Calgary Surge begin their quest back to CEBL championship game after 0-3 start to season

It wasn't the start the Calgary Surge had hoped for — a three-game losing streak to begin their second season after making it all the way to the Canadian Elite Basketball League championship game in their inaugural campaign.

But the team dug deep and found a way through.

"Even though we were losing, we were getting better," said head coach Tyrell Vernon. "The guys did a good job, we had a little bit of ups and down, but we tried to stay positive."

With that slate of losses in the rearview mirror, the team is looking ahead, hoping to return to the final and one-up the performance from last year when they fell a few buckets shy of a championship debut season.

Vernon, who was hired late in the off season after former head coach Nelson Terroba stepped down unexpectedly, was on the opposite bench, as an assistant coach for the Scarborough Shooting Stars, when the Surge lost that game.

His task of taking the Surge back to the final — and, ultimately, to the top of Canadian basketball glory — starts on Friday against the Winnipeg Sea Bears.

Tip-off is Friday at 7:30 p.m. at WinSport's event centre at Canada Olympic Park.

"Winnipeg is a stepping stone and hopefully we can go out there, stick to the game plan and just hoop," said veteran guard Mathieu Kamba, who's playing in his first post-season with the Surge.

"We've lost some pieces but I think we still have enough to get this done."

The Surge sit third in the western conference standings at 11-9, two more wins and two fewer losses than the Sea Bears. 

Calgary has played Winnipeg twice since July 23, winning one and losing the other. Vernon said facing the team again can be seen as an advantage. 

"We know what they do well, we know what they don't do well," he said.  "It's just trying to take away their better players and make life hard on them."

Calgary's better regular-season record is why they'll be at home for the game. It's something Vernon said also gives his side a bit of an edge.

"To have our community with us, our fans with us, is going to be a huge advantage, so hopefully we can use that as momentum," Vernon said.

"The kids come out and enjoy the games, and the message that I tell the guys always is it's bigger than us."

Friday's game against Winnipeg is the only home game this post-season for the Calgary Surge. Win and it'll set up a semi-final clash with their provincial rivals, the Edmonton Stingers, on Sunday.