2025 CEBL Playoffs Set to Begin Thursday

L’Alliance de Montréal annonce la signature de l’ailier Abdullah Shittu pour les séries éliminatoires 2025 de la Ligue élite canadienne de basketball (LECB).  Natif d’Edmonton, l’ailier de 6’8” rejoint l’équipe avant le match de barrage de l’Association Est contre Scarborough jeudi soir, ajoutant de la profondeur à la formation de l’Alliance en vue des séries éliminatoires. Âgé de 25 ans, Shittu avait initialement signé avec l’Alliance avant la saison 2025 et avait disputé sept matchs, compilant des moyennes de 2,6 points et 1,3 rebonds en 8,7 minutes de jeu par match. Sa meilleure performance de la saison est survenue le 3 juillet face aux Rattlers de la Saskatchewan, récoltant 11 points, quatre rebonds et quatre passes décisives dans une victoire de l’Alliance 82-80. Shittu apporte avec lui une vaste expérience internationale après des passages en Slovaquie, en Mongolie et au Portugal, ainsi qu’une solide formation universitaire à l’Université d'Alberta où il a moyenné 10,6 points et 5,7 rebonds sur 49 matchs. Shittu sera disponible pour le match de barrage de jeudi contre les Shooting Stars de Scarborough au Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre à 19h00 HE, diffusé sur RDS et TSN. -REPMTL-

The Montréal Alliance announce the signing of forward Abdullah Shittu ahead of the 2025 Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) playoffs. The 6’8” forward from Edmonton rejoins the team ahead of Thursday night’s Eastern Conference Play-In game against Scarborough, adding depth to the Alliance roster heading into the playoffs. Shittu, 25, had originally signed with the Alliance prior to the 2025 season and appeared in seven games, averaging 2.6 points and 1.3 rebounds in 8.7 minutes per game. His best performance of the season came on July 3 against Saskatchewan, scoring 11 points, four rebounds and four assists in an 82-80 Alliance victory. The Edmonton native brings extensive international experience following stints in Slovakia, Mongolia and Portugal, along with a solid collegiate background at the University of Alberta where he averaged 10.6 points and 5.7 rebounds over 49 games.  Shittu will be available for Thursday’s Play-In game against the Scarborough Shooting Stars at Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre at 7:00 PM ET, broadcast on RDS and TSN. -REPMTL-

Over the course of a 20-minute conversation, Sean East II’s eyes light up over two topics: the CEBL scoring title — and hot yoga. In fact, the Edmonton Stingers star guard says the two are closely related. “I'm a big yoga guy. Been there for about two or three years now. I think that went into my three-point percentage, my game going up a different level for sure. Just being with my body in certain situations, places that maybe others can't,” East II explains. Whatever East II is doing during his rookie season, it’s working. The 25-year-old from Louisville, Kent., smashed the single-season scored record by pouring in 546 points while playing all 24 games this year. Now, he’s set to lead the Stingers back to the playoffs as the franchise looks to capture its first championship since going back-to-back in 2020 and 2021. Edmonton visits the Calgary Surge in the Western Conference Play-In on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. MT / 9:30 p.m. ET, with the winner moving on to face the Vancouver Bandits in the conference semifinals on Saturday. “All these close games we've been having throughout the season, ups and downs, it's all for the playoffs and hopefully we can just take it one game at a time and shock the world,” East II said. East II’s journey to the CEBL began when he was just two years old. During Christmas that year, his mom bought him a Fisher-Price children’s hoop. He immediately started working on his jump-shooting form, someone in the room made sure to snap a picture and the rest is history. “Ever since then, it's just been basketball, basketball, basketball,” East II said. After he graduated from Fisher-Price, East II moved onto a high school in New Albany, Ind., where he starred on a team with future NBA lottery pick Romeo Langford. It’s there where East II understood that basketball could become more than a recreational activity. “[Langford's] Batman. I'm Robin. At that point, it's like, ‘OK, I know I'm not there yet, but you know, I can get there.’ And probably by my senior year of high school, I was like, ‘OK, I think I can do something with this.’ It was always a dream, but like really understanding that I could was probably like senior year,” East II said. His NCAA career, however, wasn’t so linear. He attended three school over four years, spending one each at the University of Massachusetts and Bradley before transferring for two years to the University of Missouri. East II competed once in March Madness during the 2023 tournament, scoring 16 points over two games as his Tigers were eliminated by 15th-seeded Princeton. During the season, East II was more of a role player at 23.4 minutes per game while shooting just 22.1 per cent from three-point range. He also averaged 7.3 points and 2.6 assists per contest. But those numbers jumped in his senior year as East II doubled his three-point mark to 45.8 per cent while his scoring average rose to 17.9 points per game. He credits coaches Dennis Gates and Charlton Young for working with him to improve, though the increased opportunity also played a role. After going undrafted in 2024, East II signed on with the South Bay Lakers of the G League, where he played alongside Bronny James. He spent the final three months of the season playing professionally in Romania. “I've learned so much in this whole past year, but just understanding the business side more of things and just how everything operates and the hierarchies and it's just a whole bunch of things that have nothing to do with basketball,” East II said. While in Romania, his agent connected him with Stingers head coach Jordan Baker. “And ever since he FaceTimed me, he's been telling me his vision and I respected how he played. He won some championships and he's just adamant about trying to bring one back. And he seemed like a good dude,” East II said. “Once I knew that, I knew it was a no-brainer to come and hopefully give me a better shot for whatever's next in my career.” He said he initially didn’t know what to expect from the CEBL, but now, following a successful regular season, he’s happy with his choice to come to Canada. “I maybe heard a little bit about the league, but I mean, ever since I got here it's just been nothing but great. Just as far as the fans in each arena, the media coverage behind it all, it's definitely something great to be a part of,” he said. For his part, Baker’s been happy to have East II on his squad. “He’s a guy where sometimes we’re a little stagnant offensively and he can create his own shot. … His ability to mature into that point guard that we’ve been looking for has been tremendous,” he said. Championship Weekend could provide the perfect stage for East II as he looks to advance his basketball career. The Stingers face a tall task to get there as a team — though, as a mid-season winning streak proved, they are more than capable. East II, however, may get there all on his own. He is among the leading candidates in a strong MVP race after averaging 23 points per game to go with 4.8 assists, 4.2 rebounds and a 43.1 per cent mark from three. The awards gala is slated to take place in Winnipeg alongside the final three games of the year. “It's not often that you put work in and you get rewards from it. Sometimes the work goes unseen. It's hard that sometimes, you gotta do blind work. You wake up, you put in effort every day and you might not see [any] results,” East II said. “So for that to happen [to win MVP], it would be like, ‘Dang, I finally got something from the work that I put in.’” The last Stingers player to win MVP was Xavier Moon, who did it three times before landing a contract with the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers. East II said he’s been in touch with Moon, who spent two weeks in Edmonton earlier this season. “We both have kind of the underdog story and the same kind of mental space. … I'm a sponge. So I immediately went to ask him about a whole bunch of things. So it's just, I appreciate him,” East II said. For now, however, East II has team goals to focus on as the playoffs begin before he can worry about individual honours. From Louisville to Indiana to Los Angeles to Romania, his basketball journey landed him in Edmonton — and a championship could be the crowning achievement. But he’s not looking too far ahead. “You can't take it for granted or think you're missing out on something,” East II said of his path. “You just gotta be where your feet are and enjoy the moment.” Spoken like a true yogi. - CEBL -

Niagara et Winnipeg attendent de connaître leurs adversaires pour le week-end du Championnat 2025

