Canadian Guard Givance Signs with Bandits
Givance averaged 8.6 points and 3.3 assists in 17 appearances between Ottawa and Scarborough last season
The Vancouver Bandits announced Tuesday that the club has signed Canadian guard Shamar Givance ahead of the 2025 Canadian Elite Basketball League season at Langley Events Centre.
Givance is in the middle of his second season in professional basketball, suiting up for AEL Limassol B.C. of the OPAP Basket League in Cyprus, and will report to the Bandits at the conclusion of his season overseas.
He leads the league with 8.1 assists per game while also averaging 17.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.9 steals, and 35.8 minutes in 21 games.
The 5-foot-10 native of Brampton, Ont. is no stranger to the CEBL, having split time between the Scarborough Shooting Stars and Ottawa BlackJacks during the 2024 season. Through 17 regular season games, he averaged 8.2 points, 3.2 assists and 2.5 rebounds on 47.2 and 44.1 per cent shooting from field goal and three-point range, respectively.
“I am excited to return to the CEBL and be part of the Bandits organization,” said Givance. “Everything I've heard about the team’s culture, passionate fans and incredible energy in Vancouver has me looking forward to the summer ahead. I’m ready to put in the work with my teammates and bring that championship to BC.”
Givance’s career also includes a stop in Slovakia during the 2023-24 season. In his first year as a pro with BKM Lucenec of the Slovakian Basketball League, the rookie averaged 19.9 points, 7.1 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 1.6 steals through 34 games played.
“Shamar is an extremely tough player with big time speed and an ability to generate scoring opportunities for himself and others,” said head coach and general manager, Kyle Julius. “Between Shamar and Mike Nuga I think we have the two fastest players in the CEBL, I can't wait to get started with these guys!”
Givance played four seasons of post-secondary basketball at the University of Evansville from 2018 to 2022, where he earned All-Missouri Valley Conference Second Team honours in 2021 and surpassed the 1000-point mark in 2022. He then transferred to the University of Texas El Paso for his graduate season in 2022-23 where he averaged the third-most assists and steals per game in Conference USA and ranked eighth in program history with 62 steals on the season.
Season Tickets and Jam Packs are currently on sale for the Bandits’ seventh CEBL season and are available for purchase at this link. Single game tickets are expected to go on sale later this spring.
The Bandits tip-off the 2025 CEBL campaign on Thursday, May 15 when the club hits the road to take on the Saskatchewan Rattlers. Fans will have their first chance to watch the club at home on Thursday, May 22 at 7 p.m. PT when Vancouver hosts the Niagara River Lions in a rematch of the 2024 CEBL Final. Vancouver will play a total of 12 regular season home games in 2025 between Thursday, May 22 and Sunday, August 3. The Bandits wrap up regular season action on the road in Ottawa on Sunday, August 10 at 12 p.m. PT.
All CEBL regular season games including playoffs will be live-streamed on TSN+, as well as the CEBL’s OTT platform,
CEBL+, and on CEBL Mobile, the official app of the CEBL (available on Android and iOS devices).
Individuals interested in learning more about tickets for the Vancouver Bandits’ upcoming 2025 season are kindly asked to call (604) 455-8881 or email
[email protected]. A complete regular season schedule can be found by
clicking here.
More information is available at
thebandits.ca and @vancouverbandits on
Instagram and
TikTok, as well as @vancitybandits on
Facebook and
Twitter.
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About the Vancouver Bandits:
The Vancouver Bandits are British Columbia’s professional basketball team. As the westernmost club in the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL), the Bandits offer an entertainment experience that combines a fast-paced game day atmosphere with a presentation of some of Canada’s top professional athletes within a world-class venue at Langley Events Centre (LEC).
