CEBL NEWS ARTICLES

In the battle between struggling Niagara and Winnipeg, one team was assured of a get-right win. The River Lions made sure it was them. Niagara dispatched of the Sea Bears 93-82 on Friday at the Meridian Centre in St. Catharines, Ont., snapping its two-game skid and padding its lead atop the Eastern Conference. Winnipeg, meanwhile, suffered its fourth consecutive loss. Niagara now sits at 8-5, while Winnipeg falls to 5-9. “I mean, it was the bounceback that we needed,” River Lions head coach Victor Raso said. “I thought we played hard the entirety of the game. We played better basketball than we have been in the past, so that was a big step in the right direction.” The River Lions controlled most of the game, leading by double digits much of the way, until the Sea Bears injected a scare with a fourth-quarter run that cut their deficit to five. It was as close as they would get. Niagara led 83-74 when the clock stopped for Target Score Time, which began explosively. After Jalen Harris hit a two-pointer to start the proceedings, the teams traded three-pointers on four straight possessions with Khalil Ahmad and Ron Curry hitting for Niagara, while Harris hit both for Winnipeg. Shortly after, Ahmad reinforced yet again why he has become known as the Target Score King, splashing home a step-back three-pointer to seal the River Lions victory. “it's all about continuity and putting together that game after game after game after game, so if we can stay continuous, then we'll be alright,” Ahmad said. For Niagara, the long-awaited win came on the back of its defence. The River Lions entered Friday’s action allowing the most points against per game in the league and having given up a combined 193 points in its two losses. But on Friday, they held the Sea Bears to just 34 points in the middle two quarters and forced 19 total turnovers. “We defended really well, especially for the first three quarters up in the game, really up until the points of the game where Jalen Harris started making shots, I thought we were defending quite well,” Raso said. Ahmad led the way for Niagara with 26 points to go with four assists and three rebounds. He made nine of 17 field-goal attempts, and two of his three triples came during Target Score Time. Elijah Lufile came off the bench for a near-double-double of 10 points and nine rebounds, while do-it-all guard Kimbal Mackenzie contributed 11 points, five rebounds and four assists. Ahmed Hill, the CEBL’s all-time leading scorer, had 12 points to move within five of becoming the first player in league history to reach the 1,500-point plateau (including playoffs). Ron Curry returned for the River Lions after a five-game absence, scoring eight points and dishing three assists. But Ahmad also credited his team’s defence for the win. “Defensive toughness, defensive intensity, just being together on defence because offence isn't really our problem. We just got to stay consistent defensively,” he said. On the flip side, Winnipeg’s defence — which entered just one-tenth of a point better than Niagara per game and will exit with the dubious title of league’s worst defence — continued to struggle. Niagara’s offence made 45 per cent of its three-point attempts and five different players scored in double digits. Head coach Mike Taylor pinpointed focus as the reason for his team’s losing streak. “We really had a spirited comeback, put ourselves in a good position, but there were too many possessions in the early part of the game where we kind of got in our own way. And it's been a theme at times. We've been inconsistent,” he said. “And today that put us behind the eight ball to 19 turnovers. We've been a team that's taken care of the basketball really well all year. Unfortunately, today, we were a little bit disorganized.” Sea Bears leading scorer Simi Shittu was ejected from the game early in the fourth quarter after picking up his fifth personal foul. In his place, Winnipeg native Emmanuel Akot paced his squad with 22 points to go with six rebounds and two assists. Harris ended with 21 points after his Target Time splurge. Akot said Winnipeg let Niagara build too big of an early lead, but he was happy with his team’s spirit to fight back. “But at the end of the day, winning is what matters, and we just got to go back to the office and figure things out,” Akot said. Canadian Olympian Dillon Brooks, who was recently traded from the NBA’s Houston Rockets to the Phoenix Suns, attended the game. The River Lions led 28-24 after a fast-paced first quarter and extended their lead to 51-38 by halftime. They took a 73-58 advantage into the final frame. But in the end, it was Ahmad — as per usual — coming up clutch when it mattered most, and Niagara was able to leave its home arena with a win. Box Score https://www.cebl.ca/game?id=2600635 Up Next Niagara heads to Montreal to face the Alliance on Sunday, while Winnipeg wraps its three-game road trip in Saskatchewan against the Rattlers next Friday. Next CEBL Action The surging Ottawa BlackJacks visit the Rattlers in Saturday’s lone contest. For the full 2025 CEBL schedule and up-to-date results, please visit cebl.ca/games . - CEBL -

The forward returns to the Bandits for his third season

No Dunn-Martin? No problem. Quincy Guerrier and the Montreal Alliance (6-6) stepped up in crunch time without their leading scorer in the lineup Thursday night to erase a 13-point deficit and stun Saskatchewan (3-11) in a Target Time thriller. It appeared that Saskatchewan was in the driver’s seat for their second victory on home court this season until a Malcolm Duvivier triple made it a one-point game late in the third quarter. It was a deja-vu of the first quarter, where the Rattlers were neck-and-neck with the visiting Alliance. Isaac Simon’s first-half scoring outburst catapulted Saskatchewan to a 13-point lead going into the second half, but they quickly let their lead slip through their hands. Montreal made five three-pointers in the third quarter, the last coming from Duvivier. By the start of the fourth, it was anyone’s game — and Montreal’s captain, Quincy Guerrier, knocked down three more from deep in the final frame. This game was a coin flIp as Saskatchewan only had a three-point lead going into Target Time, and the game was tied at 80 apiece with the Target Score set at 81. “I’d rather win ugly than lose pretty. It’s very tough to get wins,” reflected Montreal head coach Jermaine Small after the game. “I think it was a very character game for us. We didn’t have our best player in the game today. Moving forward, we can build on this momentum because it was a character win. I’m very proud of our guys.” Montreal was missing their star in Tavian Dunn-Martin and they will soon miss Guerrier as he heads to Summer League with the Toronto Raptors. Guerrier’s last triple gave Montreal a two-point buffer, and their 5-0 lead in Target Time gave them a two-point lead. “I think they did a great job moving the basketball. I think it came down to their offensive rebounding,” admitted Saskatchewan head coach Eric Magdanz. “They did a good job getting the offensive rebound, kicking out. It’s always difficult to recover off an offensive rebound.” Over the last seven days, Montreal came into this game leading the league in offensive rebounds with 16.5 per game (through two games) despite a 0-2 record. Tonight, they had 20 offensive boards and were +14 compared to Saskatchewan. It’s a disappointing loss for Saskatchewan, who now have the league-worst 3-11 record. Before tonight, they lost 97-85 against the league-best Vancouver Bandits after giving up a lead. Saskatchewan repeated its own history day. However, it was a special night for Developmental Player Isaac Simon and Nate Pierre-Louis. Simon, the University of Alberta Golden Bears player, scored his career-high 19 points on eight-for-13 shooting. At halftime, he talked about being aggressive and he did exactly that throughout the entire game. He made mince meat out of Ben Stevens on an iso play mid-way through the third quarter, stepping back on a mid-range jumper to make it a 17-point game. He even drew an offensive foul from former Developmental Player Alain Louis down low in the fourth quarter. Pierre-Louis notched over 100 assists this season after game-highs in 25 points and 13 assists. He came into this game being the second assist-leader in the league with 6.9 per game. “It’s a blessing. Just really grateful,” Pierre-Louis said. “I have great teammates.” Montreal’s Small and his team were equally grateful to walk away with a late-game comeback win tonight. Box score https://www.cebl.ca/game?id=2600633 Up next for both teams The Saskatchewan Rattlers (3-11) host the Ottawa BlackJacks (6-6) at SaskTel Centre on Saturday, July 5th. The Montreal Alliance (6-6) head back home to host the Niagara River Lions (7-5) at Verdun Auditorium on Sunday, July 6th. Next CEBL action The Winnipeg Sea Bears (5-8) head to Meridian Centre to face the Niagara River Lions (7-5) on Friday, July 4th. For the full 2025 CEBL schedule and up-to-date results, please visit cebl.ca/games . - CEBL -

