The Vancouver Bandits announced Saturday that the club has signed former Canadian university standout and two-time U SPORTS national champion Lloyd Pandi. A veteran of 52 CEBL games across four seasons for both the Ottawa BlackJacks and Niagara River Lions, Pandi was named CEBL Defensive Player of the Year in 2024 and is a two-time CEBL U SPORTS Player of the Year (2020, 2022). A 6-foot-4 guard, Pandi has spent the past two seasons with Rasta Vechta in Germany’s Basketball Bundesliga, where he has averaged 5.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 21.7 minutes across 80 games played between 2024 and 2026. Hailing from Ottawa, Ont., Pandi has represented the Canadian senior national team on multiple occasions, including call-ups at the 2025 FIBA AmeriCup Qualifiers, 2023 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers and 2022 FIBA AmeriCup roster. Boasting a decorated university career, Pandi played two seasons of collegiate basketball at Ottawa’s Carleton University where he captured back-to-back U SPORTS national championships. His outstanding performance during his senior year with the Ravens in 2021-22 earned him several accolades, including the Mike Moser Memorial Trophy for U SPORTS Player of the Year and U SPORTS First Team All-Canadian honours. ### 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 Envision Financial Court at Langley Events Centre (LEC), while also being committed to growing the game of basketball by fostering meaningful community connections through youth programming, events, and partnerships.

Bandits Head Coach Kyle Julius suspendedfrom all CEBL game-related activities, pending completion of the League Office’s review of an incident involving a fan at the CEBL game on June 18.

At 8-1, the Scarborough Shooting Stars own the best record in the CEBL. They’ve emerged as early title favourites, winning games in comeback and blowout fashion alike. To say the Shooting Stars are firing on all cylinders would be an understatement. And yet, forward Charles Bediako remains bothered by that one blemish: a 90-88 loss against brother Jaden Bediako and the Saskatoon Mamba on May 31. “Honestly, that's annoying,” Charles said. “I feel like if we go on to see the rest of the season and win it all, it's good. But I guess on a personal level, that will probably be worse because that's probably the only thing he’ll have against me. … Hopefully we can see him in the playoffs.” After the game, Charles, a CEBL rookie, texted Jaden: “Good job, you did your thing, but don't act like this ain't the last time.” Jaden, a three-year veteran, had to set the record straight. This was, indeed, the one and only time they would face each other - barring a CEBL Finals showdown, that is. They went against each other from the opening tip, won by Charles. On the Mamba’s first offensive possession, Jaden made a jump shot over his little brother. But little bro got him right back, converting an alley-oop on the very next play. In the end, of course, Jaden got the last laugh, putting up 18 points and 10 rebounds in the win. Charles shot a perfect five-for-five but wound up with just the 10 points and seven rebounds. “It was great because one, we won,” Jaden said. “And two, I had the better stat line overall. So it's going to be a great Thanksgiving or whenever we have time to sit down and break bread again.” The game marked the first time the Bediako brothers have ever gone head-to-head in a competitive professional environment. Jaden, 26, has spent all three of his CEBL seasons with the Saskatoon franchise. He’s averaged a near double-double of 9.4 points and 8.8 rebounds for his career and recently appeared in five games in the G League with Raptors 905 while also playing professionally in Mexico. Charles, 24, arrived at the CEBL this season after a tumultuous year which saw him attempt to return to the University of Alabama after a stint in the G League, only to have a court deny him and end his season early. A highly touted prospect throughout the ranks, Charles has shone with the Shooting Stars, registering 7.