Smart Leads BlackJacks to Third Straight Win
For the third time in as many games, Javonte Smart showed exactly what he’s capable of doing on the basketball court.
The former member of the Miami Heat made his home debut for the Ottawa BlackJacks (5-6) and gave the crowd something to cheer for, scoring 31 points to lead the team to a 90-77 victory over the Montreal Alliance (5-5).
“I just let my work speak,” said Smart, who has combined for 86 points over his first three games with the club. “I’ve been working and I get the opportunity to show my game, and that’s what I’ve been doing: just showing what I can do.
They brought me in with welcome arms. Nobody had an attitude, and we all joined together and we’re getting wins. I think winning solves everything, there’s no complaining. I think if we continue to win, everything will go smooth.”
“I think everyone can see the impact he has,” BlackJacks head coach Dave DeAveiro said of his new star player. “Sometimes towards the end he gets a little tired because he’s playing a lot of minutes, and I think he’s still learning and trusting his teammates. But as he learns to trust his teammates a little more, I think he’ll grow and you’ll see an even better Javonte.”
It was the away team that started off strong, dominating the paint to take an early 8-0 lead. Some clutch three-pointers from the BlackJacks would help close the gap, but the Alliance would hold on to a 28-22 advantage after the first quarter thanks to a 17-8 lead in rebounds and scoring 20 points in the paint.
Ottawa would make some key adjustments during the break and begin to surmount a comeback early in the second. A pivotal 9-0 run capped by a Smart basket would give them a 41-40 lead, their first of the game, fueled by shooting 6-for-12 from beyond the arc in the first half. They kept their foot on the gas and took a 49-45 advantage into halftime and never looked back.
“One of the things that team has is length,” DeAveiro said of the opposition. “They’re physical. They send four guys to the glass. We don’t play many teams that send that many guys to the glass. I think we got better as the game went along. I thought our rebounding got better. It’s just adjusting to that length and physicality. We held them to 49 points in three quarters. That’s amazing. That’s great defense. With all the missed boxouts and offensive rebounds, I felt as the game went on that we got better.”
Tavian Dunn-Martin, one of the CEBL’s most dynamic players, was held to just nine points on 3-for-15 shooting from the field, though he chipped in with six rebounds and 12 assists. O.D Anosike led the Alliance with 17 points and eight rebounds, while Quincy Guerrier had 15 and Brandon Porter had 14 in his CEBL debut.
“We need to give credit to Shakur (Daniel),” DeAveiro said of his teams ability to shut down the Alliance offence. “He’s out there guarding their best player, fighting through screens. He kind of sets the tone for us defensively, and you need a guy like that on your team. The last three games he’s guarded their best offensive players. It all starts with Shakur and everybody else can feed off of that. I think we’re just going to get better defensively, and soon the standard is going to be 75, because I’m greedy like that.”
On top of his stellar defensive play, Daniel finished with six points and four steals. Isaih Moore had 21 points to go with eight rebounds and Zane Waterman chipped in with 12 off the bench. It was just the fourth time the BlackJacks had cracked the 90-point plateau this season.
“We got to defend. I’ll keep it simple,” Guerrier said of himself and his teammates. “We have to get back to keeping teams under 90 points. I think all our losses were 89 points plus, so we have to find a way to be better defensively.
It’s everybody. Everybody has to do their job. Guarding the ball is the most important thing. You don’t want them to penetrate with the ball and just kick it out. Obviously, you have to win your matchup one on one, but it’s a team effort and we have to do a better job.”
It was another disappointing outcome for an Alliance team that started the season 5-0, but now finds themselves straddled with a 5-5 record. The BlackJacks, who sit immediately below the Alliance in the CEBL standings, have found themselves on the opposite trajectory, winning three straight and improving to 5-6. The teams play twice more this season.
Box Score
https://www.cebl.ca/game?id=2600620
Up next for both teams
The Ottawa BlackJacks will celebrate Canada Day by welcoming the Winnipeg Sea Bears to TD Place for their second and final meeting of the season. The Montreal Alliance continue their three-game road trip with a Canada Day game against the Edmonton Stingers.
Next CEBL action
The Niagara River Lions head to Brampton for the second of four meetings between the quads this season, streaming live on CEBL+, TSN+ and NLSE. For the full 2025 CEBL schedule and up-to-date results, please visit
cebl.ca/games.
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