There might be a new star trio in the CEBL. Facing the prospect of blowing what was once a 22-point lead, up by just six in Target Score Time following a furious rally, the threesome of Evan Gilyard Jr., Sean Miller-Moore and Greg Brown III, who combined for 60 points, connected to deliver one final dagger as the Calgary Surge held on for a 94-85 win over the home Brampton Honey Badgers on Thursday. Gilyard brought the ball up and worked into a dribble-handoff with Moore, who snaked through the lane and kicked it to Brown in the right corner for the team’s 10th and final triple of the game. The basket was vital as it stopped what was a 13-2 Brampton charge once the clocks had stopped and gave Calgary the breathing room it needed to carve out a victory, now 9-4 on the season and just one game back of the Vancouver Bandits atop the West. “Unbelievable for us,” Surge head coach Caleb Canales said of the leading trio post-game. “Rugzy has been unbelievable for us from the first game, Greg too, and Evan has immediately just fit right in.” Leading that charge was Gilyard, who finished with a game-high 25 points on four-of-nine shooting from distance to go with four assists and three steals in his impressive CEBL debut. Meanwhile, Brown chipped in 19 points, 10 assists and three blocks, while Miller-Moore added 16 points, six rebounds and two blocks as the trio accounted for over 60 per cent of Calgary’s offensive production on a night they were missing their second-leading scorer in Jameer Nelson Jr. On the other side, Marcus Carr scored a team-high 20 points to go with six rebounds and seven assists in 31 minutes off the bench. Behind him were Amari Kelly (13 points, 10 rebounds) and Prince Oduro (12 points, 12 rebounds) with a pair of double-doubles, while Quinndary Weatherspoon and Bryson Williams each chipped in 13 points, respectively. The loss dropped the Honey Badgers to 4-9, remaining in last place in the East. While Calgary got multiple contributions on the night, none were as immediate or as notable as the energy Gilyard provided. The Surge debutant had a 90-second stretch to open the game that included six points, a steal, and a charge that almost single-handedly sparked a 10-0 run that helped his team carve out a 27-11 lead following the first quarter. Talk about a first impression. “It was great,” Gilyard said of his first taste of CEBL basketball. “I played some pretty good defence, helped my teammates out and made things easy for them … control the game in every aspect.” Meanwhile, underscoring that early effort was Calgary’s dominance inside, holding Brampton to 3-of-14 shooting (21 per cent) on two-pointers for a 16-4 edge on paint points after 10 minutes. The trend continued till the end as the Honey Badgers finished 19-of-55 (34 per cent) inside the arc, as the Surge finished plus-10 for points in the paint. And although it seemed as though the Surge simply wouldn’t relinquish their momentum, going on an 8-0 run in the second — capped with back-to-back triples — to lead by as many as 20 points, the Honey Badgers did show some resilience, to their credit. They responded with an 11-3 charge to cut that deficit as low as 12 points before ultimately trailing 52-37 at halftime. Leading that comeback effort for Brampton was Carr, who scored 11 points in the second to lead all scorers at the break with 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting. “Calgary came out ready to play,” the Toronto native said post-game. “The way we started the game … we did kind of a good job towards the end, we kept fighting, but at the end of the day, we dug ourselves too deep into a hole. The Honey Badgers kept chipping from there, using an 8-2 run following Quinndary Weatherspoon’s first basket of the game mid-way through the third, a transition triple, to cut Brampton’s deficit back down to single digits for the first time since the 2:09 mark of the first. However, it was Calgary’s turn to respond to adversity, or rather, Brown’s turn, as the forward scored seven straight points as part of a 15-2 run en route to a 72-56 Surge lead after 30 minutes. Meanwhile, Brampton, as it has done for many stretches this season, got in its own way by committing eight turnovers in the third, as part of 23 for the game. All of which afforded Calgary a 30-12 edge on points off those miscues. A trend that’s plagued the Honey Badgers for much of the year as they entered Thursday leading the league with 16.8 turnovers per game. “We played our style of basketball,” Canales said on his team winning the turnover battle and it leading to easy transition points and a 26-9 advantage for fastbreak scoring. “Defence to offence, I thought we did a good job.” Aside from the Surge as a whole, Gabe Osabuohien proved to be a direct beneficiary of those Honey Badger turnovers. The Toronto native corralled an errant Brampton pass and threw it ahead to Brown for a transition triple at the 4:59 mark of the third. The make not only pushed Calgary’s lead back up to 14, but it also marked Osabuohien’s 100th assist all-time in the CEBL (regular season + playoffs). He’s just the 55th player in league history to reach that mark. The Honey Badgers, despite their many miscues, did win the battle on the glass (56-40), and that edge proved vital as they continued to mount comeback efforts. Brampton secured six offensive rebounds in the fourth as part of 20 for the game (plus-11) to score 15 second-chance points. That effort was a catalyst as the Honey Badgers won the final 20 minutes by six points and appeared on the verge of an epic rally for the Brampton faithful in attendance, which included Toronto native and Canadian senior national team member Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Back-to-back triples from the Honey Badgers, followed by a Carr layup, bookended an 8-0 run that had Brampton within striking distance. But it was all for not, as the Surge took care of business to seal the win — Jamarko Pickett credited with the game-winning layup after David Muenkat was called for a goaltend, the final of his nine points on the night. Box Score https://www.cebl.ca/game?id=2600631 Up next Both squads return to the court on Sunday, starting with the Surge visiting the Edmonton Stingers for the final Battle of Alberta this regular season. Meanwhile, the Honey Badgers depart from Brampton to take on the West-leading Vancouver Bandits. Next CEBL action The Montreal Alliance visit the Saskatchewan Rattlers in a cross-conference class at 9:30 p.m. ET / 7:30 p.m. local to wrap up Thursday’s double-header slate. For the full 2025 CEBL schedule and up-to-date results, please visit cebl.ca/games . - CEBL -

Haviah Mighty, The Funk Hunters, and other top Canadian acts also set to perform at Championship Weekend