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. He’s hoping to parlay his CEBL play into an NBA Summer League invite in July, but first he’ll head to training camp with Canada’s men’s senior team. Both brothers won college championships, too, with Jaden taking an NIT title at Seton Hall while Charles earned an SEC ‘chip with the Crimson Tide. The foundation for both careers was built in an extremely competitive environment in Brampton, Ont. “We'd play a little one-on-one, but sometimes they can get really competitive where we go a couple of days without talking to each other. It gets personal,” Jaden said. “There are times you're trying to avoid, like, let's not play one-on-one because someone's going to feel some way after.” Growing up, even younger bro Charles admitted that Jaden typically got the best of him — though with the caveat that he was a soccer player before pivoting full-time to basketball, and the margins closed as he grew older. Now, it’s Charles that might have a brighter basketball future, and Jaden understands his new role. “He's playing at some of the highest levels. Going to these training camps, working with [Denver Nuggets star Nikola] Jokic and the [Detroit] Pistons guys. So it’s been great, as an older brother, you want to put him down. As you get older, it's like, ‘Yo, salute, respect, keep going.’ All I can do is be here to motivate him, someone to guide him and give him my opinion, right? You can't be all dandy and rosy, right? Sometimes you have to say the truth or be the negative guy,” Jaden said. Charles, meanwhile, conceded it was “cool” battling Jaden in the CEBL even despite the loss. “I can tell he was excited. He was going to shoot everything against me. … That was pretty cool,” he said. After all, Jaden played a major role throughout his career, even helping recruit him to the CEBL for this pivotal summer in his basketball journey. Charles said he’s enjoyed his first stint in the CEBL and getting to play with familiar faces in teammates Frank Mitchell and Myles Powell. “I feel like we all just want to see each other succeed. I feel like that's the biggest thing,” Charles said about his Shooting Stars squad. “Our off-court chemistry is great. We're at one another when we're all playing and I feel like that just shows on-court, also shows why our record is the way it is.” Jaden, meanwhile, is quick to mention the Mamba’s perfect 4-0 record when he plays - including three wins by just two points. Saskatoon is 0-5 without Bediako on the floor. It gives him plenty of confidence that a Shooting Stars-Mamba championship is very much in play. “We have the potential to climb the standings. Obviously rough start, but beat a team like Scarborough, a team like Winnipeg who's a Western Conference rival. That shows hope and growth,” he said. And if that Bediako brothers rematch does indeed occur? “It'd be amazing,” Jaden said. “That's not even a question.”

For two straight seasons, the Eastern Conference has been dominated by one team. Not only have the Niagara River Lions won two straight titles, they’ve also finished as the East’s top regular-season squad three years in a row. To begin this season, each of the Brampton Honey Badgers and Scarborough Shooting Stars decided to do something about it. The Ontario squads, who won the 2022 and 2023 championships, respectively, beefed up their rosters and sprinted out of the gates as the first teams in the conference to reach the seven-win mark. A changing of the guard seemed like it was in the works. But the River Lions didn’t waver. They knew their Lion King, Khalil Ahmad, would be joining them sooner than later. They knew it would take some time to acclimate to a new coach in former teammate and captain Kimbal Mackenzie. On Monday, the River Lions cemented their return as a contender with a commanding 101-84 win over the Honey Badgers. The Shooting Stars, meanwhile, picked up a 108-105 victory against the Vancouver Bandits in one of the most entertaining games of the year to take a solo conference lead at 8-1. The race is on - and the three heavyweights are set to duke it out, with Ottawa and Montreal aiming to play spoiler. We’ll start with the defending champs (5-5), who’ve won two straight to get back to .500 and pull within two games of Brampton (7-3). While Ahmad is the straw that stirs the drink - as evidenced by his career-high-tying 37 points Monday - the likes of veterans Curtis Hollis and Nathan Cayo kept Niagara