Vancouver Bandits win over the Winnipeg Sea Bears displayed their chemistry

JEN FIELD/ GATG

In their final home game of the regular season, the Vancouver Bandits proved why they’re at the top of the standings in the CEBL in their win over the Winnipeg Sea Bears on August 3.

Their roster going into the final stretch and beyond seemed to have somewhat solidified now that Tyrese Samuel and Kyle Mangas returned, while Izaiah Brockington, Corey Davis Jr, and David Mutabazi are on the Suspended List for the remainder of the season while they are overseas for other commitments. Tristan Jass remained on the Suspended List and Curtis Hollis parted ways with the team as he continued to recover from a lower body injury sustained overseas.

Despite the fact that it was the second to last Bandits game at the Langley Events Center this season, the overall mood was business as usual thanks to the culture that the team cultivated this season.

The chemistry was on display from the get go, as by the halfway point of the first quarter the Bandits had established a healthy lead due to the team feeding off of each other’s energy. 

The starting lineup consisted of Zach Copland, Shamar Givance, Tyrese Samuel, Kyle Mangas, and Mitch Creek, all made several contributions that led to their 33-24 lead by the end of the first frame.

From there, Vancouver’s swagger was unstoppable in the second quarter. Tyrese Samuel continued to dominate in his third game since returning from the NBA Summer League. Samuel kicked quarter 2 off with a basket that was so fast you could barely tell his feet had left the ground.

The Bandits' commitment to the culture and game plan remained on display as they continued to build on their lead, extending it to 60-34 by the end of the second quarter. 

Coach Kyle Julius had nothing but praise for his team’s buy-in throughout the season after the game; “This group of guys that we have right now is just…completely bought in. They care about each other a lot, and you can see it…This is the group that we’re gonna finish the season with and we’re excited about that, they’re excited about being here…We kinda evolved into this group, right? And there’s just great chemistry there.”

On the other side of the court, the Sea Bears continued to fight hard though the bounces didn’t go their way for a little, instead ending up in the hands of their opponents. 

Sea Bears Head Coach Mike Taylor acknowledged the game got away from them at times during the evening; “We’re continuing to work on our offensive efficiency. We weren’t very efficient tonight, and that impacted our defense, that consistency.”

The third quarter saw Winnipeg fight back and display more of the kind of consistency they’ve worked hard at throughout the season.

“I feel like we’re moving in a really good direction. We got off to a slow start, you know, and since that time our guys have made steady, steady progress.”

It wasn’t enough to knock the home team off of their consistently-near 30 point lead throughout the second half though. The Bandits cruised through the rest of the game by maintaining the same level of physicality and camaraderie they have all season despite the continual roster shake ups up to this point.

Coach Julius was both grateful and proud of his team’s ability to find a way to win every time after the game.

“I’m most proud of that. We’ve won with so many different groups. It’s a credit to our coaching staff, like everybody in general. We’ve been able to kind of keep the ship going. If you think about the impactful players that we’ve lost throughout the summer and we’ve been able to continue to win…the different iterations. I’m really proud that we’ve been able to sustain.”

He chalked it up to the quality of the character of his team, which made sense given how much both he and the players have stressed the team’s core values of buy-in, commitment and dedication throughout the season.

“If you boil it down to the group that’s here right now, they’re some of our best character guys that we’ve had in here in a couple years. So I’m not surprised that there’s the chemistry that we actually have. This is a really good group of guys…Chemistry is something that’s hard to balance, it’s hard to figure out. Sometimes there's addition by subtraction you know, whether it be on a work place or a team. I just feel like we have kind of boiled it down to a group of guys that just really care about each other.”

It’s clear that both the Bandits and their coach genuinely love what they do and who they work alongside. During the post-game media availability, a majority of the team unintentionally crashed Julius’s question period, giving slaps on the shoulders and back, laughing and smiling with each other and their coach.

It’s one of the many things that Julius loves about the Bandits organization and his role as both Head Coach and GM. In fact, he reiterated how much he enjoys his line of work in every answer, including when asked what his favourite moment from the season has been so far.

“Honestly just coming to work everyday. I love this group, I love the guys, I love the coaches…I’m sad this was our second-last home game so to speak…My favourite moment honestly, waking up in the morning and getting to do this is probably my favourite. There’s no one thing. I love these guys. Watching Mitch [Creek] lead the guys, and he’s so accomplished, and watching the players listen to him. And like, you know I’ll say something and ‘Yeah, whatever Coach’. Mitch says something and they are like, gravitating towards it, so that’s special to have a guy like that and watch that happen. I’m also really proud and excited about the guys that have gone to NBA Summer League and come back, and they wanna come back, and they’re excited to be back here, that kinda thing. But yeah, just getting to do this everyday, you know I’m honoured.”

Julius acknowledged that the job isn’t done yet, as they haven’t secured an immediate spot in the Western Conference final due to how tightly contested the conference is.

“The West is a beast. The West is not the East. First place in the East, I don’t know, twelve, thirteen wins. We’ve got fifteen, sixteen wins and we’re biting and clawing you know to finish this thing out on top. So the West is a beast over here, and it’s serious and I’m proud that we’re at the top of it.”

Vancouver is indeed at the top of the standings, with a 17-5 record so far this season, while Calgary and Niagara follow closely behind with 15-7 and 14-7 respectively.

The Bandits conclude the regular season on the road with stops in Scarborough on August 8 and Ottawa on August 10. The date that they host a playoff game has yet to be determined, and will either be August 14 or August 16 depending on the defense of their lead in the standings.