The Chicago, IL native appeared in 46 games with the Raptors 905 of the NBA G League

Tie ball game, next basket wins — it doesn’t get better than that in the CEBL. And who better to play hero than Zach Copeland, capping off his return to the lineup and team-high scoring night with a side-step triple to seal a 100-97 Vancouver Bandits victory over the Scarborough Shooting Stars on Tuesday. “Just wanted a little space, that’s all I needed,” Copeland said post-game, reflecting on the game-winner. “I’ve done this before and I just wanted to come through again.” With their second consecutive win, the Bandits improved to 10-3 and extended their lead atop the Western Conference. Meanwhile, the Shooting Stars fell to 7-7 and remain in second place behind the Niagara River Lions in the East following a second straight road loss. Copeland finished the game with 28 points and five made threes on a 41 per cent clip, all of which came after he had missed the team’s last 11 contests. Behind him was Bandits' captain Mitch Creek with 20 points, six rebounds and five assists, and Corey Davis Jr., who put up a double-double of 18 points and 12 assists while finishing a game-high plus-15 in the narrow victory. “Easily one of the best point guards I’ve coached,” Bandits head coach and general manager Kyle Julius said of Davis’ impact after the game. “Both sides of the ball, no one scores on him one-on-one … he plays with passion, toughness and the guys respect him.” On the other side, Terquavion Smith also put up a team-high 28 points (on 11-of-17 shooting) to go with nine rebounds. Donovan Williams (16 points, 10 rebounds) and Kalif Young (10 points, 11 rebounds) did their part as well with double-double efforts. It was a milestone night for Young, as the big man passed Jordan Baker for the all-time regular season lead in rebounds (523). Rounding out Scarborough’s efforts was Jaden Campbell, who added 17 points off the bench on 6-of-9 shooting. “Our controllables needed to be better down the stretch,” Shooting Stars head coach Mike DeGiorgio said after the loss. “We have to go back to the drawing board … it’s a result-based business.” Tuesday’s contest between the cross-conference opponents was the type of edge-of-your-seat intrigue that the CEBL built itself on when implementing the Target Score ending. It was a game of runs that saw Vancouver lead by as many as 17 points in the first half, using a 13-5 run to open the ball game, and a perfect 3-for-3 start from Samuel, to do so. But as the Montreal native, along with Davis, missed most of the second quarter as both dealt with foul trouble, Scarborough stormed back. Using a 12-4 run sparked by eight straight points from Smith, then a quarter-ending 6-0 charge that was capped off with a Jayden Coke transition slam. It turned the double-digit deficit into a far more manageable 50-43 score in favour of the Bandits headed into halftime. And the Shooting Stars kept that momentum coming out of the break, opening the second half on a 13-4 run to take their first lead of the ball game on a Smith transition layup. Creating that fastbreak opportunity was Cat Barber, who, while struggling to score (three points on 1-of-8 shooting), grabbed two steals to pass the 100 mark — just the third player in CEBL history to do so. “We were all over the glass and it allowed us to hit first,” De Giorgio said when asked how his team took charge in the third, noting his team won the rebounding battle 49-40 on the night. Scarborough wasn’t able to extend that lead to double digits, however, as Vancouver punched back to end the third, using an 8-0 run and hitting three triples in the final two minutes to bring its deficit down to 72-70 before the fourth quarter. The Bandits then re-took the lead by starting the final frame on an 8-0 run, going up by as many as eight points in the fourth before holding onto a 90-89 lead headed into Target Score Time. “You’re not going to win every night by 20 points,” Julis said. “We have to stay poised and execute, and we did a good job of that.” And it was fitting that with the clocks stopped, it remained a back-and-forth affair, both teams trading baskets. Smith tied the ball game at 97 with a free throw, but missed the second intentionally with hopes of scoring a game-winner off it. Instead, he stepped out of bounds while trying to corral the loose ball. All of which set up Copeland to bring the 4,408 in attendance at the Langley Events Centre to their feet with his fifth and final three of the game. The import scored six of Vancouver’s 10 points in Target Score Time. Underscoring the Bandits' victory was a strong effort to win the turnover battle. They forced 21 turnovers off the Shooting Stars, who entered Tuesday averaging 14.9 per game. No player was bothered more by the pressure than Williams who accounted for nine of those turnovers. It resulted in a plus-six margin in points off turnovers that proved to be the difference. “That’s what we do,” Copeland explained on winning the turnover margin. “We want to run off misses or makes, we’re trying to get out in transition … put pressure on the defence.” Box Score https://www.cebl.ca/game?id=2600629 Up next The Bandits return on Sunday to wrap up a three-game homestand by hosting the Brampton Honey Badgers. Meanwhile, the Shooting Stars head back to Scarborough, getting some time off before returning to take the Edmonton Stingers on July 11 with hopes of avenging a 17-point loss from two weeks prior. Next CEBL action Action resumes on Thursday with four teams taking the court for a double-header slate. Starting with the Honey Badgers hosting the Calgary Surge in cross-conference play at 7:30 p.m. ET, followed by the Montreal Alliance visiting the Saskatchewan Rattlers at 9:30 p.m. ET / 7:30 p.m. local. For the full 2025 CEBL schedule and up-to-date results, please visit cebl.ca/games . - CEBL -

