Burrell’s 20 points leads Stingers past Real Esteli 84-81 in Champions League

MANAGUA, Nicaragua – Trahson Yamarr Burrell had 20 points to lead the Edmonton Stingers to an 84-81 win over Real Esteli on Monday in FIBA Basketball Champions League Americas group play.

Burrell also pulled down 10 rebounds and had six assists for Edmonton, which earned a spot in the tournament after winning the Canadian Elite Basketball League title last summer.

Mikhael Alexander Mckinney had 17 points for the Stingers and Murphy Burnatowski added 15.

Ismael Romero led Nicaragua’s Real Esteli with 27 points and 11 rebounds.

The FIBA-sanctioned BCLA was founded in 2019 and features the best pro clubs from North, Central and South America and Latin America. The Stingers will be back on the court Tuesday against Cangrejeros of Puerto Rico.

The group stage sees 12 teams across four divisions, with each team playing its opponents three times, once in each window. The Stingers play again in Puerto Rico in early February. Calgary will host the third window in mid-March.

The top two teams from each of the four groups advance to the best-of-three quarterfinals.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 13, 2021.