It’s not too late to get tickets to Friday’s home opener for the Vancouver Bandits at Langley Events Centre, where they’re looking for a rematch against Edmonton.
Bandits fell to the host Stingers last weekend, by the score of 91-78.
Vancouver head coach Kyle Julius said “our defensive effort was poor everywhere,” calling that game “one of our worst performances in two to three years.”
But the Langley-based pro basketball team will get another shot at the Stingers — this time at home — after a 13-point loss on May 16.
On paper, Vancouver might just be the best team in the West.
Of course, the games aren’t played on paper, and the Stingers have proven they might be a force too. That means there’s plenty at stake in this rematch in terms of both perception — Edmonton would surely gain lots of confidence from another victory here — and the reality of the standings.
After losing MVP Mitch Creek in the off-season, the Bandits might have stumbled onto an immediate replacement in Jaelen House, who leads the league with 60 points despite starting just one of two games.
House, a 25-year-old American, is second in shot attempts only behind noted gunner Teddy Allen, though he also has 14 assists.
Edmonton, meanwhile, has been led by the wonderfully named Dain Dainja, who erupted for a 25-point, 14-rebound effort in the win over the Bandits. Preventing Dainja from having that kind of night again will be among the keys for the Bandits in the home opener.
And whichever team emerges victorious in this game will present itself as the top challenger to the West-leading Winnipeg Sea Bears.
Vancouver is 1-1 going into this weekend’s home-and-home series.
Vancouver will play Edmonton again on Friday, May 22, in their home opener at the recently named Envision Financial Court at Langley Events Centre. The game starts at 7 p.m.
Then they take on Calgary Surge at 5 p.m. on Sunday, May 24, again on home court. The latter is being dubbed a rematch of last year’s Western Conference semifinal.
Ahead of this game, the local basketball team is hosting a Bandits Backyard BBQ presented by Otter Co-op. It’s a pre-game event for every Saturday or Sunday home game. These festivities start 2 hours ahead of the game, so in this case it begins at 3 p.m. where ticketholders can arrive early outside Gate 4 for kid-friendly activities, live music, and food. The next Bandit Backyard BBQ is in mid-June.
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