Sean East II continues to make his mark in the CEBL — and his Edmonton Stingers just keep rolling. East II scored 35 points as the Stingers downed the Montreal Alliance 94-83 for their fourth straight win on Tuesday at the Edmonton EXPO Centre. The MVP candidate also added six assists and four steals as the Stingers improved to 8-6. Montreal, which began the season with four straight wins of its own, fell to 5-6 with the loss. “We’re just now starting to get together, one game at a time, one practice at a time. The sky’s the limit for us,” East II said. The Stingers held an 85-72 advantage when the clocks turned off for Target Score Time, but the Alliance — desperate for a win after their recent slide — came out firing and trimmed the Edmonton lead to 88-81 after back-to-back triples from Chris Smith and Tavian Dunn-Martin. However, after a timeout, Scottie Lindsey responded with his second three-pointer of Target Time to put the Stingers within three points of victory. Three possessions later, East II poked the ball away from Montreal’s Quincy Guerrier and finished the game with a layup on the other end. Stingers head coach Jordan Baker commended East II’s performance. “If he’s not the MVP of the league at the midway point I don’t know who is,” Baker said. “He’s carried us a lot of time and now we’ve got guys playing alongside him that are pretty damn good too.” For East II, the performance against the Alliance was far from a one-off. The Louisville, Kent., native entered Tuesday’s action fourth leaguewide with 23.8 points per game, first with a blistering 52.2 per cent mark from deep (minimum 25 attempts) and second with 36 three-point makes. He helped those stats by splashing five of seven three-point attempts against Montreal — part of an efficient night in which he converted on 14 of 18 field-goal attempts overall. His 35 points were four off the Edmonton franchise record of 39 set by three-time MVP Xavier Moon. “I give the credit to my teammates and my coaching staff. They’re letting me play. My teammates are finding me when I’m open, we’re moving the ball well. We started [the season] out slow … but we finally found our team and I think we’re moving in the right direction,” East II said. It wasn’t just East II fueling the Stingers, however. Canadian Forward Keon Ambrose-Hylton contributed a 14-point, 11-rebound double-double while guard Scottie Lindsey added 19 points, including seven in Target Time. Mason Bourcier recorded his 50th career regular-season steal in the first quarter and finished the game with three points, two rebounds and two assists. “Our depth, if we have a couple guys who have a bad night, it doesn’t mean we lose the game. It just means someone else steps into that position and plays well for us,” Baker said. Meanwhile, a scuffling Alliance offence continued to struggle — with one notable exception. Shifty point guard Tavian Dunn-Martin went toe-to-toe with East II, keeping his team afloat with 30 points, including 19 in the first half. Forwards Quincy Guerrier and Brandon Porter had 18 and 16 points, respectively. Dunn-Martin said his team needs to get back into the lab to rediscover its early-season form. “We just need our guys to be more confident. Right now a lot of our guys are overthinking, not playing like they did at the beginning of the season,” he said. With the loss, Montreal remains fourth in the Eastern Conference, trailing the streaking third-place Ottawa BlackJacks, who earned their fourth straight win earlier Tuesday. Meanwhile, the fifth-place Brampton Honey Badgers have shown recent flashes of life with wins in three of four, including a 35-point drubbing of the first-place Niagara River Lions. Alliance head coach Jermaine Small said his team just needs to put a full game together. “I think there’s a lot of self-inflicted wounds. I think we beat ourselves a lot. We had a lead at the beginning. We gotta play a 40-minute game,” Small said. Edmonton raced to an early 10-point lead, but the Alliance responded to cut their deficit to just one point by the end of the first frame. The Stingers found their form late in the second quarter, using a 16-7 run to take a 48-38 lead into halftime. Edmonton mostly held serve in the third quarter and took a 65-57 lead into the fourth. And by the end of the game, Edmonton found itself back in a spot it’s quickly become familiar with — the win column. “Any time you can give 3,000-plus a good show on Canada Day,” Baker said, “it’s a positive.” Box Score https://www.cebl.ca/game?id=2600628 Up Next Montreal finishes up a three-game road trip against the Saskatchewan Rattlers on Thursday, while Edmonton wraps its four-game homestand by hosting the Calgary Surge on Sunday. Next CEBL Action A two-game night on Thursday features the Brampton Honey Badgers hosting the Surge as well as the Alliance-Rattlers contest. For the full 2025 CEBL schedule and up-to-date results, please visit cebl.ca/games . - CEBL -

On a day of celebration in the Nation’s Capital, Javonte Smart gave the home crowd plenty to cheer about, tying the Ottawa BlackJacks franchise record with 37 points in a dominant 104-80 win over the visiting Winnipeg Sea Bears — the team’s fourth straight victory. The crowd had plenty to get behind early as the BlackJacks got off to a 9-0 lead early thanks to the stifling defense they’ve become known for over their winning streak, having now held their last four opponents to 80 points or fewer. It was more of the same from Ottawa in the first quarter, holding Winnipeg to just 6-of-17 shooting from the floor and taking a 29-16 lead into the break. While the BlackJacks got all their points the old-fashioned way in the first quarter – failing to make a three-pointer – they found their shooting stroke in the second, hitting 4-of-6 from deep. For their part, the Sea Bears managed to push the pace and get the home squad to get away from their preferred playing style but were unable to take advantage hitting just nine of their 24 shots. “I thought our guys did a tremendous job,” BlackJacks head coach Dave DeAveiro said following the win. I thought they followed the plan and executed the plan really well. We had the little hiccup in the second quarter where we didn’t lock in defensively. But after that, we just locked in and did a good job making life really tough for their top three guys.” Those three players for Winnipeg – Tevian Jones, Jalen Harris and Simin Shittu – were held to 15, 11 and 11 points, respectively, though Shittu did finish with a franchise record 19 rebounds, just one behind the league record. Emmanuel Akot had 17 points and five rebounds, while Jaylin Williams had 15 and seven rebounds. “The first thing is giving credit to Ottawa” Seas Bears head coach Mike Taylor said. “Javonte was outstanding, they had a great team game. I felt like our defensive effort was inconsistent. I think that we did not pressure the ball and contain the ball like we needed to, and that gave them some easy baskets in transition that got them feeling good. It comes down to the things… on the road you have to work hard, defend, rebound – all the fundamental parts of the game. Today we were a little bit soft with that and Ottawa took advantage. Credit to them, they played a great team game. But especially from our starting five, we expect a little bit more defensive effort.” Winnipeg would make a passionate push early in the third quarter, scoring 14 consecutive points to cut a 58-41 lead down to just three. But Smart would take over once again and the BlackJacks pulled away for the rest of the game. “He’s a scorer. He’s a legitimate scorer,” DeAveiro said. “He’s done this consistently for four games. How many guys can do that consistently for four games when teams are prepping trying to stop you. We’re lucky to have him. He’s also unselfish and will pass the ball to find his teammates to get a good shot. “You put two people on the ball to stop Javonte and you just throw it up and Isaih is athletic enough to go up and finish it. Javonte puts a lot of pressure on teams’ defenses, so you have to come up with strategies to defend Javonte. Any time they put two bodies on him, it’s either a lob up to Isaih or a kick out for a three.” Smart aside, there were a number of impressive performances from the home side. Isaih Moore had 18 points and 14 rebounds, Deng Adel had 14 points, and Tyrell Tate and Zane Waterman both chipped in with 11. The game was the 100 th in the history of the BlackJacks, combing both regular season and postseason games. For a player like Adel, it’s been a great experience seeing the team grown, both on the court and off it, during his extended time with the club. “It’s been dope seeing the fanbase grow each year, people coming out and enjoying themselves,” Adel said. “It’s a great area, and it’s just fun to be a part of. Guys want to come here and play here which has been important, and it’s been good.” On top of being their fourth win in a row, it was also the BlackJacks second win over the Sea Bears this season. For the Sea Bears, it was their third straight loss, and second in as many games giving up 100 points. Box Score https://www.cebl.ca/game?id=2600626 Up next for both teams The Ottawa BlackJacks will travel to the prairies on July 5 to take on the Saskatchewan Rattlers in the first of their two meetings this season. The Winnipeg Sea Bears continue their three-game road trip as they take on the Niagara River Lions for the first time this season on July 4. Next CEBL action The Brampton Honey Badgers will host the Calgary Surge on July 3, streaming live on CEBL+ and TSN+. For the full 2025 CEBL schedule and up-to-date results, please visit cebl.ca/games . - CEBL -