afloat in his absence, with the latter second on the team in scoring and the former sitting third in points and second in rebounding and assists among qualified players. On the flip side, Brampton has hit its first snag of the season amid a pair of losses. Against the River Lions, the Honey Badgers’ season-long hot streak from beyond the arc came to a crashing halt as they made only 25 per cent, including just two-for-seven from sharpshooter Cameron Tyson. Brampton’s point differential of plus-nine could also be cause for concern, as could the absence of last year’s MVP runner-up Sean East II. It may just be a blip. East II could return, and the shooting might have been a one-off. But the Honey Badgers are facing their first bit of adversity, and how they respond will be telling. For now, Scarborough has emerged as the team to beat in the East. Buoyed by CEBL co-leading scorer Myles Powell (27.6 points per game, tied with Winnipeg’s Teddy Allen), the Shooting Stars have won in all kinds of ways through nine games, two-thirds of which have been on the road. Powell has emerged as an early contender for Clutch Player of the Year, leading the league with four Target Score Winners, and Frank Mitchell is a double-double machine off the bench. Now, they’ll return home for a pair of Eastern Conference battles against the BlackJacks on Friday followed by what is potentially the game of the week on Sunday against the River Lions. Giddy up. Lethbridge showdown For the first time ever, the CEBL is headed to Lethbridge, AB. On Saturday, the Calgary Surge will play host in southern Alberta to the Montreal Alliance, and they may still be seeking their first win. Entering this week 0-10, the season has not exactly gone to plan for the Surge, who also parted with head coach Perry Huang. But it’s not all bad news for Canadian CEBL legend Rugzy Miller-Moore and company. The Surge’s offence has the makings of something solid despite sitting second-last in points per game. Calgary is fourth in the league in assists per game and averages the second-fewest turnovers, pointing to good process. Their overall efficiency rating, meanwhile, ranks seventh - one slot above their Lethbridge opponent. But the Alliance are desperate for a win too amid that competitive Eastern landscape. Montreal (4-6) has dropped two of three as it fights for positioning, and it also recently lost leading scorer Javon Freeman-Liberty. In his place, fellow ex-Raptor Quincy Guerrier will be expected to step up alongside the likes of point guard Davion Warren. Making things more difficult, the Alliance were already also the only team averaging fewer points per game than the Surge. Their defence, however, has been stingy - and will look to interrupt Calgary’s passing flow with its aggressive style that has led to the second-most steals per game. Lethbridge should be in for a treat. Weekly schedule (10 games) Game #49 – Wednesday, June 17 – MTL at EDM – 7 p.m. MT / 9 p.m. ET – Edmonton EXPO Centre (CBC Gem, YouTube, CEBL+) Game #50 – Wednesday, June 17 – BHB at CGY – 9:30 p.m. MT / 7:30 p.m. ET – WinSport Event Centre (CBC Gem, YouTube, CEBL+) Game #51 – Thursday, June 18 – VAN at WPG – 7 p.m. CDT / 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. ET – Canada Life Centre (CBC Gem, YouTube, CEBL+) Game #52 – Friday, June 19 – SSK at NRL – 11 a.m. ET / 9 a.m. CST – Meridian Centre (CBC Gem, YouTube, CEBL+) Game #53 – Friday, June 19 – OTT at SSS – 7:30 p.m. ET – Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre (CBC Gem, YouTube, CEBL+) Game #54 – Saturday, June 20 – EDM at WPG – 4 p.m. CDT/ 3 p.m. MT / 5 p.m. ET – Canada Life Centre (CBC Gem, YouTube, CEBL+) Game #55 – Saturday, June 20 – MTL at CGY – 5 p.m. MT / 7 p.m. ET – VisitLethbridge.com Arena (CBC Gem, YouTube, CEBL+) Game #56 – Saturday, June 20 – BHB at VAN – 6 p.m. PT / 9 p.m. ET – Envision Financial Court at Langley Events Centre (CBC Gem, YouTube, CEBL+) Game #57 – Sunday, June 21 – NRL at SSS – 4 p.m. ET – Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre (CBC Gem, YouTube, CEBL+) Game #58 – Sunday, June 21 – SSK at OTT – 7 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. CST – The Arena at TD Place (CBC Gem, YouTube, CEBL+) For the full 2026 CEBL schedule, please visit cebl.ca/games .

