The beautiful atmosphere at the Verdun Auditorium could not propel the Montreal Alliance to victory this time around. She lost 71-94 to the Newfoundland Growlers on Friday night.
Posted at 9:45 p.m.
That defeat was marked by the foot injury of Ashley Hamilton, potentially the team’s best player, after just 40 seconds of play.
The Alliance was practically playing its season on Friday. A victory allowed him to hang on vaguely to the race for the playoff games for the series of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (ECBL). No small task, given its 9e position out of 10 in the standings, as well as his record of 4 wins and 11 losses before the match.
But ahead of the Growlers, the league’s worst team (3-12), the pack never found its way. Despite Nathan Cayo’s good night (18 points), Montreal clearly lacked success, especially in the first half. The locals left for the locker room trailing by 13 points.
We believed in a jump at this level at the start of the third quarter. Alain Louis in particular put on a big three-pointer to get the crowd up in the middle of the engagement, and thus reduce the gap to 8 points. It was followed by a powerful dunk of James Jean-Marie a few minutes later.
But nothing helped: the Growlers won, among other things, thanks to their 27 points acquired after turnovers from the Alliance.
We have often praised the atmosphere of the Verdun Auditorium for the games of this new LECB team. We confirm. Even in difficulty in the match and in its season, the beautiful plays are always warmly applauded and encouraged. The dunks make the crowd rise, always numerous. And entertainment during game downtime attracts attention. Like this dance troupe nicknamed “Dance Pak!” came to show the extent of her talent in each of the halves.