The Calgary Surge made sure to end their regular season on a high note, picking up a 94-76 win over the defending champion Niagara River Lions on Sunday night. Calgary’s victory in the storied Scotiabank Saddledome improved the squad to 17-7 on the year and sent the Western Conference’s No. 2 seed into the playoffs on a four-game win streak. Leading that charge was Olumide Adelodun, who finished with a game-high 17 points on 4-of-9 shooting from distance to go with eight rebounds. Behind him was DJ Jackson with 15 points off the bench and Javonté Brown, who put up 14 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and two blocks. Rounding out the Surge’s double-digit scoring efforts were Evan Gilyard II with 13 points and eight assists and Jameer Nelson Jr. with 10 points. All of this was made more impressive by the fact that Calgary was without two regular starters in Gabe Osabuohien and Sean Miller-Moore. “We came to the game with an intense mentality,” Brown said after his double-double effort. “We came to play, came to win and (our secondary players) stepped up today.” On the other side, the loss dropped the River Lions to 14-10 on the season as they capped off their year on a five-game skid. Curtis Hollis led the River Lions’ effort on Sunday with 15 points off the pine to go with 10 rebounds and two steals. Khalil Ahmad wasn’t far behind as he added 13 points while Kimbal Mackenzie and Ahmed Hill scored 12 points each. While it wasn’t an ideal outcome for Hill’s squad, the game marked a milestone night for the CEBL veteran. It was his 100th appearance (regular season + playoffs), making Hill one of just three players (Alex Campbell, Malcolm Duvivier) in league history to reach the triple-digit mark for games played all-time. Meanwhile, entering Sunday, it was clear both teams were after the same thing to end the regular season before heading into the playoffs: momentum. For the Surge, it was about maintaining it as they were in the midst of a win streak and looking to finish the season with a strong 9-3 home record. Meanwhile, the River Lions were hoping to snatch some of that momentum as they rode into Calgary amid a season-worst skid and 5-6 road record despite holding onto the No. 1 seed out East and a bye into the Conference Final. Given that both teams had the same goal, it wasn’t a surprise that the ball game remained tightly contested throughout the opening frame. Niagara eked out a 24-22 lead by the end of the first thanks to a quarter-ending 5-0 run. A spark that helped the defending champs capture some of that momentum they were so desperately after, as the River Lions went on a 16-2 charge between the end of the first and start of the second to lead by as many as 16 points before halftime. That lead was short-lived, however, as the Surge answered back before the break. The home team ended the first half on a 7-2 run, including a buzzer-beating layup by Nelson that cut the deficit back to single digits, 47-39. What underscored Niagara’s halftime lead was an uncharacteristically strong showing from beyond the arc. Despite entering the night tied last in three-point makes per game (8.5) and second last in percentage (30.5), the River Lions knocked down seven triples (plus-four) through the first 20 minutes on an impressive 43 per cent clip. Yet it was Calgary’s effectiveness from deep that defined the second half. After going 3-of-14 on threes before the break, the Surge went 10-of-17 through the second half as they outscored the River Lions by 26 points (55-29). Meanwhile, Niagara did little to help itself in that regard, cooling off to the tune of just five makes on its final 19 attempts. Calgary went 5-for-9 from distance in the third, including back-to-back triples from Adelodun and Kyri Thomas at the 4:47 mark, giving the Surge the lead back for the first time since the opening frame. They ended up outscoring the River Lions 31-17 in the third quarter, turning an eight-point halftime deficit into a 70-64 lead. The Surge then pushed their advantage to 12 points by the start of Target Score Time when the long ball, once again, had the most to say. Back-to-back triples from Gilyard and Jackson were sandwiched between makes at the rim by Brown as Calgary capped off its regular season with an emphatic victory. Aside from the Surge’s production from distance, it was the squad’s trademark defensive tenacity that proved to be a catalyst in the win. While Calgary forced 18 turnovers to Niagara’s 15, the home team capitalizing on those freebies is what made the difference. The Surge finished with a 28-16 (plus-12) edge on points off turnovers. All the while, Calgary's defence has held opponents to an average of 83.8 points through its four-game win streak, beating teams by a margin of 18.8 points during that span. “It feels good,” Brown said. “Just to know that our (secondary players) can compete with one of the best teams in the whole CEBL, it gives us a lot of confidence. But we put in a lot of work, so I’m not even surprised to be honest.” Box Score https://www.cebl.ca/game?id=2600681 Next CEBL action With the regular season wrapped up, CEBL basketball will return on Thursday for Play-In action. First, the Montreal Alliance will visit the Scarborough Shooting Stars out East, followed by the Surge hosting the Edmonton Stingers in a playoff Battle of Alberta in the West. For the full 2025 CEBL schedule and up-to-date results, please visit cebl.ca/games . - CEBL -