The Vancouver Bandits announced today that the reigning Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) Most Valuable Player Mitch Creek has re-signed with the club for the 2026 CEBL season. The 6-foot-5 forward and fan favourite returns to the Bandits after a stellar 2025 campaign in which he was named Most Valuable Player and an All-CEBL First Team Selection. Creek had one of the most statistically productive stretches of his career during the 2025 CEBL season. Starting in all 20 regular season games, he averaged a team-high 24.4 points per game along with 6.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.5 steals in 34.4 minutes.Creek made his CEBL debut during the 2024 season and currently ranks second on the Bandits’ all-time leading scorers list (643 points). Creek appeared in five NBA regular season games during the 2018-19 season, splitting time between the Brooklyn Nets and Minnesota Timberwolves averaging 4.2 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game on 50 per cent shooting from the field across both clubs. A veteran of 15 professional seasons, Creek was a mainstay and all-star in his home country’s National Basketball League (NBL), logging 338 games and served as captain for both the Adelaide 36ers and South East Melbourne Phoenix. Most recently, Creek competed for Romanian club U-BT Cluj-Napoca during the 2025-26 season where he captained the team to a Romanian League championship and received All-EuroCup Second Team honours. A native of Horsham, Australia, Creek is a major basketball figure in his home country and has been instrumental to the success of the national team, known as the Boomers, and was recently named to Australia’s roster for the upcoming 2027 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers taking place in July. Creek will step away from the Bandits’ roster to join the Australian national team in advance of its FIBA World Cup Qualifier games on July 3 and 6 against Guam and the Philippines, respectively. He will rejoin the Bandits at the conclusion of his international duties. Bandits Single Game Tickets and additional 2026 ticket options can be purchased here . All CEBL regular season games including playoffs will be live-streamed on the CEBL’s OTT platform, CEBL+, the CEBL Mobile app, the CBC Gem app and the CBC Sports YouTube channel. Marquee games will air nationally on CBC TV. More information is available at thebandits.ca and @vancouverbandits on Instagram and TikTok, as well as @vancitybandits on Facebook and Twitter. ### 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 Envision Financial Court at Langley Events Centre (LEC), while also being committed to growing the game of basketball by fostering meaningful community connections through youth programming, events, and partnerships.

The Scarborough Shooting Stars of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) announced Saturday that they have re-signed Khalil Miller for his second season in Scarborough. The 6'8 Scarborough native averaged 5.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks on 53% shooting from the field for the Shooting Stars last year. Despite playing 15 minutes a game, his rebounding numbers were in the 76th percentile in the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) and his 1.3 blocks anchored the paint for Scarborough, accounting for 19% of all the Shooting Stars blocks. With only 0.5 turnovers a game and strong finishing around the rim (70% field goal percentage in the paint), Miller proved he can provide impact to the floor without needing the ball or plays run for him. You would often see him finishing off a play with a dunk, bringing down an offensive rebound (1.5 per game) or setting screens to free up others. During the 2025 CEBL Eastern Conference Semifinal, Miller put up 19 points and 17 rebounds on 87% shooting to punch the Shooting Stars ticket to Championship Weekend. 17 rebounds in a game is a Shooting Stars single game record. Overseas Professional Career Miller recently averaged 14.7 points, 12.2 rebounds, 1.9 blocks and 2.1 steals for Lokomotiv Plovdiv in 2025-26, a professional club in Bulgaria. He averaged 10.1 points, 8 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game on 64% shooting for Allianz Swans Gmunden in the Austrian Bundesliga in 2024-25. He averaged 16.5 points, 11.4 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 2.2 blocks for EN Baskets Schwelm in the German Pro B North league in 2023-24. Canadian Post Secondary Career Miller played three years at Seneca College and his senior season at McMaster University, with career averages of 12.3 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.3 blocks and 1.3 steals. He was the recipient of the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Defensive Player of the Year in 2023 with McMaster.

Burns (6-7, 220 lbs, Youngstown State University; born: May 16, 2001, in New Orleans, Louisiana) arrives in Winnipeg after back-to-back productive seasons overseas. In the 2025–26 campaign with Maccabi Rishon Lezion in the Israeli Premier League, Burns averaged 13.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game, highlighted by a season-high 28 points and 6 rebounds against Ness Ziona. Prior to his time in Israel, Burns spent the 2024–25 season with Sigal Prishtina in the Kosovo Basketball Superliga, where he was one of the league's most dominant big men, averaging 16.2 points, 13.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. In one standout performance, he put up 24 points, 17 rebounds and 4 assists for a game-high efficiency rating of 34. Before turning professional, Burns built a decorated college career spanning three programs. At Youngstown State in 2023–24, he was one of the Horizon League's top frontcourt players, starting all 32 games and averaging 13.1 points, 11.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists, earning All-Horizon League Second Team and Horizon League All-Defensive Team honours. He previously played two seasons at Murray State (2021–23) and began his college career at Southern University (2019–21). "We are excited to add D.J. Burns to our roster, he has proven he can produce at a high level internationally and throughout his college career, and what stood out to us was his motor, rebounding ability and defensive presence," said Head Coach and General Manager Mike Raimbault. "He brings toughness, and a team-first mentality that will fit well with our group and the style we want to play in Winnipeg. ###