Canada Day tripleheader tips off Week 9

The Vancouver Bandits are proud to announce a three-year commitment to the Terry Fox Foundation, supporting cancer research across Canada. The commitment includes the continuation of the club wearing its special edition Terry Fox tribute jersey, which will be worn during its upcoming Canada Day match-up versus the Scarborough Shooting Stars, which tips off at 5 p.m. PT (8 p.m. ET) on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, at Langley Events Centre. Tickets for the game are available for purchase and the game will be nationally televised on TSN. The special edition tribute jersey, which features iconic imagery of Terry Fox and celebrates the legacy of his Marathon of Hope, was launched in 2024. Proceeds from each jersey sold were donated to the Terry Fox Foundation in support of cancer research across Canada and public response was overwhelmingly positive. “Terry Fox is a national hero whose legacy continues to inspire generations. As a team rooted in community, we are honoured to partner with the Terry Fox Foundation over the next three years to carry forward Terry’s message of courage, hope, and determination, “ said Dylan Kular, Vancouver Bandits team president. “The special edition jersey pays tribute to Terry’s vision and a symbol of the strength we all strive to embody, on and off the court.” The jersey is available in both adult and youth sizes online at this link . A limited selection of replica jerseys will be available for sale at the Bandits’ Canada Day match-up, which is dedicated in Terry’s honour. Each replica version jersey available for fans to purchase features the no. 4, which was the number worn by Terry during his season as a member of Simon Fraser University’s (SFU) junior varsity basketball team in 1977. Despite an eventual cancer diagnosis that required his right leg to be amputated, as well as chemotherapy and surgery, Fox continued to excel in sports. He joined Rick Hansen as a member of his wheelchair basketball team and eventually won three national titles with the team before embarking on his Marathon of Hope on April 12, 1980. Inscribed on the front and back of the special edition jersey are the names of all the cities, parks, and towns where Terry started and ended his daily run during his tremendous journey from St. John’s, Newfoundland to Thunder Bay, Ontario. Fox’s goal was to run from Canada’s east coast in Newfoundland to its west coast in Victoria, British Columbia, raising awareness and funds for cancer research. Terry’s Marathon of Hope spanned 143 days and 5,373 kilometres before he fell too ill to continue. He ran an average of 26 miles daily – equivalent to the distance of running a marathon each day of his mission across Canada. Fox’s running route spanning Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario is etched on the jersey. Today, his legacy lives through various fundraising initiatives and the annual Terry Fox Run across the country and beyond. The jersey features a black, red, and white colour scheme, as well as colour blocked side panelling inspired by the patterning of Terry’s 1970s jersey worn at SFU. His no. 4 jersey has since been retired by the university as well as the high school he attended. The Bandits are one of 10 men’s professional basketball teams that annually compete in the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL). The Bandits are midway through the club’s sixth CEBL season. The club’s home venue of Langley Events Centre is located just a 20-minute drive from Terry’s high school alma mater, Port Coquitlam Senior Secondary School, which was later renamed as “Terry Fox Secondary School.” More information is available at thebandits.ca and @vancouverbandits on Instagram and TikTok , as well as @vancitybandits on Facebook and Twitter . ### About 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), while also being committed to growing the game of basketball by fostering meaningful community connections through youth programming, events, and partnerships. About the Terry Fox Foundation: The Terry Fox Foundation honours the vision and spirit of an iconic Canadian while raising critical funds for cancer research. As a leading national charitable organization, the Terry Fox Foundation plays a vital role in building community, engaging more than 20,000 passionate volunteers and 3.5 million students in nearly 10,000 annual fundraising events across the country. Through the generous support of our donors, partners, and volunteers, the Terry Fox Foundation has raised more than $900 million and funded 1,300 innovative cancer research projects, bringing hope and health to millions of Canadians.

It was just as beautiful inside Edmonton EXPO Centre as it was outside on Sunday afternoon, as the Edmonton Stingers cemented an early lead and defeated the Scarborough Shooting Stars, 98-81. Today marked the second of Edmonton’s four-game homestand. In the first quarter, Edmonton resorted to a shot diet that was mostly inside the paint. They were one-for-five beyond the arc, while Scarborough shot two-for-14 from downtown. Edmonton got off to a 26-11 start. One of the keys to the game mentioned on the broadcast was for Edmonton to value their possessions – though every team talks about doing this, whether it’s actually practiced is another issue entirely. In the second frame, Donovan Williams hit a triple, Sean East missed a lay-up, and then Williams hit a step-through lay-up to inch with three points, forcing an Edmonton timeout. After that timeout, Edmonton scored a triple and a two-pointer to force a timeout. While it became a back-and-forth affair, East rose to the occasion and gave his team three three-pointers en route to a 13-6 run to close out the first half. If that second quarter was indicative of the “resilience” Nick Hornsby mentioned at halftime, it wasn’t just their star player answering. At the end of the first half, Edmonton took the wind out of Scarborough’s sails as Hornsby closed out with two made free throws after getting a deflection on the defensive end, gaining possession of the ball, and drawing a foul from David Walker. Right before the buzzer, Isiah Osborne got a block on Terquavion Smith that would deflate even the most confident of scorers. Edmonton built up a 15-point halftime lead, but they had to regain their lead as they came back sleepwalking at the start of the second half. It took a 13-0 run, punctuated by Smith’s back-to-back threes to force an Edmonton timeout. Scarborough was suddenly inched with two points with a lot more basketball to be played. “I mean I wanted to. I should have, honestly,” Edmonton head coach Jordan Baker said about how he should have taken a timeout earlier. “But we want our guys to work through some things…We’re a resilient group.” Smith made four three-pointers for Scarborough, and his squad was trying to overtake Edmonton. A tussle between Hornsby and Joirdon Nicholas made the third a chippy one as the game built up to a physical climax. Edmonton displayed resilience, however, by closing out the third quarter, just as they did in the first and second. Mike Nuga hit a three-pointer and Osborne hit a corner three after getting a pass from the opposite wing. The very first bucket at the start of the fourth was Osborne immediately hitting another three-pointer to give Edmonton a 11-point buffer. Edmonton closed out the game and never let their fourth-quarter lead get closer than eight points. Osborne now has 50 regular season steals and the defensive player had a strong offensive performance tonight. “He’s a guy that does a lot of the intangibles. He executes our game plan very well, he was disruptive against their top guys all night,” Coach Baker said. While Edmonton relies on the sum of its parts, East, the fourth-leading scorer in the league, had 27 points, shooting six-for-nine from downtown. East came into this game shooting a miraculous 50% (30-for-60) from three-point range. Keon Ambrose Hylton, who is second in the league in field goal percentage, hit a big three-pointer in the fourth quarter and finished with 11 points on five-for-eight shooting. Scarborough’s Williams, the league’s leading scorer, had 17 tonight. “It was a roller coaster,” Scarborough head coach Mike De Giorgio said after tonight’s game. Scarborough’s hunt for consistency continues after blowing out last year’s CEBL champions, defeating Winnipeg on the road, and losing tonight. “I thought our energy to start the game wasn’t as high. We weren’t locked into our coverages,” he said. Box score https://www.cebl.ca/game?id=2600623 Up next for both teams The Edmonton Stingers (7-6) host the third of their four-game homestand against the Montreal Alliance (5-5) on Canada Day. Scarborough (7-6) will move further west to face the league’s best Vancouver Bandits (9-3) on the same day as well. Next CEBL action There will be a total of three Canada Day games on Tuesday, July 1. Aside from the two mentioned above, the Winnipeg Sea Bears (5-7) will face the Ottawa BlackJacks (5-6) in the nation’s capital. For the full 2025 CEBL schedule and up-to-date results, please visit cebl.ca/games . - CEBL -

