By Kayla Allen
[1]Tut Ruach, number 4 drives his way past Antonio Burks, number 5 toward the basket at the GM Center on Jan 26, 12. Ruach averages 12.03 points per game for the Power. After a disappointing loss to the Saint John Mill Rats 116-109, the Power won their next game against the Moncton Miracles 110-108. Photo By Kayla Allen
The Power is the new sports hit in Durham Region.
The Oshawa Power is one of seven National Basketball League teams in Canada. The other six teams are the Halifax Rainmen, London Lightning, Moncton Miracles, Quebec Kebs, Saint John Mill Rats and Summerside Storm.
The NBL is a professional men’s basketball league that was founded in 2011. Basketball is among the fastest growing and most popular sports in Canada. More than 600,000 Canadians 15 and up play the sport of basketball regularly.
For a long time, Canada was the only country out of the top 30 basketball nations in the world that didn’t have its own professional basketball league, according to the NBL.
Drew Ebanks, vice president of Communications for the Oshawa Power, is very involved with getting the word out about the Power in his community. Asked, how it makes him feel to be a part of a NBL team, Ebanks said “For me it’s a dream come true to be a part of the NBL Canada and Oshawa Power. I’ve said for years that there’s no reason Canada shouldn’t have its own professional basketball league and I am glad that it is finally here.
“The quality of play and talent is amazing and the overall in-game experience is great. You can’t beat the entertainment value that the league and Oshawa Power provide to our fans.”
There are about 17 Canadians who play in the NBL. The Power has the most Canadians on their roster out of all six teams. The Power has four Canadian’s: Papa Oppong, Tut Ruach, Paul Campbell and Kevin Shand.
“There is an amazing amount of basketball talent in Canada and it’s going to be amazing for CIS/OCAA kids to realize their professional hoops dreams while playing professionally in their own country of Canada in front of their family and friends,” said Ebanks.
Tut Ruach is one of the Power’s best players. Ruach has played all 33 games with the Power during the first year of the NBL. The 6’2, 170-pounds point guard from Toronto graduated from York University. Asked if he enjoys playing for the Power Tut said, “It’s been really fun. The best part is being so close to my family and friends.”
Even though it’s the inaugural year for the NBL, the Power has had roughly 5,700 fans out to their Rogers Slam Dunk Day and Cure on the Court for breast cancer awareness day at the GM Centre in Oshawa.
Asked how Ruach thinks the NBL is doing as a league in its first year, he said, “I think the league is doing pretty well for its first year. There are some kinks that I’m sure as time passes will be smoothed out. I think the league will continue to grow and I believe it has a lot of room for improvements as well.”
The Oshawa Power currently sits in fifth place in the standings, only two points behind the Saint John Mill Rats. The hard-working Power has 14 wins and 19 losses averaging 101 points for and 104.6 points against per game.
Motivated to make the playoffs, the Power have three away games remaining: two against the Saint John Mill Rats and one against Summerside Storm.
Brandon Robinson is leading the Power with 19.46 points per game. Close behind is Omari Johnson with 17.76 points per game and Morgan Lewis with 17.39 points per game.