Windsor Express looking to repeat as champions

‘What happened last year is history. We want to make new history this year’ – Lexa Page

By Justin Prince

The Windsor Express continues its bid to repeat as champions of the National Basketball League of Canada heading into Game 4 of its playoff series against the Mississauga Power.

The Express, who beat the Power in both of their home games at the WFCU Centre to start their first-round series, had high expectations for the start of this year’s playoffs. The team had finished the regular season as the top seed in the 2014-15 NBLC playoffs with a 21-11 record. The team had also dominated at the WFCU Centre with a 14-2 home record.

Kevin Loiselle, who has been with the team for two seasons, said their 107-89 Game 1 win “wasn’t something we (the Express) doubted.” The Express had won six straight regular season games against the Power. The Power had seven wins overall in the 2014-15 regular season.

“It was our intent from the beginning to start the series with a win,” said assistant coach Lexa Page. “We wanted to take the game here at home. We didn’t want to split. We wanted to win our games just like we’ve been doing (at home).”

And the expectations spread further than their Round 1 series. The Express, who won the NBLC championship in 2014 in seven games against The Island Storm, want to keep winning. Especially to give new players on the roster the experience of a deep playoff run. Just four players from last year’s championship team remain on this year’s roster.

“What happened last year is history. We want to make new history this year,” said Page. “Whatever we did last year, for some of the guys who weren’t here last year, it’s a new entity. What we want to do is win it for the guys who weren’t here and win it again for the guys who have won it.”

However, the team doesn’t want to think too far ahead. Page said the team needs make adjustments to keep Power point guard Omar Strong from making shots to “slow down” his offence. He also said the team needs to continue to play team basketball on offence if they want to beat the Power in the rest of their current series.

Both Page and Gary Gibson, the starting point guard for the Express, also believe the team needs to take each game one step at a time.

For Loiselle, each victory helps keep their hopes for a title alive.

“You need to win 11 games to win the championship,” Loiselle said after the first game of the series. “This win helps because we need to win this series. So if we keep winning, all three games back-to-back-to-back, then it will be better for us. We could get some rest before the start of our second series.”

The Express were unable to win the back-to-back-to-back. The Express lost to the Power 116-109 in Game 3 of their playoff series March 12. Power guard Tut Ruach had scored a team record 48 points in the game.

As the Windsor Express prepare for the rest of their Round 1 series against the Power, Gibson made one bold promise March 7 for how the team’s playoff run would end.

“We’re about to get this repeat, that’s what we’re going to do,” said Gibson.

The Windsor Express will play Game 4 of their best-of-five series against the Mississauga Power March 17 at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga, Ont. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m.