Saskatchewan Rattlers’ big man Jaden Bediako made CEBL history on Sunday (Aug. 10) in a 96-85 victory over the Brampton Honey Badgers at SaskTel Centre. In the season finale for both teams, Bediako’s five blocks pushed him to 49 on the campaign, surpassing the single-season blocks record of 46 set by EJ Onu with the Niagara River Lions in 2022. Bediako, a Brampton native, also secured a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds to lead his team to victory. “All of us know it's been a rough season but we've all been together, and … it's good to get a win, especially against my hometown team,” Bediako said. Rattlers veterans Devonté Bandoo and Anthony Tsegakele were also major contributors to the win. Bandoo dropped a game-high 22 points while Tsegakele set a new career-high with 18 points, including a series of highlight dunks and the game-winner. Saskatchewan head coach Eric Magdanz said it was great to see Tsegakele end the season with a big game. “He's a fan favourite. He's a guy who does anything we ask of him, and most of the time that's asking him to pick up defensive assignments,” Magdanz said. “To see him do a great job defensively tonight but also be rewarded with the ball going through the hoop is a great thing to see.” Tevian Jones notched a double-double as well with 16 points and 10 assists, and Isaac Simon was the fifth Rattler to score in double figures with 11 off the bench. Brampton also had five players reach at least 10 points on Sunday. Ankit Choudhary paced the offence with 17 points off the bench, while Yaw Obeng-Mensah led all starters with 16 points. Mike Demagus was lethal from long range with 15 points in the loss, Prince Oduro added 14, and Quinndary Weatherspoon scored 11 points before an ejection in the second quarter. A trio of rookies also scored their first pro buckets on Sunday, including Easton Timm for Saskatchewan and Conner Landell and Malik Grant for Brampton. Choudhary said providing maximum effort was the mindset coming into the final game of the season. “I feel like that's what we did,” Choudhary said. “Maybe at times, we may have just rushed a bit … and I feel like coach did a great job of putting us in a position to be successful. We had some good looks and we just missed … that's just how the game goes sometimes.” Brampton head coach Sheldon Cassimy was proud of his team’s effort despite a roster that hasn’t played many minutes together. “I feel like all the guys that played hard and played through to the end of the game … they all played well. They were able to showcase what they could do,” Cassimy said. Early in the contest, Tsegakele came off the bench firing. He began the game with back-to-back dunks and continued to attack the paint with eight points in the first quarter. Brampton trailed for the majority of the opening frame and entered the second down 30-24. Weatherspoon carried the offence for the Honey Badgers for the bulk of the first half with 11 points, but picked up a pair of technical fouls in the second quarter that ended his day. Despite the absence of Weatherspoon, Brampton hung tight and headed into the locker room down six after 20 minutes. In the third quarter, Bediako was a paint beast for Saskatchewan. He blocked shots, dominated the glass and scored six points for the Rattlers. However, Obeng-Mensah was active inside for Brampton as well, leading the Honey Badgers on a run to tie the game at 62. Jones quickly regained the lead for the Rattlers in the third, and Saskatchewan answered with a run of its own to head into the final frame with a 73-65 advantage. The squads traded buckets to start the fourth before Landell and Obeng-Mensah pulled the Honey Badgers closer with back-to-back finishes before Target Score Time. Brampton continued to roll as the teams raced to 96 with Oduro and Demagus slicing to the hoop for layups and cutting the deficit to four points. But the Rattlers