Truro Tide announced as first franchise

TRURO — The pun was just waiting to be said by someone and it was Rath Eastlink Community Centre (RECC) general manager Matt Moore who grabbed the honour saying, “the Tide is ready to roll in.”

The Tide in this case is the professional basketball team coming to Truro as one of the teams in the new Eastern Canadian Basketball League (ECBL). They are expected to take the court in March of 2022.

ECBL president Tim Kendrick made the announcement during a news conference at the RECC Wednesday afternoon, adding Truro is the first franchise to be announced.

“The Truro Tide is now alive and well in Truro,” Kendrick said as the doubleblue and white team colours and logo were displayed on a nearby screen.

He said the staff at the RECC understand the vision the league is aspiring to.

“Truro is a place we want to be in for decades,” he said. “We couldn't be more excited to be here.”

The vision is for a grassroots league where teams bond with their communities by having players get involved through visiting schools, area sports teams, and community groups such as Boys and Girls Clubs.

“Where we feel we can offer some guidance and help,” Kendrick said. “We'll be partners in the community, and there for a long time.”

He also noted there will be a focus on employing Maritimers on and off the court.

“We want people here in the Maritimes involved in this league,” Kenrick said. “It's a professional basketball league so we're going to have players coming from all over the world, but also a large number of Canadian players involved, and a large number of people from the Maritimes involved.”

Kendrick said there are specific numbers in place as far as how many international, Canadian and Maritimers players, but those details are for later announcements.

“We'll do whatever we can to help grow the communities while also providing an avenue for young Canadian basketball players, young coaches, and older coaches, to be involved in the league,” he said. “A league where they don't have to leave the Maritimes to be involved with a professional basketball franchise.”

As for a timetable as far as when other teams will be announced, Kendrick said those details are also for follow-up announcements.

“There are all kinds of things we'll announce going forward,” he said, adding the goal is to eventually make the league the best of its size in the world.

“We know there is a lot of work to do before that, but we couldn't have a better start than being in this community to announce our first franchise,” he said.

He added the ECBL will be a chance to show off Truro and other Maritime communities to the rest of Canada and the world.

Also on hand for the announcement was ECBL senior marketing manager Robbie Robinson who will suit up for one of the teams. Robinson played NCAA Division 1 basketball for Cal-state Fullerton and for Kendrick with the Island Storm of the National Basketball League.

From San Fernando Valley, California, Robinson said he had a great experience getting acclimatized to the Maritimes and will be happy to share that with potential players.

“It's a great place. You can come out here and raise a family, I have my wife and two sons here,” Robinson said. “I'll tell them you'll come here and find great people who love the sport. And once they find what they love, they dive into it, so you'll have great support. It's a place you want to be to play professional basketball.”

And for those already familiar with the area, such as university players in Atlantic University Sports (AUS).

“It's an opportunity for them,” Robinson said. “We're looking to come in, expose basketball in the area, cultivate it, build a culture, and see where it takes us.”