Vancouver Bandits Edged Out by Montréal Alliance

LANGLEY, B.C., July 16, 2023 – Head coach and general manager Kyle Julius is looking for answers following another loss for his struggling Vancouver Bandits squad.

The Bandits led 70-69 heading into Target Score time but were outscored 10-4 to fall79-74 to the visiting Montréal Alliance in Canadian Elite Basketball League action on Sunday at Langley Events Centre.

The 74 points tied a season-low for the Bandits and while the 79 points they surrendered was well below their average of 91.3 points per game (worst in the league), that brought little solace to Julius.

“We are bad right now. We are very bad and I don’t think it is just the offence. I think it is kind of everything,” he said.

The loss was a fourth straight for Vancouver, which fell to 5-10 on the season. Montréal improved to 6-9.

Guaranteed a spot in the CEBL’s Championship Weekend as the host team, Julius said the team needs to do some “soul searching” as they enter the last two weeks of the regular season. 

A common theme in both of the Bandits’ losses this weekend – they fell at home on Friday night 96-91 to the Brampton Honey Badgers – was the struggle to connect consistently from beyond the arc as they shot 25 per cent (9-for-36) in the first game and 26.5 per cent (9-for-34) against the Alliance.

Sunday’s contest began with the Bandits looking like they had solved their shooting woes, as they sank four of their first nine attempts from the three-point line. Despite that, they still trailed 18-17 after a quarter and 41-38 at the half, before clawing back to level the score at 55 after three quarters.

But once the Target Score frame began, the Bandits committed a pair of turnovers and scored just a single point on their first six possessions. At the other end, Montréal converted an offensive rebound into a bucket, sank two free throws and made a pair of three-pointers for the 10 points they needed.

“We played a 40-minute game. A lot of ups and downs, but we stayed the course. I kept telling them to keep the game close and we will have a chance at the end and we pulled it off,” said Alliance coach Derrick Alston Sr.

It was a back-and-forth game with no team leading by more than five points and 24 lead changes along the way.

Neither team shot well from downtown as Montréal was 8-for-26 (30.8 per cent).

“We can’t throw it into the ocean right now, but we made the shots when it counted,” Alston said. “We always talk about if you get two threes in Target Score, you have a really good chance to win.”

Treveon Graham and Ahmed Hill each made a clutch three in the Target Score period and finished with 24 and 17 points, respectively, for the Alliance, while Alain Louis had 21.

The trio combined for 62 points as the Montréal bench was outscored 39-7.

Unfortunately for the Bandits, they had no one to match Montréal’s core three as Malcolm Duvivier and Diego Maffia led the Vancouver attack, but only had 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Vancouver was missing a key component to their offence in big man Nick Ward, who was suspended for the game after getting two more technical fouls in Friday’s contest.

In his absence, Kur Jongkuch did get some extended playing time and made a positive impression with nine points, six rebounds (four on the offensive end) and a pair of blocked shots.

“Definitely a bright spot,” Julius said. “That is how he works every day. We probably should have given him some minutes a lot sooner.”

Vancouver is back in action this Wednesday, July 19 at SaskTel Centre to face the Saskatchewan Rattlers. The next Bandits home game at Langley Events Centre is set for Friday, July 21 with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m. against the Edmonton Stingers.

Single game tickets 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 berth in the conference finals doubleheader on Friday, August 11.

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

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