buckled in for the final stretch with strong takes from Bediako and Tsegakele. The longtime Rattler Tsegakele ended the season on a high note for the home fans, banking in the game winner from inside the elbow on Fan Appreciation Day. With the season now over for Brampton and Saskatchewan, both coaches said there are lessons to be learned from the summer. Magdanz said he’ll be looking back at some of the Rattlers’ close losses. “That was due to our level of compete and something that we're very proud of. But we got to get over the hump, and we got to win some of the more close games. So for me, it's going to be finding ways that I can put guys in successful positions so that when we do get into those Target Times, we feel confident to come up with victory,” he said. Meanwhile, Cassimy said a focus moving forward is managing the ups and downs and the highs and lows of the season. “[It’s] just trying to navigate when you have to make those adjustments and hopefully I'll have another opportunity where I'll be able to implement the things that I've learned,” he said. Box Score https://www.cebl.ca/game?id=2600683 Next CEBL action The CEBL postseason tips off on Thursday (Aug. 14) with Montréal facing Scarborough in the Eastern Conference play-in and Calgary hosting Edmonton in the Western Conference play-in. For the full 2025 CEBL schedule and up-to-date results, please visit cebl.ca/games . - CEBL -

All eyes are firmly set on the post-season. With Winnipeg and Edmonton both locked into their playoff spots, the Stingers beat the Sea Bears 97-77 in both teams’ regular-season finale on Sunday at the Edmonton Expo Centre. While Sea Bears stars Jalen Harris and Simi Shittu were out nursing injuries, the Stingers played their usual starters. The move paid off for Edmonton, which finished the season with three straight wins and a 15-9 record. Winnipeg, meanwhile, closes things at 11-13. The Stingers are back in action on Thursday when they visit the Calgary Surge for the Western Conference Play-In game. Winnipeg, meanwhile, is off next week as it returns home to host Championship Weekend. Stingers head coach Jordan Baker said the game was an opportunity to stay crisp ahead of the playoffs. “We want to win every ball game. We played tonight to win. We played our regular rotation. We’re not trying to do anything out of character. It’s a situation where we feel good in the locker room and moving forward,” he said. Edmonton took control of the contest in the first half and never looked back from there. The rout really took hold when the Stingers increased their lead above 30 in the third quarter. When the clocks stopped for Target Score Time, the Alberta squad led 88-66. After the Sea Bears fought back some, Stingers guard Taye Donald ended the proceedings in style with a game-winning reverse layup in transition. “My teammates tell be to be confident in that stuff, so just taking the ball to the rim like that, it is what it is,” Donald said in a post-game interview with Sara Orlesky before being mobbed by the rest of the Stingers. Perhaps the biggest moment of the night came at the beginning of Target Score Time, when Stingers guard Sean East II broke the league’s single-season scoring record with a pair of free throws. The record proved no easy task for East II, who tied it early in the third quarter on a layup but then endured a long wait before taking the mark all to himself. He finished with 17 points on the night and 546 for the year. East II said it meant a lot to him to set that record in his first year in the league. “I was just trying to come here to win some games and bring a championship back to Edmonton. But for anything that comes your way you gotta be thankful … because there are people who would want to switch and do things like that any day of the week,” he said. He added that he wasn’t hunting for his shots even with the record in sight. “When they kept saying it on the announcements [in the stadium], I was kinda like ‘Oh man I gotta get it.’ But still trying to play the right way and make the right decisions because ultimately that’s what we do,” he said. “But that’s over with, so we can get back to regular basketball” Meanwhile, fellow guard Scottie Lindsey knocked down four three-pointers, leaving him one shy of the all-time mark set at 70 by both Saskatchewan Rattlers guard Justin Wright-Foreman and Sea Bears guard Teddy Allen in 2023. Both East II and Lindsey played all 24 games for the Stingers this season, while the schedule stood at only 20 contests per team two years ago. Baker said East II’s impact on the team was felt throughout the season. “He’s a guy where sometimes we’re a little stagnant offensively and he can create his own shot. I thought tonight he was very unselfish, he didn’t force anything, he was moving the basketball, sharing with his teammates and his ability to mature into that point guard that we’ve been looking for has been tremendous,” he said. Edmonton’s team-first mentality was reflected in its balanced scoring on the night — all of East II, Lindsey and Nick Hornsby put up 17 points to share the team lead. The do-it-all forward Hornsby also added nine rebounds and seven assists. His 191 boards for the season sit second all-time, while his 127 dimes are third. Donald finished with 14 points off the bench. Winnipeg, which struggled for much of the year, could have entered the playoffs on a hot streak of three straight wins and fix victories in six. Instead, it will have a bitter taste in its mouth following the blowout loss. Head coach Mike Taylor said the game didn’t go exactly as he was hoping. “We wanted to keep our momentum going in a great direction,” Taylor said. “We hoped that we would come in here and get a road win. We got off to a really slow start and I don’t think our compete level was where it needed to be. I think the guys knew everything’s set and we’re getting ready for Championship Weekend.” In the absence of go-to scorers Harris and Shittu, guard Will Richardson led the way for the Sea Bears with 21 points and seven assists. Forward Nathan Bilamu was the only other Winnipeg player in double-digits as he neared a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds. Richardson agreed with Taylor about the momentum-halting loss. “We were hoping to come in here and continue to build momentum and continue to work on intangibles for us to build for the post-season, which we kinda just blew the opportunity. So we just gotta shake this game off,” he said. Taylor said the team has a detailed plan to prepare for the playoffs. “We’ll rally the troops over the next two weeks and we’ll get ready for a great Championship Weekend at home,” he said. Starting Thursday, the games will mean a whole lot more. Box Score https://www.cebl.ca/game?id=2600682 Up Next The Stingers head to Calgary to face the Surge in the Western Conference play-in game on Thursday, while the Sea Bears return home for Championship Weekend. Next CEBL Action In addition to Stingers-Surge on Thursday, the East play-in will feature the Montreal Alliance at the Scarborough Shooting Stars. For the full 2025 CEBL schedule and up-to-date results, please visit cebl.ca/games .  - CEBL –

Les deux équipes étant déjà qualifiées pour les séries éliminatoires avant le match, les Bandits de Vancouver et les BlackJacks d’Ottawa n’avaient pas grand-chose en jeu, si ce n’est d’offrir un bon spectacle aux fans. Et c’est exactement ce qu’ils ont fait. Les Bandits ont établi un record de points dans la LECB depuis l’introduction du pointage cible, et les deux équipes ont cumulé le deuxième total de points le plus élevé jamais enregistré dans la LECB alors que Vancouver a battu Ottawa 130-112. Mitch Creek et Tyrese Samuel ont mené l'équipe visiteuse, Creek inscrivant un sommet personnel de 36 points et Samuel ajoutant 33 points ainsi que 17 rebonds. Shamar Givance a établi un record personnel en carrière dans la LECB avec 22 points et huit passes décisives, tandis que Kyle Mangas et Zach Copeland ont chacun marqué 12 points. « Nous avons un groupe de gars très compétitifs, a déclaré l’entraîneur-chef des Bandits, Kyle Julius, à propos de son équipe. Nous avons un exercice que personne ne veut faire à l’entraînement, mais dès qu’ils commencent, ils se mettent à rivaliser, à se provoquer et à s’investir à fond. Alors, on s’est dit que c’était ça, aujourd’hui, c’était cet exercice. Dès que le ballon a été mis en jeu, ils ont donné tout ce qu’ils avaient. Je leur ai dit que j’étais fier de travailler avec eux. C’est un groupe compétitif, c’est un super groupe de gars. Pour eux, je ne pense pas qu’il y ait un match au monde qui ne compte pas. Ils veulent jouer et se battre. » Les deux équipes ont tout de suite donné le ton. Vancouver a pris les devants 21-9 avant qu’Ottawa ne réplique avec une séquence de 13-5 pour réduire l’écart à quatre points. Les équipes ont continué à s’échanger les paniers, chacune semblant incapable d’arrêter l’autre, jusqu’à ce que les Bandits mènent 73-62 à la mi-temps. Ce total à la mi-temps est le deuxième plus élevé de l’histoire de la LECB, derrière seulement le record des Nighthawks de Guelph de 75 points en 2019. Peu