No Quinndary Weatherspoon, no problem for the Brampton Honey Badgers. Even without the services of their leading scorer, the home team managed to earn a wire-to-wire 91-66 win over the defending champion Niagara River Lions on Sunday afternoon. It was the Honey Badgers’ first double-digit victory of the season and improved the squad to a winning 4-3 record at the CAA Centre this season, all while evening the regular-season series 1-1 in after the second of four matchups between the conference rivals. Meanwhile, the loss dropped Niagara into a tie with the Scarborough Shooting Stars atop the East standings and made it back-to-back defeats, both by double-digits. David Muenkat led that charge as he finished with a season-high (and game-high) 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting and five made threes, capping his third consecutive game of scoring 20 or more. Behind him were the pair of Koby McEwen (19 points, 10 assists) and Amari Kelly (15 points, 12 rebounds), who chipped in double-double efforts. Rounding things out was Marcus Carr, scoring 13 of his 15 points in the final frame to go with eight assists on the night. “I thought we were solid with our energy throughout the game,” Honey Badgers head coach Sheldon Cassimy said post-game. “There were some runs, at times when we might’ve gotten flustered, but I thought we were able to weather Niagara’s runs and play a full 40 minutes.” On the other side, Ahmed Hill led the way with 13 points, the lone River Lions starter to shoot over 40 per cent from the field. Behind him was Khalil Ahmad with 10 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals. Meanwhile, Kimbal Mackenzie chipped in 12 points and five assists off the bench — spearheading a 29-9 edge in second-unit scoring, one of the few areas Niagara won on Sunday. “We’re not a good team right now, we can’t make shots.” River Lions head coach Victor Raso said after his team finished 33 per cent from the field (21-of-63) and 17 per cent from distance (5-of-17). “Can’t make shots, can’t consistently get stops, we’ve just lost our confidence … it’s not good enough.” It was clear as early as the opening frame that the Honey Badgers — after losing their first matchup of the season against the River Lions by 14 points — had revenge on their mind. And after carving out a 31-16 lead after 10 minutes of play, it’s safe to say some of that comeuppance was exacted. Brampton earned that big early lead thanks to a lights-out shooting effort, using a 3-for-3 start from downtown to spark an 11-2 run. The Honey Badgers, not long after, took the game’s first double-digit lead on yet another deep make, Ali Sow hitting their fourth triple of the quarter. “It was just about sharing the ball,” Cassimy explained of his team’s hot-shooting start. “We were giving up good shots to get great shots, getting into the paint and kicking the ball out, so it generated better team shots for us.” The Honey Badgers ultimately went 7-for-8 from beyond the arc in the opening frame, more than they made in the entirety of their 14-point loss to the River Lions, and in stark contrast to the 8.1 they usually make per game, which ranked second-fewest. All the while, Niagara went 0-for-7 from distance in the first, underscoring what was a struggle scoring all around as the River Lions went just 3-for-15 (20 per cent) from the field. “Disappointing,” Mackenzie said after the loss. “Not a good loss for us. Anytime you lose, it doesn’t feel good … they played better than us. It’s never just making (or missing) shots.” That trend only continued in the second quarter despite the River Lions cutting the deficit down to 10 points on a Mackenzie triple at the 8:25 mark, just their first long-distance make of the game. The Honey Badgers responded immediately with a 10-0 run, ballooning their lead as high as 23 points en route to a 56-35 advantage at halftime. Muenkat led that charge as he scored 12 of his game-high 17 halftime points in the second quarter, including Brampton’s final eight points going into the break. He shot 6-for-8 from the field and 4-of-5 from beyond the arc through 20 minutes. The Honey Badgers ended up making a season-high 15 threes, two shy of their franchise’s all-time single-game mark, doing so on a 45 per cent clip. The River Lions did build a bit of momentum toward the end of the third, however, capping off the quarter on an 8-2 while holding the Honey Badgers scoreless for the final two minutes to shrink their deficit to 16 points (67-51). Although that effort was short-lived as Brampton outscored Niagara by seven points through the first six minutes of the final frame, pushing its lead to 82-59 headed into Target Score Time. Carr was in charge of that response as he scored the Honey Badgers' first eight points in the fourth quarter. It was smooth sailing for the Honey Badgers from there, again, in part due to the Toronto native. He scored five of the necessary nine points for Brampton once the clocks stopped while Kelly bookended the effort with a pair of layups. “We can play, we’re not a pushover team,” Muenkat said when asked what beating the defending champions proved. “I don’t think our record is a real representation of the kind of team we are.” Box Score https://www.cebl.ca/game?id=2600622 Up next The Honey Badgers return Thursday to host the 8-4 Calgary Surge to wrap up a five-game homestand. Meanwhile, the River Lions head back to Niagara as they’ll host the 5-7 Winnipeg Sea Bears on Friday with hopes of putting an end to their skid. Next CEBL action Sunday’s double-header wraps up with a cross-conference matchup between the visiting 7-5 Scarborough Shooting Stars and 6-6 Edmonton Stingers at 6 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. local. For the full 2025 CEBL schedule and up-to-date results, please visit cebl.ca/games . - CEBL -

