WINNIPEG — Khalil Ahmad's three-pointer in Target Time lifted the Canadian Elite Basketball League defending champion Niagara River Lions to a thrilling 93-91 win over the Scarborough Shooting Stars in Friday's Eastern Conference final at Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg.
Ahmad led the River Lions with 29 points and six rebounds, and helped punch his team's ticket to Sunday's championship game the Calgary Surge, who beat the host Winnipeg Sea Bears 90-79 in the Western Conference final later Friday night.
“My God, that guy (Ahmad) has something inside of him that is just built for Target Time,” Niagara's head coach Victor Raso said, pointing out that Ahmad scored all three playoff winners for his team last year.
Ahmad raced up the court, stopped on a dime above the three-point arc, and splashed home a winner under pressure from behind.
“There wasn’t a lot of thoughts going through my head. … We needed a three, so why not take it?” Ahmad said. “Stepped into it with confidence and knocked it down.”
Nathan Cayo added 16 points and nine rebounds for the River Lions, while Ron Curry had 14 points and five assists. The River Lions finished first in the Eastern Conference with a 14-10 record.
Donovan Williams led the Shooting Stars — who won the league championship in 2023 — with 29 points and 11 rebounds. Terquavion Smith had 16 points and 10 assists, while Michael Foster Junior had 11 points and 10 rebounds.
"We handled the adversity we wanted to handle. We had chances to win the game. It just didn’t go for us and then Khalil made a big shot. That’s what he’s shown that he can do and he’s done it for years now,” Shooting Stars' head coach Mike De Giorgio said.
The Shooting Stars led 50-49 at halftime.
SURGE 90 SEA BEARS 79
Evan Gilyard the Second had 24 points, Sean Miller-Moore had 20 points and seven rebounds, and the Calgary Surge punched their ticket to Sunday's championship game with a 90-79 decision over the host Winnipeg Sea Bears in the Western Conference final.
The Surge, who finished second in the Western Conference with a 17-7 record and then beat the Vancouver Bandits 105-103 in the Western Conference semifinal, broke open Friday's game in Winnipeg by outscoring the Sea Bears 26-16 in the third quarter.
Trevon Scott led the Sea Bears with 18 points and five rebounds, while Will Richardson had 17 points and 10 rebounds.
The Surge led 42-36 at halftime and took a 68-52 lead into the final quarter.
The Sea Bears finished fourth in the Western Conference with an 11-13 record.
BANDITS, CREEK HAUL IN TOP AWARDS
The Vancouver Bandits finished first in the CEBL this season with a 19-5 record. Their dream season was halted, however, when the visiting Calgary Surge outlasted them 105-103 in Target Score Time in the Western Conference semifinal.
That didn't stop the Langley, B.C.-based team from sweeping the top three awards on Thursday at the 2025 CEBL Awards Night in Winnipeg.
Mitch Creek won the Most Valuable Player Award, Tyrese Samuel won the Canadian Player of the Year Award and Clutch Player of the Year Award, and Kyle Julius won Coach of the Year Award.
Zane Waterman of the Ottawa BlackJacks was named Sixth Man of the Year, Jameer Nelson Jr. of the Calgary Surge was crowned Defensive Player of the Year, Isaac Simon of the Saskatchewan Rattlers was named Developmental Player of the Year, and Karl Toulouse received the Fox 40 Officiating Recognition Award.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 22, 2025.
The Canadian Press