importe ce que faisaient les BlackJacks, les Bandits réussissaient toujours à remettre le ballon entre les mains de Creek ou Samuel pour marquer. Bien que l’équipe locale n’ait jamais abandonné, réduisant souvent l’écart sous les 10-points tout au long du match, ces deux joueurs ont assuré que le résultat final ne soit jamais remis en question. « Tyrese est un jeune incroyable. Probablement l’un des joueurs les plus faciles à coacher que j’ai jamais eus, a déclaré Julius. Il veut s’améliorer, son éthique de travail est incroyable. Je pense qu’il jouera dans la NBA, et ce sera probablement plus tôt que tard. Je suis fier qu’il ait choisi de venir jouer avec nous et de travailler avec nous. Il montre l’exemple. Les gars l’adorent. Quand il joue comme ce soir, on devient difficile à battre. » « Mitch est de loin le meilleur joueur et capitaine que j’ai jamais eu, a-t-il ajouté. Il est incroyable. Son jeu, la façon dont il traite ses coéquipiers, le respect qu’il a pour le processus, la manière dont il prend soin de lui… il tient à ses coéquipiers. Je ne sais pas ce qui est le mieux, sa personnalité ou son jeu. C’est un joueur, un coéquipier et une personne exceptionnel. » « Ce serait très facile pour moi de rester là à parler de notre défense qui n’a pas été au rendez-vous, mais en comprenant le match et la saison qu’on a eue… Aujourd’hui, c’était plus une question de finir le match en santé et de donner plus d’opportunités à d’autres joueurs, a déclaré l’entraîneur-chef des BlackJacks, Dave DeAveiro. Aurais-je aimé qu’on joue mieux en défense? Bien sûr. Je trouve qu’on a bien tiré offensivement. Mais il y a différentes leçons à tirer de ce match : la progression de Justin (Ndjock-Tadjore), la chance donnée à Alvin (Icyogere), offrir un peu plus de temps de jeu à certains gars que d’habitude. » Ndjock-Tadjore a livré sa meilleure performance lors du dernier match de la saison régulière, terminant à égalité en tête des marqueurs de l’équipe avec 19 points. Javonte Smart a aussi atteint ce total. Deng Adel a inscrit 17 points, attrapé sept rebonds et distribué cinq passes décisives, Keevan Veinot a marqué 15 points, et le capitaine Tyrell Tate en a ajouté 13. « C'était une saison en montagnes russes, a déclaré Adel, dont le lay-up en pénétration en début de troisième quart a fait de lui le dixième joueur de l'histoire de la LECB à franchir le cap des 1 000 points. Évidemment, commencer la saison avec un bilan de 2-6, c’est difficile, mais à Ottawa, on a tendance à monter en puissance à la mi-saison et à mieux jouer en équipe. Le soutien a été incroyable toute la saison, ce qui nous a aidés à nous concentrer. Il y a quelque chose à la mi-saison qui nous permet vraiment de nous rassembler. » Les deux équipes abordent maintenant les séries éliminatoires sans savoir qui sera leur premier adversaire. Les Bandits recevront le vainqueur du duel entre le Surge de Calgary et les Stingers d’Edmonton à Langley, tandis que les BlackJacks affronteront le gagnant du match entre l’Alliance de Montréal et les Shooting Stars de Scarborough à Gatineau. « On ne saura pas qui on affrontera avant jeudi soir. Alors, il faut s’assurer qu’entre-temps, on s’améliore et qu’on retrouve la santé, a dit DeAveiro. C’est la priorité. Ensuite, on reprendra les entraînements et on travaillera sur ce qu’on peut améliorer en groupe, en se concentrant sur nous. Le bon côté, c’est qu’on a déjà affronté ces équipes deux, trois, quatre fois. Ce ne sera pas une question de surprises, juste quelques ajustements mineurs ici et là. » Feuille de match https://www.cebl.ca/game?id=2600680 À venir pour les deux équipes Les BlackJacks d’Ottawa et les Bandits de Vancouver ont tous deux assuré leur place en demi-finales de leur conférence respective et accueilleront leur premier match des séries éliminatoires le 16 août. Les BlackJacks affronteront le vainqueur du duel entre l’Alliance de Montréal et les Shooting Stars de Scarborough, tandis que les Bandits affronteront le gagnant du match entre les Stingers d’Edmonton et le Surge de Calgary, tous deux prévus le 14 août. Prochains matchs dans la LECB Les séries débutent dans la LECB alors que les Shooting Stars de Scarborough accueillent l’Alliance de Montréal lors du match de qualification, diffusé en direct sur TSN, CEBL+ et TSN+. Pour le calendrier complet de la saison 2025 de la LECB et les résultats à jour, veuillez visiter cebl.ca/games - LECB -

