Calgary Surge, Edmonton Stingers set for rematch at Centrium on Sunday

“I think we are all excited to have a ‘home game,’ but also for the expansion of our exposure to basketball to this province,” said Surge head coach Perry Huang. “Obviously, I’m still learning being an American about all the little nuances of everything, but it’s been fun learning all of those things… All of our guys are excited to play there, and I heard it’s a great crowd. The hope is we get to showcase our product in front of a great crowd and hopefully get a win out of it.”

Huang wasn’t on the team last year when the Surge and Stingers came to Red Deer, but after the departure of head coach Kaleb Canales, Huang joined the team in March.

He is a current assistant coach of the Los Angeles Lakers’ NBA G League affiliate, South Bay Lakers. He also won an NBA G-League title as an assistant coach with the Santa Cruz Warriors in 2015 and is a two-time WNBA champion as an assistant coach with the Seattle Storm.

So far, the Surge have struggled early on in the season, dropping to 0-3 to begin the year. All three losses have come on the road, but the Surge have their first home game on Thursday, May 28, against the Scarborough Shooting Stars before heading to Red Deer.

“It’s just some growing pains. It’s part of not having the full team here, as we’ve had to shift some young guys into roles they’re not comfortable with,” he said. “We’ve been making sure everyone gets acclimated, and we’ve been developing these guys. We are trending in the right direction and have gotten better each game. Hopefully, once we insert these veterans back in, it’ll be a seamless transition, and we start getting back to our winning ways.”

Huang said they also still have players arriving from overseas and are expecting more, so there will be a few familiar faces from last year’s squad on the court this Sunday.

He said he hopes his team will win more handily this time around, but as long as they give their full effort and do their jobs, he feels good about their chances.

“Hopefully we can take care of business, but I know for the fans they want an entertaining and fun brand of basketball,” he added.

Tickets are still available for the game and can be purchased on the Tickets Alberta website.

by Ian Gustafson

Calgary Surge, Edmonton Stingers set for rematch at Centrium on Sunday

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