Surge surge past Stingers in CEBL Western Playoff clash
By Maggie Hsu, Aug 16 2025—
The Calgary Surge extended their season Thursday night at Winsport Event Centre, outlasting their provincial rivals, the Edmonton Stingers, 103–95 to advance to the Western Conference semi-finals.
While the Surge managed to come out on top, the Stingers did not make the beginning of their playoff road easy. 2025 Most Valuable Player Candidate and regular scoring leader, Sean East II and the Stingers brought the energy early on, as they looked to punch their tickets to Championship Weekend for the first time since 2021.
The first and second quarters were absolute dogfights, leaving the Surge in a back-and-forth grind by halftime. Edmonton fans swarmed the Surge’s home court as “MVP” cheers rained down anytime East touched the ball. With the first and second quarters seeing both teams trade points, the first half saw Edmonton with a slim lead of 50-48.
The crowd was electric as opposing fans traded jeers but the third quarter seemed to see a rejuvenated Calgary squad shift the tide — a familiar story of the 2025 Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) season.
“We have really good third quarters,” guard Jameer Nelson Jr. said postgame. “That’s just our team especially with how the locker room is — there’s a lot of accountability. [During halftime] there was a little gut checking and reminding each other ‘You’ve got to guard your guy. I have to guard mine. We have to play together.’”
The third quarter saw Edmonton extend their slim lead to six points but Nelson responded immediately, dropping a field goal before a big block from Gabe Osabuohien created an opportunity for Evan Gilyard II to add a layup to cut the lead back to two. And a huge dunk by Sean “Rugzy” Miller-Moore tied the game up once again.
From there, the Surge went on an 11-0 run, stretching their lead to 70-61. Calgary’s strong defensive game slowed the tempo, forcing Edmonton into difficult looks in the paint and beyond the arc.
“You’re going to play good teams in the playoffs and we know the game ebbs and flows,” said Canales on the team’s strong defense in the second half. “We have a lot of respect for Edmonton and we knew it was going to be a fight and a fight is usually 12 rounds so there’s no knockouts and we knew we had to come back to who we are. I loved what our group talked about at halftime. We connected on both ends, we knew what we needed to do.”
At the same time, the Edmonton defense had to match up with guards Gilyard and Nelson, who relentlessly attacked the rim. Gilyard finished the game with 28 points, three rebounds and five assists in 35 minutes of play to earn him the first-star and player of the game honours.
Not only that, Gilyard set the tone for the team with his poise and vocal leadership.
“That’s a testament to EG (Evan Gilyard II), he’s the main one reminding us to not get on the refs, to calm down because there’s a lot of things in a game that are demoralizing,” Nelson Jr. commented on Gilyard fitting in with the team mid-way through the season. “There’s another play so we can’t be sulking and feeling sorry for yourself — he’s the kind of driving force to keep everyone accountable and how we approach the next play.”
That accountability stretched across the roster. Another frequent theme of the Surge has been different players stepping up every game to make sure it’s not all on one person to carry the load.
“Every game, it’s been somebody different stepping up,” said Nelson who finished the game with 26 points, six rebounds and seven assists in over 36 minutes on the court. “Guys have done a good job of not complaining about not getting touches, just staying with the team.”
Nelson sealed the victory with a fearless drive in the target score ending, capping his night with the decisive game-winning layup. “I honestly love the pressure,” Nelson said. “I wasn’t paying attention to points, I just knew we had to win.”
Veteran forward Miller-Moore added 19 points, five rebounds and three assists, and was recently named a nominee for CEBL Canadian Player of the Year. For the fourth-year player, individual accolades take a backseat to team success.
“It wasn’t really a goal of mine,” Miller-Moore said. “It feels good to see the work paying off. But I feel like it doesn’t mean anything unless we win. So if we make it to the Championship and end up winning, getting the award is just icing on the cake.”
Having been with the Calgary franchise since day one in 2023, Miller-Moore says this year’s group is special: “The vibes are high, we’re eager, and we care about one another. I think that’s the biggest difference — and I think we can win.”
The Surge now set their eyes on the other MVP candidate, Mitch Creek, and the top-seeded Vancouver Bandits. The Western Conference semi-final clash is set to tip off on Saturday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. MST where the winner will book their spot against the Conference final at Championship Weekend in Winnipeg against the host, Sea Bears. The winner of that bout will have the honour of representing the West in the CEBL Final.
The Surge, on the other hand, don’t have their sights looking too far ahead as they focus on the next obstacle ahead: the Bandits. No matter which team they face on the other end of the court, the message in the Surge locker room is simple: defend, and the rest will follow.