I am not sure it was the weekend fans were looking for from Winnipeg, but the overall results are good enough to suffice. The addition of Jalen Harris was a welcome sight before the weekend, for a team that needed a bonafide scorer, they secured one. But it isn’t and wasn’t an immediate switch flipped. Friday’s match-up in Brampton against the Honey Badgers did not go as planned. The Sea Bears trailed much of the game, but did hold onto a four point lead in Target Time. As soon as the clock turned off, the wheels for Winnipeg did as well, and the Honey Badgers took advantage. Before the Sea Bears could even blink, former team member David Muenkat sunk a three to win the game for Brampton. Winnipeg’s performance in this game was nothing to be proud of. The offence was clunky, the defence did not get many stops, and they looked flat in a game they needed to come out firing. It was pretty disappointing, letting a game go that could have been one that got them on the right track. But no rest for the wicked. The Sea Bears had to travel to Scarborough to take on the Shooting Stars the following night. While this game wasn’t exactly what the doctor ordered either, it did see more consistency from a team that’s been the definition of inconsistency. Harris took over in moments of need, Tevian Jones played much better than the night before, and Nathan Bilamu was the underrated piece that seemed to put everything together. In the end, a little bit of luck from the bank had Harris hitting the winner for Winnipeg, ending their five game losing streak. While the win was what they desired, it still wasn’t pretty. Transition defence was still a problem, inside scoring was rough, and rebounding is still an issue. Going 1-1 was the minimal expectation for the two game road trip, but seems like in the reverse order. But other than that, looking at it in a vacuum, a win is a win and they needed at least some positive momentum. But positive momentum isn’t going to be enough to beat the Montreal Alliance on Wednesday.

Wednesday night is going to be one of the biggest tests the Sea Bears are going to face. The Alliance are the only remaining undefeated team and have taken care of business so far this summer. The recent addition of Tavian Dunn-Martin has added more scoring to the lineup, having already had Quincy Guerrier who is one of the best well-rounded players in the league. Anthony Walker adds good shooting and Alain Louis off the bench is one of the best passers the league has ever seen. Montreal likes to play fast, getting out in transition often. This has been a weakness of Winnipeg’s and the Alliance really could take advantage. Coach Mike Taylor needs to find some sort of solution if they want to make sure Montreal doesn’t run away with it early. It is going to be a tall task for a Winnipeg team that has overall struggled in seven games this season. They are going to need a lot to go right in order to win the game. One of those things doesn’t have to do with anything coach Taylor can do, but secondary scoring needs to stay up. Jones being an off the ball option opens up his game much better, and we saw he seemed a little more comfortable on Saturday. Jaylin Williams needs to get back on track. A couple games in a row of subpar performances are a little worrying, but I do think with Simi Shittu joining, that could draw more attention away from him. Peaking of Shittu, the hope for Wednesday is that he keeps it simple. Rebound, finish inside and just make the easy plays. After a great weekend, I would argue that Bilamu deserves to start, but I would expect Alex Campbell to continue to be in that spot. That also does not mean Bilamu doesn’t get more of the time, but he has played hard, hit shots and shown good defence. The biggest X-Factors for me are Terry Roberts and Emmanuel Akot. The two of them need to carry the bench scoring, especially if Bilamu does get the start. The fact that two former starters who had previously played well are now coming off the bench is huge. Roberts and Akot could be the reason that the Sea Bears do win the game. Tip-off is set for 7 PM CT from Canada Life Centre and is available on TSN+ and CEBL+.