

Davis Jr., led the team with 22.5 points and seven assists per game while Sean Miller-Moore hauled in 10 rebounds per game.

The Bandits won the season series 2-1 over the Surge.

- CEBL -

About the CEBL

A league created by Canadians for Canadians with a mission to develop Canadian players, coaches, sports executives, and referees, the CEBL boasts the highest percentage of Canadian players of any pro league in the country with 75% of its rosters being Canadian and a record 10 players with NBA experience in 2024. Players also bring experience from the NBA G League, top international pro leagues, the Canadian National team program, NCAA programs, as well as U SPORTS and CCAA. Fourteen players have signed NBA contracts following a CEBL season, and numerous CEBL players attend NBA G League training camps every year. The CEBL season runs from May through August with games broadcast live on CEBL+ powered by BetVictor, TSN, TSN+, RDS, Game+, Next Level Sports & Entertainment and Courtside1891. More information about the CEBL is available at CEBL.ca and @cebleague on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube