Vancouver Bandits Drop Heartbreaker to Calgary Surge on Indigenous Celebration Night

Gary Ahjua • June 26, 2023

LANGLEY, B.C., June 25, 2023 – A tough first-half proved too much to overcome for the Vancouver Bandits and left head coach Kyle Julius with more questions than answers.


Calgary was playing its third game in five days while travelling from Ontario to B.C., but was able to edge past the Bandits as Vancouver fell 93-88 to the visiting Surge in Canadian Elite Basketball League action at Langley Events Centre on Sunday.



Vancouver trailed by as many 22 points in those opening 20 minutes and while they did manage to pull off a second-half rally to cut the deficit down to six points heading into the Elam Ending – and tying the score on two separate occasions during Target Score time – they could not find the defensive stop they needed with Calgary scoring the final five points.


The win was the first in three head-to-head meetings for Calgary, which improved to 7-5. The Bandits lost for a second straight-game and saw their record slip to 4-6.


And while Julius does not know what happened the first half, he did say that the players know it was unacceptable.


“There are a few guys that really need to look in the mirror. In pro basketball, with the way we provide the resources for these guys to get ready to play, we finally had a few days of practice to get ready before and the way some of our guys showed up not ready to play today is flat-out unacceptable,” Julius said post-game.


“We have to sort some things out with guys individually. Some guys haven’t been coming ready to play, haven’t been anywhere near their potential. We have to sort that out and deal with that.”

Vancouver could not find any offensive rhythm in that first half as they made just one of their 14 three-point attempts. Nick Ward was the lone Bandit to make multiple field goals in the opening 20 minutes, as he was 6-for-7 from the field and scored 14 of his team’s 27 points. 


But while Ward was shooting a high percentage, the rest of the Bandits were off in the first half, especially from beyond the arc as the team struggled, making just one of their 14 attempts, as they trailed 46-27 heading into the locker room.


The team did find some offensive traction in the second half, cutting the deficit down to as low as seven points early in the fourth quarter, but for every run they put together, the Surge had an answer. The Bandits did twice tie the score during Target Score time but would get no closer.


Ward scored 14 points in each half and finished with a game-high 28 points and 16 rebounds while fellow Bandits big man Giorgi Bezhanishvili had a dominant second half, scoring 24 of his 26 points after halftime and also hauling down 10 rebounds, dishing out four assists, while also getting three steals and a blocked shot.


Another bright spot for the Bandits was Diego Maffia. After playing limited minutes these past few games – and just 2:57 in the first half – the point guard was a factor down the stretch, scoring 12 points and dishing out three assists.


Julius pointed out that Vancouver had six assists and nine turnovers at the half but finished the game with 15 assists and just 11 turnovers. 


“He has a very calming effect. Probably our best guy as far as just getting us into our offence and helping our team get into the right spots and execute. Plus, he is also a shot-maker so the defence has to respect him,” the coach said of his U SPORTS guard. 


Ward, Bezhanishvili and Maffia were the only three Bandits to crack double figures in scoring. By comparison, five Calgary players scored 10 or more points, led by Sean Miller-Moore’s 23 – including the Target Score winning hoop – while Admon Gilder Jr. scored 18. Stefan Smith directed the offence with 13 points and a dozen assists and Kylor Kelly also chipped in with 13 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots.


Calgary entered the game with four losses in their previous five contests and coming off the aforementioned stretch of three games in three cities over a five-day span.


“Our guys just fought,” said Surge coach Nelson Terroba, adding that the coaching staff made the decision to give the players the morning off, cancelling both the walkthrough and shootaround.

“It wasn’t easy. A lead helps, but at the same time, this league is relentless and I say that in a very complimentary way. There are no nights off in this league, there are no possessions off in this league. We expected them to come back and they did.”


“It was more a testament to the guys. Tired legs, rested legs, at the end of the day, it is a commitment to winning and doing what you need to do to get the job done and our guys had that commitment tonight,” he added.


Up next for the Bandits is a Canada Day home game on Hoops and Heroes Night as they welcome the Edmonton Stingers (5-5) to Langley Events Centre. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. PT for a 7 p.m. tip-off.


It is the start of a home-and-home series between the two Western Conference rivals as they will head to Edmonton on July 3 for the rematch. Single game tickets for the fifth season of Bandits Basketball are available for purchase at this link.


A key highlight of Vancouver’s fifth CEBL campaign will be its hosting of Championship Weekend, which takes place between Friday, August 11 and Sunday, August 13. An annual celebration of the highest level of Canadian professional basketball, Championship Weekend features a postseason format that combines three games of playoff basketball as part of a multi-day festival experience designed to celebrate the intersection of arts, culture and sport. As hosts of Championship Weekend, the Bandits receive an automatic semifinal berth.


Individuals interested in learning more about tickets for the Vancouver Bandits’ 2023 season are kindly asked to call (604) 455-8881 or email tickets@thebandits.ca. A complete regular season schedule can be found by clicking here.


More information is available at thebandits.ca and @vancouverbandits on Instagram and TikTok, as well as @vancitybandits on Facebook and Twitter.

LATEST NEWS

Bandits Re-Sign Guard Zach Copeland

By Bandits Staff • July 6, 2026
The Vancouver Bandits announced Monday that the club has re-signed American guard Zach Copeland for his third consecutive Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) season. A 6-foot-4 guard from Oakland, Calif., Copeland has logged 37 games for the club averaging 16.8 points, 3.1 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game across the past two seasons. Having built a reputation as an elite sharpshooter and clutch scorer, Copeland led the CEBL in total three-pointers made during the 2024 season with 67 and ranked second overall in 2025 with an average of 3.5 three-pointers per game. Most recently, Copeland played professionally in Italy during the 2025-26 season splitting time between New Basket Brindisi and Tramec Cento where he averaged 15.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists across 39 games played. His overseas career also includes stops in Germany, Finland, Ukraine and England. Copeland began his post-secondary career at City College of San Francisco, where his performance in the 2016-17 season earned him both the Coast-North Conference Player of the Year and the California Community Colleges Men's Basketball Coaches Association Co-Player of the Year awards. His impressive play at the junior college level led him to transfer to Illinois State University, where he played two seasons of NCAA Division I basketball from 2018-20. In his final year at Illinois State, Copeland became the Redbirds’ leading scorer with 14.5 points per game, also ranking 7th among Missouri Valley Conference leaders and establishing himself as one of the conference's top players.

Bandits Forward Miller Kopp Signs With Houston Rockets for 2026 NBA Summer League

By Bandits Staff • July 6, 2026
The Vancouver Bandits have announced that forward Miller Kopp has signed an NBA Summer League contract with the Houston Rockets. The news was announced by the Rockets on the club’s website in a release .  Appearing in 14 games (13 starts), Kopp quickly established himself as a key Import player for the Bandits during the first half of the 2026 CEBL season, tallying 13.9 points The Rockets' roster will be headlined by 2026 NBA Draft selection Bruce Thornton (31st overall), who will begin NBA Summer League play on July 10 with scheduled games running through July 16. The Bandits have placed Kopp on its Reserve Roster in order for him to participate in NBA Summer League play while also retaining his CEBL rights, with the option to return to the club at the conclusion of his commitments.

Bandits fall to Calgary to wrap up four-game homestand

By Gary Ahuja • July 5, 2026
The Vancouver Bandits failed to hold a fourth-quarter lead as they lost to the struggling Calgary Surge. Hosting the Surge on Envision Financial Court at Langley Events Centre on Sunday afternoon as part of their Indigenous Heritage Game, the Bandits failed to make a single field goal in Target Score Time – settling for just three free throws – as they fell 92-84 to the Surge. Calgary led 83-81 heading into Target Score Time. It was the second consecutive loss for Vancouver and a fourth defeat in six games as they fell to 9-6 and second place in the Canadian Elite Basketball League’s Western Conference. Calgary picked up just their second win of the season at 2-14. Vancouver had a great opening 10 minutes as they put up 33 points in the first quarter. But from there, the offence slogged, scoring just 51 points the rest of the way. “We’re working on that. I think getting all the guys to understand the play package, understand that, you know, we're going to be playing with different lineups. And when we do, what are the best plays to run with those lineups,” said Bandits interim head coach Rans Brempong. “We're still working to get comfortable. I think that's a big thing that we just need to clean up and we just got to continue to understand and work on our pace.” For Calgary, the victory was a nice reward for a team which has been close in its last few games. “When they went on their runs, we had to just maintain our composure, not getting too up or getting too down, just staying solid,” said Surge coach Dave Deaveiro. “I thought we fought through that, and every time we needed to get a bucket, we got a bucket. Every time we needed to get a stop, we got to stop it. We just stayed solid throughout.” And that was clear down the stretch when Calgary held Vancouver without a field goal on five consecutive possessions. “Tremendous effort. That was about willpower. We talk about imposing our will on the other team, especially in target time, where it has been other teams have been imposing their will on us. Today, I thought we did a little bit of that ourselves,” Deaveiro said. Another key was sharing the ball as the Surge finished with 27 assists on their 35 field goals. “We started swinging the ball twice, attacking from the corners, and that opened up a lot of options for our offense. So I just think when the ball started moving, we really took off,” Deaveiro said. Jarkel Joiner and Lloyd Pandi led the Banders with 16 points apiece with Tyrell Samuel and Tevin Brown adding 15 and 14 points, respectively. Calgary’s Adderson Pattison led all scorers with 19 followed by Mathieu Kamba’s 17. The Bandits now embark on a three-game, five-day road trip with stops in Saskatoon (July 7), Calgary (July 9) and Edmonton (July 11). The team’s next home game is July 17 against the Montreal Alliance as they celebrate Country Night. Tip-off is set for 7:00pm.

Kyle Julius Steps Down as Bandits Head Coach, Ransford Brempong Appointed Interim Head Coach

By Bandits Staff • July 5, 2026
The Vancouver Bandits have announced that Kyle Julius has stepped down as head coach to accept a head coaching position in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). Julius, who has been an integral part of the organization's success since 2020, will remain with the club as general manager for the remainder of the 2026 season. The Bandits organization fully supports Julius in this next chapter of his career, with the opportunity to lead at the CBA level exemplifying the Bandits as the top development organization in the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) for both players and coaches. A two-time CEBL Coach of the Year (2024, 2025), Julius guided the Bandits to two CEBL Finals appearances in 2020 and 2024 while leading the team to the postseason in each of his five seasons at the helm. In 2025, he propelled the Bandits to a .792 winning percentage (19-5), the highest by any CEBL club across a full season. "I want to thank our tremendous coaches, president Dylan Kular, our ownership group Kevin Dhaliwal, Bryan Slusarchuk, and Milan Mann, the entire Bandits organization, our players, and the incredible fans for everything we have built together over the past seven seasons. Coaching the Vancouver Bandits has been one of the greatest experiences of my career. Together, we established a culture built on energy, effort, accountability, and player development. I am incredibly proud of what we accomplished on and off the court, but even more proud of the relationships that were built along the way. This opportunity to become a head coach in the CBA is one that is very important for my family and my career and, while it is difficult to leave a place that has meant so much to us, I believe it is the right next step. I will always be grateful to everyone who believed in me and supported our journey. I will be cheering for the Bandits from afar and wish the organization nothing but continued success. Vancouver will always hold a special place in my heart,” said Julius. Julius’ relentless commitment to building a championship culture transformed the Bandits into the CEBL's premier organization, earning its status as a true destination for world-class talent and top basketball development. The Bandits have advanced players to NBA two-way contracts directly following their time with the club in each of the past three seasons, more than any other CEBL organization. "Kyle has become family. He believed in this organization and poured his heart into building something special here. His vision, passion, and commitment to developing players and people have set a standard that will define the Bandits for years to come. Beyond wins, he gave us a foundation built on passion, accountability, and genuine care for every person in our organization. I am grateful for every early morning meeting, every late-night phone call, and every moment we shared chasing this dream together. This isn't goodbye; we will be cheering louder than anyone when he succeeds in China and beyond in the next chapters of his career,” said team president Dylan Kular. Off the court, Julius participated in the Bandits' youth sports development efforts primarily through the Bandits Community Foundation School Tour. Since 2023, the free-of-charge initiative saw Julius support training and skill development directly with nearly 200 school teams across British Columbia. In addition, through the Bandits Community Foundation, Julius has hosted countless youth skill clinics and coaching seminars with athletes and volunteer coaches across the province. In a corresponding move, the Bandits have appointed Lead Assistant Coach Ransford Brempong as Head Coach for the remainder of the 2026 CEBL season. A former Canadian Senior Men's National Team member, Brempong has represented Canada at the highest level for eight years. He also played professionally for six years in Europe and was a standout NCAA DI player at Western Carolina University, where he graduated as both the program’s and conference's all-time leader in blocked shots, a record that still stands today. "The Vancouver Bandits have high expectations for our roster, and I am excited to lend my decades of experience and skills developed at the collegiate, international, and national team levels to help our players get better and to achieve success this summer,” said Brempong. Fans will have an opportunity to connect with Julius in August after he returns from training camp in China, with details to be announced in the coming weeks.

LATEST VIDEO

Full Game Highlights | Bandits at Saskatoon, 05/14/2026

By Bandits Staff • May 15, 2026
Highlights of the Vancouver Bandits against the Mamba on May 14, 2026.

A Message from Vancouver Bandits head coach Kyle Julius

By Bandits Staff • August 18, 2025
A message from Vancouver Bandits head coach and general manager Kyle Julius on the 2025 season and thoughts on the CEBL Western Conference Semifinal.

Full Game Highlights | Bandits vs. Calgary Surge (08/16/2025)

By Bandits Staff • August 16, 2025
Highlights of the Vancouver Bandits against the Calgary Surge on August 16th, 2025.

Full Game Highlights | Bandits vs. Winnipeg Sea Bears (08/03/2024)

By Bandits Staff • August 4, 2025
Highlights of the Vancouver Bandits against the Winnipeg Sea Bears on August 3rd, 2025.