Sometimes it’s not about how you start, just how you finish. The Vancouver Bandits (9-3) proved as much with their 97-85 come-from-behind victory over the Saskatchewan Rattlers (3-10) on Saturday night at the Langley Events Centre. Vancouver won the second half by 22 points (52-30), turning what was a 10-point halftime deficit into a 12-point win that not only extended their lead atop the Western Conference but also snapped a two-game skid. Tyrese Samuel led that effort for the Bandits with a double-double of 23 points and 11 rebounds on a team-best 7-for-11 shooting. Right behind him was a pair of returnees in Mitch Creek, who chipped in 23 points of his own, and Kyle Mangas, who scored 22 on 6-for-11 shooting from distance. Meanwhile, Nick Ward, the franchise’s all-time leading scorer, made his season debut, albeit finishing with just two points on 1-of-4 shooting in seven minutes of action. Nate Pierre-Louis spearheaded Saskatchewan’s effort with a double-double as well, putting up 19 points and a game-high 11 assists. Jordan Bowden also scored 19 points to go with five rebounds and seven assists, while Deon Ejim (off the bench) and Grant Anticevich added 15 and 13 points, respectively. “It was a tough loss,” Ejim said with a tone of optimism post-game, noting how in the first two of four matchups against the Bandits this season, the Rattlers lost both by more than 20 points. “We didn’t have the ending that we wanted, but I was happy with the fight and the fact that we weren’t dominated like the last two games. Conventional wisdom would’ve said the Bandits ought to have led after the opening frame on Saturday, considering they finished the quarter 6-for-10 from distance, went 10-for-13 from the free throw line and forced three turnovers to their zero. Yet after Pierre-Louis’ triple in the final seconds of the frame capped off a 10-3 run, part of nine points in the first for him, it was the Rattlers that led 28-27 after 10 minutes. While Vancouver won the battle outside the arc, it was a completely different story on the interior as the Bandits were 0-for-6 on two-pointers throughout the first quarter, giving up an 8-0 edge on paint points to the Rattlers. Vancouver’s first two-point make didn’t come till 9:13 of the second. And after seizing the momentum, Saskatchewan made the most of it. Or rather, Ejim did, as the bench forward caught fire to the tune of 4-for-4 from distance in the second. His lights-out shooting led to a game-high 15 points at halftime as the Rattlers led 55-45 after winning the second quarter by nine points (26-17). “We’ve been in every single game this year,” Rattlers head coach Eric Magdanz said following the loss, noting how seven of the team’s losses have come by seven-or-fewer points. “We’re a team that competes hard … it’s a huge credit to our guys. “For us it’s about continued growth and we saw another step forward tonight.” It was a much-welcomed outburst for a Rattlers team that averaged just 8.6 makes from distance per game entering the night, third-fewest in the CEBL. They finished 13-for-28 (46 per cent) from distance as a team on Saturday. Whereas the taps turned off in the second for Vancouver after its perfect 5-for-5 start from distance on Saturday, as the Bandits made just one of their next 11 three-point attempts going into the break. That trend didn’t last, however, and ended up being a catalyst for their rally, making nine second-half threes on a 52 per cent clip. “We started off slow, we’ve had a lot of guys in and out of the lineup … so we really struggled in the first half to find our rhythm,” Creek said after the win. “It’s a bit of a chess match at the moment.” The first two of those makes came on back-to-back hits from Corey Davis. Jr and Mangas to open the third, they were part of a 14-4 run that was then capped off by a Creek fastbreak layup that gave Vancouver its first lead since the 0:41 mark of the opening quarter. And it was Mangas who punctuated that effort by Vancouver as he nailed a running, fading triple at the buzzer to extend the Bandits' lead to 72-68 after the third. The import had missed the last two games Vancouver had lost as he went through workouts south of the border with NBA clubs, and it didn’t take long for him to remind the 4,984 in attendance what he was capable of, as his six threes in the game put him up to first in the CEBL for total triples (40) this season. The Bandits didn’t slow down from there as they opened the fourth on a 10-2 run, carving out an 11-point lead at the start of Target Time on the heels of Creek’s second of three triples on the night. And while the Rattlers did go blow-for-blow with the Bandits once the clocks were stopped, they needed more to overcome the double-digit deficit. Ultimately, a 5-0 burst thanks to another Creek make from distance and a pair of Samuel free throws — finishing 8-of-9 from the charity stripe — were enough for Vancouver to walk away with a win. It was fitting that Saskatchewan committed back-to-back turnovers just before Samuel closed out the ball game, as it was an issue that underscored their loss. In a game where the Rattlers shot better across the board aside from the free throw line, and won the rebound and assist battle, it was self-inflicted miscues that loomed large. The usually disciplined Rattlers, who commit the third-fewest turnovers on average (13.4), finished with 18 as they gave up a 23-8 edge on points off giveaways. Meanwhile, they sent the Bandits to the line for 27 free throws (plus-13), of which Vancouver nailed 22 (plus-14). “They made us second-guess ourselves,” Ejim said. “And just that simple second-guess cost us the game.” The skid snapping victory capped off the Bandits' second-annual Filipino Celebration Game , an event that included fan activations, commemorative merch and special edition jerseys. All the while, the team wore a black-stiped patch with the word “Kapwa,” which describes the Filipino experience of community and shared humanity, to honour the lives tragically lost a the Lapu-Lapu Day Festival on April. 26. “It’s the sixth man that people don’t really notice sometimes,” Creek said of the raucous sellout crowd. “All of a sudden, the momentum is in your favour … there’s a different effect. That’s what basketball is all about.” Box Score https://www.cebl.ca/game?id=2600621 Up next The Bandits stay put in Vancouver, continuing a three-game homestand when they return to action on Tuesday to host the 7-5 Scarborough Shooting Stars. Meanwhile, the Rattlers head back to Saskatchewan for their next three games, starting with a matchup against the 5-5 Montreal Alliance on Thursday. Next CEBL action Sunday’s double-header slate opens with an Eastern Conference matinee matchup between the defending champion Niagara River Lions and host Brampton Honey Badgers at 2 p.m. ET. After that, the Edmonton Stingers welcome the Scarborough Shooting Stars out west for a 6 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. local tip-off. For the full 2025 CEBL schedule and up-to-date results, please visit cebl.ca/games . - CEBL -

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 . - CEBL -

The Scarborough Shooting Stars of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) announced Friday that they have re-signed forward Kalif Young. The 6-foot-9 forward averaged 12.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in 27.8 minutes across 43 games this past season with CSU Oradea in the Romanian League. Young also made appearances in the Romania Cup, FIBA Europe Cup, and Basketball Champions League. He recorded eight double-doubles and scored a season-high 20 points in a March 31 win over Brasov. Young's season stats included 546 points, 426 rebounds, 89 assists, 47 steals, and 38 blocks. The Providence College alum completed his collegiate career with averages of 4.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 16.3 minutes per game across 131 games. In his senior year (2019-20), he averaged 5.0 points and 4.9 rebounds while recording several double-digit scoring and rebounding performances. Young previously played for the Scarborough Shooting Stars during the 2023-2024 season, contributing to their CEBL Championship victory with averages of 8.0 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 26 minutes per game. Kalif joins recent signee NC State standout Terquavion Smith as the Shooting Stars continue their strong start to the 2025 season. The team currently holds a 7-5 record and secured a road victory last night against Winnipeg with a final score of 103-93. Their next game is tomorrow, June 29, on the road against the Edmonton Stingers. The Shooting Stars are led by the dynamic trio of Donovan Williams, Cat Barber, and Terquavion Smith. For more information on the team, tickets, and schedule, visit scarboroughshootingstars.ca . ###

