Vancouver Bandits comeback hope slips through their fingers

VANCOUVER BANDITS/ X

The Vancouver Bandits came close to securing their second comeback win in a row, but couldn’t seal the deal against the Winnipeg Sea Bears on June 20, 2025. 

Vancouver still sits at the top of the league in terms of wins but added a second loss to make their record 8-2, while Winnipeg now breaks even with a 5-5 record.

Vancouver also faced another roster shakeup heading into the game, as star player Kyle Mangas was placed on the Suspended List to participate in NBA team workouts and Summer League opportunities, while Mike Nuga was fully released from the Bandits roster. Zach Copeland signed with the team for the second time and made his season debut during the match up.

The game itself got off to a great start with the first points coming from Mitch Creek after Corey Davis Jr kept Vancouver in possession and passed it off to the team’s captain.

The first quarter saw a lot of back and forth action between the teams as they traded field goals, but both teams started off relying a little too heavily on three-point attempts. Winnipeg alone made 8 attempts in quarter 1, only 1 of which was successful.

Fouls were kept to a minimum in that first frame as well. The first whistle came 3 and a half minutes in when a Winnipeg player tripped Curtis Hollis, though no free throws were awarded.

Quarter 2 saw Winnipeg start to take off a bit, thanks in part to the efforts of Simi Shittu who had already racked up 18 points by the end of the first half.

“[I] feel like on both ends I was able to show dominance, take charges, get stops, blocks, whatever it was, just help my team win. So I just felt like I just gave 100% on both ends today”

On the Vancouver side, Curtis Hollis, Corey Davis Jr and James Karnik all made their presence known. Karnik in particular brought some physicality to the quarter, alternating between dunks and fouls.

The third quarter saw the continuation of a trend of leaving opponents undefended while they went in for the dunk. Jalen Harris waltzed right in without challenge and dunked the ball on a rebound from a teammates three-point attempt.

By the halfway mark, Vancouver had their work cut out for them, trailing 12 points behind Winnipeg.

Quarter 3 started off similar to quarter 1 with a layup from Creek. Vancouver showed way more energy as they came into the second half with a chip on their shoulders. 

Their defensive game started to sharpen while their offense brought them close to their opponents again in the first few minutes of the frame.

The third quarter was when the  sold out crowd at the Langley Events Center started to get more engaged, with some deafening defense chants as their home team brought some fight into their plays

Winnipeg was ready for that resurgence though and embraced the crowds' dislike towards them.

“I mean it was great. A lot of energy and we have a good crowd too and I’m pretty used to playing crowds like this…it’s another game for me [and] my team and I would just come together and fight against the crowd.” Simi Shittu

Winnipeg’s Head Coach, Mike Taylor, also commented on his former team’s fight in the second half.

“I think the one thing is, you know about Vancouver is when their backs are against the wall, they're going to come out and fight, they're going to pressure, they're going to be physical. We expected that after watching their response at halftime from Montreal. So you know, to their credit, they took away our lead. They erased it and got back in the game, but this is where you know you like your team…if one guy is getting pressured then the other guy can handle it, and we trust them to make plays.”

Winnipeg did indeed manage to regain a bit of control towards the end of the quarter, sitting 5 points ahead of Vancouver as they both entered the final frame.

Mitch Creek was 1 of the biggest factors for Vancouver's spark in the second half of the game. He was all over virtually every Vancouver play and racked up over 30 minutes of court time by the time Target Score had rolled around.

The forward had been on a roll with his field goals for most of the game, until a drive to the net resulted in the captain leaving the game due to injury. Corey Davis Jr commented on the loss of Creek in the final minutes in the game.

“I mean, it's Captain, that's our heartbeat… that's our mind, body and soul, right there. So, I mean, it hurts a lot, but, I mean, we got a great group of guys, and everybody's ready to step up. I mean, Mitch is going to be there regardless, being the leader that he is. So, I mean, guys just got to step up…and just play bigger roles, all of us.”

Vancouver struggled to recover after that, as Winnipeg went on a short run before Roberts made a three-point basket that was the final nail in the coffin for the night.

After the game, Davis Jr acknowledged that parts of the game got away from Vancouver, but that he also appreciated the team’s efforts to come back and try and secure a win.

“We brought it back within being able to win a game. And I think that's always something you can look back on and build from. But I mean, putting yourselves in those types of situations is something that we have to stay away from. But I like our fight. No matter what we're going to play to the buzzer sounds, and that's something that we have to hang our hat on.”

Vancouver faces a quick turnaround with a game on the road in Calgary against the Surge, the only other team to hand them a loss so far this season.

“You know, it's the second game in a row we've integrated new players, right? So that slows you down a bit too. So we have to figure out, you know, who we have and what, you know, what we're trying to do with who we have.”

The Vancouver Bandits next home game is at 7pm on Saturday June 28, 2025, when they host the Saskatchewan Rattlers for their Filipino Celebration Game.