There’s reason for optimism about the future of professional basketball in Calgary on the heels of the Surge’s first season, which saw the team fall just short in the championship game.
The franchise, which relocated from Guelph, Ont. ahead of the 2023 Canadian Elite Basketball League(CEBL) season, finished with the best regular season record in the Western Conference (12-8).
The Surge defeated the Edmonton Stingers to start their playoff run and then the championship weekend host city Vancouver Bandits to claim their spot in the CEBL finals, where they lost 82-70 to the Scarborough Shooting Stars.
“What an incredible ride it’s been,” said Surge chairman Usman Tahir Jutt. “A year ago, this team didn’t exist. And a short eight or nine months ago we put this thing together and made some pretty grand commitments to be a team that was belonging to Calgary.
“I think, as we get to the end of the first year a few baskets short of bringing the trophy home in our inaugural season, we’ve seen a tremendous amount of success and we’re really grateful for the way Calgary responded.”
Despite the disappointing end to the season, the Surge celebrated their successful debut alongside fans in Century Gardens in downtown Calgary on Tuesday.
The team played in front of sellout crowds for four of its 10 regular season home games and head coach Nelson Terroba credits the fans with bolstering the club along.
“We started with a sellout, we ended with a sellout,” Terroba told Global News. “(The fans) really helped propel us our last four games — three of them were at home —that we really needed right in the middle of that run (to the playoffs).
“To beat Winnipeg at home, to beat Saskatchewan at home, so much of that last stretch run it was so important that we got to play at home at WinSport.”
According to Jutt, the future looks bright for the Surge as season ticket renewals for 2024 have already eclipsed the 90 per cent mark.
— with files from Global News’ Cami Kepke.
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