Dans un avant-goût du match de qualification de la Conférence de l’Est prévu jeudi, plusieurs joueurs clés ont été laissés au repos, tandis que les joueurs de soutien ont eu droit à plus de minutes dimanche après-midi. Les Shooting Stars de Scarborough se sont inclinés 92-80 à domicile contre l’Alliance de Montréal, et la revanche de jeudi aura lieu au même endroit (Centre sportif panaméricain de Toronto). L’entraîneur-chef de Montréal, Jermaine Small, a également signé sa 50e victoire en carrière dans la LECB (saison régulière et séries). « J’ai eu la chance de diriger beaucoup de très bons joueurs qui ont contribué à cette victoire, a dit Small. Je me sens très chanceux et privilégié. » Montréal a réussi 14 tirs de trois points sur 31 tentatives (45 %) et a terminé avec un avantage de trois rebonds. Tavian Dunn-Martin de Montréal est resté sur le banc, tout comme Terquavion Smith et Donovan Williams de Scarborough. Cat Barber est toujours blessé et sa disponibilité pour le match de qualification de jeudi reste incertaine. Tavis « Pistol » Smith a terminé meilleur marqueur du match avec 23 points et a frappé fort d’entrée de jeu lors d’une action de pick-and-roll avec Sascha Kappos, auteur de 21 points grâce à un impressionnant cinq en sept aux tirs de trois points. Scarborough a expérimenté différentes défenses de zone et, malgré le pointage final, l’entraîneur-chef Mike De Giorgio s’est dit satisfait de l’effort. « Je pense qu’on s’est bien battus, a-t-il affirmé. On doit mieux contrôler la clé. Le rebond offensif nous a fait mal en fin de match. » Montréal a terminé avec un avantage de neuf rebonds offensifs et +6 en points de deuxième chance. Michael Foster de Scarborough a récolté 16 points avec un impressionnant huit en 11 aux tirs dans l’arc, en plus de 13 rebonds. Foster a montré de belles habiletés près du panier, a exploité les désavantages défensifs et a même occupé le poste d’ailier meneur par séquences. « Si vous le laissez jouer un contre un, il peut marquer facilement, a reconnu Small avec le sourire. Je sais qu’il peut être très efficace dans la clé, mais il peut aussi manier le ballon… On a beaucoup de séquences vidéo de lui à étudier pour bâtir notre plan de match en vue de jeudi. » Aaron Best de Scarborough a inscrit 22 points, et cinq joueurs des Shooting Stars ont marqué au moins 10 points. Khalil Miller a encore impressionné avec 11 points, des dunks à deux mains et trois vols de ballon. « Il a vraiment travaillé fort pour enrichir son jeu. Il lance très bien présentement et protège l’anneau, a noté De Giorgio. On aime l’avoir avec nous, on le voit jouer un rôle important et il devra élever son niveau jeudi. » Kobe Elvis, auteur de 13 points et sept passes décisives, a également profité du match pour peaufiner sa préparation en vue du match de qualification. Il s’est notamment illustré lors du deuxième quart, avec un tir en rotation dans la clé et un tir en suspension à mi-distance après un arrêt net, tout en échangeant avec Miller en cours de match sur la meilleure façon de gérer les actions de pick-and-roll. Alors que Scarborough tenait bon, les choses se sont compliquées au troisième quart lorsqu’un vol de Smith a mené à un dunk en transition de Quincy Guerrier (11 points et 10 rebonds), donnant une avance de 14 points à Montréal et forçant un temps d’arrêt des Shooting Stars. Scarborough a commis 20 pertes de ballon, soit huit de plus que Montréal. En excluant la défaite du jour, Scarborough arrive tout de même avec un certain élan pour jeudi, disputant un cinquième match consécutif à domicile. Avant aujourd’hui, ils avaient battu le Surge de Calgary, infligé une lourde défaite aux River Lions de Niagara, premiers de l’Est, et offert une bonne opposition aux Bandits de Vancouver, meilleure équipe de la LECB, vendredi soir. Même si cette victoire a été un soulagement pour l’Alliance, leur fiche est de deux victoires et cinq défaites à leurs sept derniers matchs, et ils arrivaient sur une série de trois revers. Jeudi représentera le plus gros test pour les deux équipes. Feuille de match https://www.cebl.ca/game?id=2600679 À venir pour les deux équipes Les deux formations croiseront de nouveau le fer lors du match de qualification de la Conférence de l’Est, le jeudi 14 août. Prochains matchs dans la LECB Juste après le match de qualification de la Conférence de l’Est, le Surge de Calgary (16-7) recevra son rival provincial, les Stingers d’Edmonton (14-9), au WinSport Event Centre. Les demi-finales de conférence auront lieu le samedi 16 août. Le week-end du Championnat suivra, avec les finales de conférence le vendredi 22 août et la grande finale le dimanche 24 août. Pour consulter l’horaire complet 2025 de la LECB et les résultats à jour, visitez cebl.ca/games . - LECB -