Halifax Hurricanes win NBL championship in Game 7

The Halifax Hurricanes clinched theNational Basketball League of Canada Championships against the London Lightning Monday night in Halifax, winning 125-117.

The nail-biting Game 7 started off well with the Hurricanes up by 11 points at the half.The Lightning, however, had a strong third quarter, ending it up by five points.

The exciting fourth quarter had the Hurricanes come back and end up just three points ahead with 1:32 left to go. The team increased itslead by another five points before the final buzzer rang.

"This season was epic.This was probably thebest championship series I've seen since putting the league together five years ago,"Hurricanes general manager AndreLevingstontoldCBC'sInformation Morning.

"To be able to win it at home in front of our fans was so sweet. The guys really deserved it, they worked really hard this year."

This is the Hurricanes's first season with the NBL. The team was rebranded from the Halifax Rainmen.

It's quite a difference over the end of last year's season when the Rainmenforfeited the championship game to the Windsor Express.

Only one player on this year's team played for the Rainmen in 2015.

Consistent fan base

The Hurricanes ended the regular season as the top team in the league, but the team is still struggling to find a consistent fan base.

Levingston says the Hurricanes saw an average attendance of about 2,000 people per game, but crowds increased into the playoffs. Levingston says he thinks that's a good sign for the future of the league.

"What we have to do is just continue to do what we did this year. We had lost the faith, I think, a little bit in the community with what happened last year ... fans just want to see stability, they want to see professionalism, so I think if we just continue to build on what we did this year, I think we will win the confidence of our fans."