On the sporting level, the Alliance is having a difficult season. Friday night’s tough 71-94 loss to the Newfoundland Growlers in Verdun is the most recent example. But its success – very real – is elsewhere.
Updated yesterday at 11:22 p.m.
“There was a vibe here tonight! commented Patrick Ewing Jr., head coach of the Growlers, behind the scenes at the Verdun Auditorium after the game.
I think it was the biggest crowd we played with this season. [Les spectateurs] were great. They come and support the team, despite not playing as well as they want. It’s impressive.
Patrick Ewing Jr.
The Alliance gave in to 3,010 supporters gathered in the recently renovated enclosure, which can accommodate 3,600. This brought its record to 4 wins and 12 losses this season. That didn’t stop the crowd from applauding and warmly encouraging the beautiful games, from getting up when a dunk energized him, to listen to the instructions of the crowd leader when he proposed to the locals to defend. And this, even when the pack trails by nearly 20 points.
“It’s a blessing from God,” said Alliance winger Nathan Cayo, who scored 18 points on Friday night. We have by far the best crowd in the league, win or lose. »
“This team will be good because the players will want to come and play there,” also underlined Patrick Ewing.
“With the influx of Montreal players in the NBA, it heightens the interest in the team here. »
Lack of success
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 ranking.
And the match started very badly. The Montrealers saw one of their best players this season, Ashley Hamilton, leave the game after a foot injury, when barely 40 seconds had elapsed. It will be reassessed daily.
It is sure that losing our best scorer from the start of the match, after losing Dominic [Green] a few weeks ago, it hurts.
Nathan Cayo
Subsequently, the pack never found its way to go before the Growlers, the worst team in the league before the game (3-12). Montreal clearly lacked success, especially in the first half. The locals went back to the locker room trailing by 13 points.
We believed in a jump in this chapter 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 worked: the Growlers won, among other things, thanks to these 29 points acquired after turnovers from the Alliance.
Were the locals surprised by the energy of the visitors?
“All the teams in the league are competitive,” Cayo said. […] We must take them all seriously. »
If this is a first year for the Montreal team, it is also for the Newfoundland Growlers. And both teams have had an up and down season. Patrick Ewing is happy to see his team string together two victories for the first time.
“The first four weeks were tough,” he recalls. But right now, it’s a team that I like to coach. »
The two teams will meet again on Sunday, still in Montreal. Then they will meet again next Wednesday, in Newfoundland.