Winnipeg Sea Bears lose on the hardwood, but win in the stands, during 1st playoff game

Winnipeggers have caught the Sea Bears fever.

Fans gathered in downtown Winnipeg Friday night to celebrate the team's first ever playoff match in the Canadian Elite Basketball League — becoming part of yet another record-breaking crowd.

"It's just a great thing to do. Everyone's in on it. It seems everyone is equally as excited about it," said Sea Bears season ticket holder Carson Koschik at True North Square before tip-off.

Ranked second in the Western Conference, the Sea Bears faced off against the third-ranked Edmonton Stingers, who the team played in its last regular season game on July 29 in front of 8,230 fans at Canada Life Centre.

That night, the Sea Bears topped the single-game attendance record they previously set during Winnipeg's season opener on May 27, which saw a roaring crowd of 7,328.

But with a crowd of 10,580, the team smashed that record again Friday night, and has now hosted the seven most-attended games in CEBL's five-year run.

"It's a blast to watch," said Koschik, who often sits close to the Sea Bears' bench and said he's heard players talk about how hard it is for their opponents to play against a city with such loud fans.

"Even though we're a big city, we're still a small city, so it's great when there's something we can all sort of band around together," he said.

But while the 10,000-plus fans can celebrate the new record they set, they won't be able to celebrate a win.

The Sea Bears lost 87-81 to the Stingers, marking the end of their season.

A pregame party kicked also off inside the Canada Life Centre an hour before the 8 p.m. CT tipoff. Sign-making and face-painting stations were set up inside the centre, and Canadian rapper Kardinal Offishall also performed before the game, with a second appearance at halftime.

For basketball fan Alex Serebnitski, the growing demand for tickets could be attributed to the both team's success this season and the exciting energy at the games.

"When you have a sports team that's doing well … I think that helps sort of get on the bandwagon," Serebnitski, who has been to seven Sea Bears games this season. 

"The atmosphere is really like fresh and new," he said at True North Square.

The affordable ticket prices and the family friendly environment also drew people in to see the games, said Serebnitski.

"NBA, as awesome as it is, tickets are really expensive, [and] you have to travel far to see teams," he said.

The Stingers will move on to the quarterfinal against the Surge in Calgary Sunday evening. 

The winner of that game will head to the CEBL's annual championship weekend in Langley, B.C., slated for Aug. 11-13, to play among the top four teams.

The weekend will feature annual awards, a concert with local and Canadian artists, a youth basketball tournament, community clinics and a championship after party.

Lizell Ortega-Palma has gone to five or six Sea Bears games with her husband and kids. She said it's no wonder the games have been a slam dunk for Winnipeggers, since the city has such a large basketball community.

"It's really good that we're all like sharing this love for basketball and watching together as a family," she said at True North Square Friday.

"It's so nice to see that everybody is embracing basketball."

The Toilers, the Thunder, the Cyclone: A history of pro basketball in Winnipeg

2 years ago

Duration 4:47

With excitement building around Winnipeg's newest pro basketball team, the Sea Bears, we take a look back — way back — at the pro teams that have dribbled, alley-ooped and slam-dunked their way into our city.

Winnipeg sports superfan Gabriel Langlois, better known as Dancing Gabe, said the crowd has been "electric" during the 10 Sea Bears games he's already been to.

He said "it's been a long 22 years" since he last saw pro basketball in the city, when the Winnipeg Cyclone last played.

Langlois said it's been great to see a team come back.

"They're amazing in their first year," he said.