Hong Kong basketball star Glen Yang relishing life in ‘high level’ Canadian league – despite ‘struggle’ with peculiar rule
- Yang’s Winnipeg Sea Bears – a new franchise in the Canadian Elite Basketball League – are top of the table as regular season reaches halfway point
- League’s use of the ‘Elam Ending’ has confounded the 26-year-old and his teammates, but he says ‘we just need to stay more composed and calm’
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Hong Kong basketball star Glen Yang may still be adjusting to the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) and a peculiar rule switch, but his new outfit the Winnipeg Sea Bears are flying in their debut season.
The Sea Bears, an expansion team in the Western Conference, are currently top of the league with seven wins from their 10 games after Saturday’s 86-78 victory over the Saskatchewan Rattlers.
The 26-year-old Yang, who was born in Vancouver before moving to Hong Kong at the age of 5, is enjoying his playing time as the team’s starting point guard.
“It feels great to be back playing in Canada, the atmosphere has been amazing so far,” Yang, who graduated from Mount Royal University in Calgary, said.
“The league is a high level for sure, and definitely the most talented I have ever played in. The physicality, athleticism and skills are extremely high.
“Every team has elite G League [the minor league organisation of the NBA] guards that I am going up against every night, including my team, so I am enjoying the experience a lot.”
Having recently played with South China in the Hong Kong’s A1 Division, and the Bay Area Dragons in the East Asia Super League, Yang admitted he is still getting his head around the CEBL’s use of the “Elam Ending”– where teams end the game by playing to a final target score.
The rule was adopted permanently by the league in 2021. Matches enter “Elam Time” when the first dead ball situation arises after the clock reaches the final four minutes in the fourth quarter. A target of nine points more than the leading team’s score at that point is then required for either team to win the match.
The Elam Ending is also implemented in the NBA All-Star Game, as well as the NBA G League, once a game goes to overtime.
“It’s a lot different for sure and our team struggled a bit to figure it out,” he said. “We had been leading going into Elam Time in most of our games, we just need to stay more composed and calm.”
As the season approaches the halfway mark, the Sea Bears have led in seven of their 10 matches going into Elam Time, walking away with seven wins.
That has put the New franchise, who play their home games at the Canada Life Centre, top of the league with a 70 per cent win ratio.
“This season has had its ups and downs, but it has been really exciting for us so far,” Yang, who signed his first professional contract with Spain’s second-tier side KFC Culleredo for the 2019-20 season, said.
“We are a young team and it is our first time playing together so we are learning on the fly through our wins and losses.”
“There’s also not a lot of time to practise with so many games happening in two months,” added the 1.93-metres tall guard, who hit the game-winner in Wednesday’s 93-84 victory over the Vancouver Bandits.
“But we have a lot of guys who know their roles and can play well together, so we are happy with where we are and we are going to keep improving.”
The Sea Bears will be on the road for two of their next three games, starting with the Niagara River Lions at home on Thursday.
The 20-game regular season ends on July 30. The top four teams from each conference advance to the play-offs, which wrap up by mid-August.
