Sandro Mamukelashvili and Immanuel Quickley joined a star-studded, sold-out crowd to witness the Toronto Tempo’s historic debut.
The Toronto Raptors walked out of Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse two weeks ago having pushed a Cleveland Cavaliers team to seven games before bowing out in the first round of the playoffs. Despite the loss, the Raptors enter the offseason with their heads high and their core intact, and now the waiting game begins as the front office prepares for what could be a pivotal summer.
In the meantime, some faces familiar with the franchise found a reason to gather on a Friday night.
Raptors forward Sandro Mamukelashvili and guard Immanuel Quickley were in attendance at Coca-Cola Coliseum on May 8 for the Toronto Tempo’s first-ever regular season WNBA game. Former Raptors Chris Boucher and Serge Ibaka also made the trip, as did former Raptors president Masai Ujiri,now part of the Tempo’s ownership group alongside his new role with the Dallas Mavericks.
This was a Toronto sports moment, and the city’s basketball community showed up accordingly to support the women’s professional team.
The game itself delivered everything a franchise opener could ask for in terms of drama. Brittney Sykes made history by scoring the first basket in Tempo history, and the expansion team stayed competitive from wire to wire.
Marina Mabrey. arguably the biggest name on the roster, drained two free throws with 32 seconds remaining to put Toronto ahead by one and send the sold-out Coca-Cola Coliseum crowd of 8,210 into a frenzy.
A fairy-tale ending was within reach but it wasn’t to be at the final buzzer.
Washington Mystics star Shakira Austin, who had signed an offer sheet with the Tempo in the offseason only to have Washington match it, was fouled twice in the closing seconds and made all four free throws, sealing a 68-65 victory for the visitors. Mabrey led all scorers with 27 points and seven rebounds in the defeat.
The result hardly dampened the occasion as everything about the night was a celebration. Olympic sprinting legend Andre De Grasse was in attendance, as were members of the PWHL’s Toronto Sceptres and soccer icon Christine Sinclair, who received a massive ovation when shown on the Jumbotron at the start of the fourth quarter.
Canada’s Secretary of State for Sport, four-time Olympic medallist Adam van Koeverden, described the night’s significance: “Young girls and boys are watching this and realizing that they, one day, could be a professional basketball player too” (via The Canadian Press).
The Tempo’s next home game comes Wednesday, May 13, against the Seattle Storm at Coca-Cola Coliseum. Toronto’s basketball community, it seems, has embraced its new team and has no shortage of reasons to fill arenas right now.