CEBL Champion Honey Badgers Head to Nicaragua in Search of First Basketball Champions League Americas Win

As 2023 gets underway, with it comes the second window of the FIBA Basketball Champion League Americas. The 2022 CEBL champion Brampton Honey Badgers will continue to represent Canada in the event as group stage action heads to Managua, Nicaragua with Real Estelí playing host.

The BCLA features 12 teams representing seven countries from the Americas, competing to win a berth to the 2024 FIBA International Cup. The BCLA features three group phase windows where teams can advance to the quarterfinal in March where they will play to then advance to the Final Four, where a champion will be crowned in April. The Honey Badgers are in Group A of the competition along with Libertadores of Mexico and Real Estelí of Nicaragua.

After dropping both of their games in the first window back in December, Brampton will look to get in the win column in Nicaragua where they play two games, beginning with a match-up against Libertadores on Tuesday, January 17 at 8 p.m. ET. They’ll close out the second window by facing Real Estelí on Wednesday, January 18, also at 8 p.m. ET. All games will be live-streamed internationally on CEBL’s OTT platform, CEBL+ and on CEBL Mobile, the official app of the CEBL.

While the Honey Badgers are looking for their first victory, Libertadores begins the second window undefeated. Finishing the first window with a perfect 2-0 record, Libertadores took advantage of their first two games taking place in Mexico. Real Estelí enters window two with a 1-1 record that they look to improve upon with their next two games in front of a home crowd in Nicaragua.

Because of their 0-2 record, the Honey Badgers will need to come out of the second window with a victory to keep their chance at clinching in the third window alive. The third window will be crucial for Brampton as they will hold home-court advantage, playing host for the third BCLA window at Brampton’s CAA Centre in February.

There will be a few new faces suiting up for the Honey Badgers in Nicaragua, as the team announced key additions to the roster for the second window.

Canadian Shane Osayande joins the Honey Badgers after previously competing for the CEBL’s Saskatchewan Rattlers, while Canadian Chad Posthumus has joined the roster to compete in his second BCLA season after finishing sixth in total rebounds (8.3) in last year’s competition where he played for the 2021 CEBL Champion Edmonton Stingers who were representing Canada in the event.

Brampton will also have Americans Steve Taylor Jr. and Rayvonte Rice on the roster, as well as American-Puerto Rican Tyquan Rolon to round out their group of 11 players. Taylor Jr. is a Chicago native who has spent time playing overseas in Italy, Venezuela and Australia, while Rice last played for the NBA G League Salt Lake City Stars. Rolon most recently played for Baloncesto Superior Nacional in Puerto Rico.

While Posthumus set the mark for rebounding for a CEBL team in the BCLA last season, Honey Badgers big man Josh Ibarra is averaging 11 rebounds per game after the opening window, ranking second overall in the BCLA.

The Honey Badgers weren’t the only team in Group A to make roster changes in advance of the second window of play. Mexico’s Libertadores have added Dominican Victor Liz, known for lighting up the scoreboard, as well as American Elijah Lee Holman. Host team Real Esteli will have point guard Tu Holloway, most recently of the Egyptian Super League, replacing Christian Pizarro.

The competition window hosted by Canada at the CAA Centre in Brampton and will begin February 7 when Brampton takes on Real Estelí. The two visiting teams, Real Estelí and Libertadores, will then face each other February 8, while the Honey Badgers play Libertadores on February 9. Fans are encouraged to take advantage of a 33% discount on game tickets as 3-game packs are now on sale for all three games. All tickets can be purchased via the link here.

A league created by Canadians for Canadians with a mission to develop Canadian players, coaches, sports executives and referees, the CEBL boasts the highest percentage of Canadian players of any pro league in the country with 71 percent of its 2022 rosters being Canadian. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international pro leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. Nine players have moved from the CEBL into the NBA following a CEBL season, and 28 CEBL players attended NBA G League training camps during October. The CEBL season runs May through August.  More information about the CEBL is available at CEBL.ca and @cebleague on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.