Sea Bears Eliminate Bandits In Western Conference Final

The Vancouver Bandits’ championship pursuit and Kyle Julius’ tenure with the organization came to an end Saturday night as the Winnipeg Sea Bears earned a 107-96 victory in the CEBL Western Conference Final at Langley Events Centre.

Winnipeg advanced to the CEBL Championship Finals for the first time in franchise history, while Vancouver’s season ended after a 16-win campaign.

The difference came from beyond the arc. Winnipeg tied a CEBL playoff record with 18 three-pointers, shooting 52.9% from distance.

Vancouver made 11 threes, giving the Sea Bears a 21-point advantage from beyond the arc in an 11-point victory.

Bandits head coach Kyle Julius pointed to defensive execution and Winnipeg’s energy as key factors.

“We had a couple of defensive assignment game plan pieces that I thought we just did not ever execute,” Julius said. “They jumped on us right from the start and had more energy.”

Winnipeg answers every Vancouver push

Vancouver opened an 18-10 lead midway through the first quarter before Winnipeg responded with an 18-7 run to take a 28-25 advantage.

The Sea Bears never trailed again.

The Bandits remained within striking distance and cut Winnipeg’s lead to 84-82 with 6:21 remaining following consecutive Shamar Givance baskets.

Simon Hildebrandt immediately responded with seven straight Winnipeg points, hitting a three-pointer, adding a tip-in and connecting on a turnaround jumper.

“You have to give him a lot of credit,” Julius said. “He absolutely killed us.”

Hildebrandt finished with 24 points and four three-pointers. Xavier Moon added 24 points and five assists without committing a turnover, while Trey McGowens recorded 18 points, seven assists, six rebounds and three steals.

Moon delivered the decisive blow with 4:09 remaining, converting a four-point play to extend Winnipeg’s advantage to 95-84.

Givance leads Bandits in defeat

Despite Winnipeg’s perimeter advantage, Vancouver controlled several other areas.

The Bandits outscored the Sea Bears 42-26 in the paint and won the rebounding battle 33-30.

Givance led Vancouver with 21 points and a franchise playoff-record 11 assists. Mitch Creek and Tevin Brown each scored 19 points, with the trio combining for 59 of Vancouver’s 96 points.

Winnipeg also limited Tyrese Samuel to nine points and four rebounds after he averaged 17.1 points and 8.7 rebounds during the regular season.

Julius era ends in Vancouver

The loss marked Julius’ final game with the Bandits.

After the game, Julius confirmed his tenure with the organization had reached its conclusion.

“There’s no future,” Julius said. “That was it. That was my last game and my last bit of work with the Bandits.”

Winnipeg will now face the Brampton Honey Badgers in a best-of-three CEBL Championship Finals, beginning Wednesday in Brampton.