The Alliance wins at home and collects the first victory in its history
The Alliance of Montreal during its first game at home, at the Auditorium of Verdun.
This is a successful first meeting between the Alliance and its supporters. Sunday afternoon, the Montreal troops won their very first home game, at the Verdun Auditorium, by a score of 80-70 against the Scarborough Shooting Stars.
Dominic Green was the most productive player for the Alliance with a collection of 36 points. His teammate Kemy Osse also stood out, adding 12 points.
Vincent Lavandier's troops trailed 45-37 at halftime, but quickly got up to take control in the third quarter. A superbdunkby Isiah Osborne seemed to turn the tide in favor of the Montrealers. Three straight three-pointers from Dominc Green helped the hosts build a five-point lead in the fourth quarter. The Alliance never looked back and rode to victory, the very first in its history.
With this victory, the Alliance (1-1) finds itself in sixth provisional place in the the Canadian Elite Basketball League (LECB).
Supercharged atmosphere at the Verdun Auditorium
The Verdun Auditorium looked like an anthill on Sunday afternoon. A few days before the match, the organization of the Alliance had revealed that it had sold all its tickets for the inaugural match on Sunday. In the end, 3,700 supporters crowded into the grounds of the Verdun sports complex. Basketball fans, locals, public figures and politicians were present to applaud the local team.
3700 supporters had gathered for the first match of the Alliance at the Verdun Auditorium .
Photo credit: Clément Gaboury/Métro Média
Current players from the National Basketball Association (NBA) also traveled for this historic match. Montrealers Chris Boucher and Luguentz Dort were notably seen near the field.
It’s the Mayor of Verdun Marie-Andrée Mauger who performed the ceremonial face-off at the start of the game. Rapper Zach Zoya hosted the halftime show, much to the delight of fans on site.
The Alliance will meet up with its fans on Tuesday, when the Montreal team will receive a visit from Ottawa Blackjacks, in Verdun.
A well-known-face-among-the-Shooting-Stars
Despite the 22 points points of Kyle Alexander, it is rather Jermaine Lamarr Cole who attracted the attention of the amateurs in the enemy camp. The 37-year-old guard is better known as J. Cole. This American rapper and producer made a name for himself through his music before joining the ranks of the Shooting Stars. Several fans on the spot also apostrophized him in the hope of collecting his autograph. Cole finished the game with zero points in just over four minutes of play.
Further details to follow.