The Scarborough Shooting Stars’ roster is starting to take shape and they appear ready to make some noise. Donovan Williams' return from a four-game absence proved momentous, as the CEBL’s leading scorer put up 30 points to lead the Shooting Stars (7-5) to a 103-93 win over the Winnipeg Sea Bears (5-7) on Friday. While it wasn’t quite a repeat of Scarborough’s dominant showing as last Sunday, a 32-point win against the defending champion Niagara River Lions, the victory did mark back-to-back games setting season-highs in scoring for the Shooting Stars, as they’re now just 0.5 games behind first place in the Eastern Conference. Williams entered the road game averaging a league-best 25.5 points per game (among qualified players) and only increased that lead atop the leaderboard after his game-high 30 points on 11-of-18 shooting to go with six rebounds and four assists. “They made a big run, but we weathered the storm,” Williams said post-game. “We hit a little adversity, but we did all the things we needed to do to win the game.” Right behind him, however, was Terquavion Smith, who finished with 28 points, going 7-for-10 from the free throw line while adding five rebounds and five assists. A late addition to the Shooting Stars, the import is averaging 26.8 points through four games. David Walker’s 12 points and Joirdon Nicholas’s 13 off the bench rounded out Scarborough’s double-digit scoring efforts. “That’s a team win, a gritty road win,” Shooting Stars head coach Mike De Giorgio said after the win. “They hit us back and we just responded. Kudos to our guys, they really locked in.” On the other side, Simi Shittu led the way with 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting, five rebounds and three blocks. Jalen Harris and Tevian Jones also chipped identical lines of 21 points and three assists. “We fought towards the end, (but) it kind of got away from us in the second quarter,” Harris said after Winnipeg’s second straight loss directly after a four-game win streak. “We’ve got to figure it out before we get back for the next one.” Although the outcome resulted in a second consecutive double-digit victory for the Shooting Stars, it wasn’t without its intrigue. Scarborough appeared to be headed towards another emphatic win when it had built a 21-point edge in the first half, thanks to a 14-0 run in the second quarter and withstood a late 11-3 push by Winnipeg to still lead 58-46 at halftime. That lead was largely built thanks to some hot early shooting, going 6-for-10 from distance in the opening frame, and some opportunistic defence as the Shooting Stars forced eight Sea Bears turnovers in the first half. Quite the uncharacteristic showing from Winnipeg considering it averaged just 13.3 per game entering the night, second-fewest in the CEBL. The Sea Bears cleaned things up coming out of the break, however, only giving it away four times the rest of the way, even winning the turnover battle 17-12 by the final buzzer. “It’s all about effort,” Shittu said post-game. “When teams are making runs like that, it’s all about effort, really … we got a lot of talent, guys who can play. It’s just about being connected.” It was that disciplined second half that helped Winnipeg storm back, cutting what was a 14-point halftime deficit as low as five points in the third before trailing 78-70 after 30 minutes. The Sea Bears also made things easier by upping the rim pressure and getting to the line, scoring without burning clock as they finished plus-15 on free throw attempts and went 28-of-37 from the charity stripe. From there, the Sea Bears did give it one last push, cutting down to nine in Target Score Time what was up to a 15-point deficit early in the fourth, but they couldn’t inch any closer as the Shooting Stars duo of Williams and Smith got to work. The pair of imports scored all of Scarborough’s points with the clock stopped, the first four by Williams before Smith’s game-winning layup capped off five straight points from him. Underscoring the victory was the Shooting Stars' dominance on the glass, finishing plus-13 (43-30), with their 14 offensive rebounds good enough to earn a 17-12 edge on second chance points and a plus-10 edge on paint points (54-44). Fronting that effort for Scarborough was Khalil Miller’s 14 rebounds, which tied a single-game franchise record. Box Score https://www.cebl.ca/game?id=2600619 Up next The Shooting Stars stay on the road, visiting the Edmonton Stingers on Sunday for the second leg of a three-game road trip. Meanwhile, the Sea Bears depart from Winnipeg to start a three-game road trip of their own, starting by visiting the Ottawa BlackJacks on Tuesday. Next CEBL action The CEBL resumes on Saturday with an Eastern Conference class between the 5-4 Montreal Alliance and 4-6 Ottawa BlackJacks in the nation’s capital. For the full 2025 CEBL schedule and up-to-date results, please visit cebl.ca/games . - CEBL -

The Montréal Alliance is proud to announce the acquisition of forward Brandon Porter. The 6’9” Virginia native joins the organization after completing the 2024-25 season with Frayles de Guasave of the Mexican CIBACOPA league. Porter brings impressive international production to Montréal, having averaged 16.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.0 block and 1.6 steals in 29.1 minutes per game across 27 games in Mexico. The versatile forward shot an efficient 64.2% from the field and 38.6% from three-point range. His scoring ability was on full display during a remarkable five-game stretch where he posted consecutive games of 34, 33, 40, 37 and 35 points. Prior to his professional career, Porter had a successful collegiate journey that began at the University of Wyoming (2018-20) before transferring to Humboldt State University and eventually California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, where he graduated in 2024. At Cal Poly Pomona, he averaged 12.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 26 games during his final collegiate season. Porter’s first professional season also included a stint with Depiro Rabat Imtarfa in Malta, where he dominated with averages of 23.8 points, 11.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 2.8 steals and 1.2 blocks across 16 games. To comply with CEBL regulations limiting teams to four non-Canadian players, the Alliance released forward Anthony Walker. Walker appeared in nine games this season, averaging 9.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 18.8 minutes per game.  Porter will be available starting with the Alliance’s next game. The team currently holds a 5-4 record and travels to Ottawa to face the BlackJacks on Sunday, June 28.

A game-winning trifecta from Nate Pierre-Louis secured the first home win of the season for the Saskatchewan Rattlers on Thursday (June 26). Three long-range connections in Target Score Time, including the game-winner from Pierre-Louis, propelled Saskatchewan to the 96-89 win over the Calgary Surge at SaskTel Centre. After the game, Pierre-Louis said he wanted to give the Saskatchewan fans everything they deserve. “We had a different energy about us in shoot around [and] these last couple weeks of practice. We’ve just been so close to winning games and today was a game – we grinded it out … we've been doing this every single game. It's been a grind,” Pierre-Louis said. Saskatchewan has now won both meetings with the 8-4 Calgary this season, defeating the Surge by three points on the road on June 6. Pierre-Louis paced the Rattlers’ offence with a game-high 28 points to go along with five assists. Starters Jordan Bowden, Isaac Simon and Grant Anticevich carried the rest of the offensive load for Saskatchewan. Bowden netted 23 points – including 16 at halftime – while Simon added 15 and Anticevich chipped in 12. Saskatchewan head coach Eric Magdanz said the squad has stayed consistent and stayed together throughout the year despite some tough losses. “It’s pretty special [to get the first home win]. It’s obviously my first win here and to be able to do it in front of my family and a lot of people who I know – to see the excitement and joy in the crowd – I think that’s why we do it,” Magdanz said. For Calgary, the high-powered trio of Greg Brown III, Jameer Nelson Jr. and Sean Miller-Moore led the way again. Brown III tallied a team-high 22 points and eight rebounds, while Nelson Jr. and Miller-Moore scored 19 and 13 respectively. The Rattlers’ effectiveness on the glass made the difference in the contest. Saskatchewan outrebounded Calgary 50-41 and snagged 17 offensive boards on their way to a 17-5 advantage in second-chance points. “We played in stretches, but they did a good job of crashing the glass and they beat us on the boards and I think that dictated the game,” Calgary head coach Kaleb Canales said. Brown III said the Surge failed to make key stops late in the game and weren’t good enough on the glass. “They played their game. We didn't play hard. We didn't come and play physically. They came and rebounded and did everything right,” Brown III said. The Surge now fall behind the 8-3 Bandits and into second place in the Western Conference standings just one game after defeating Vancouver and claiming the top spot. In the first quarter, Miller-Moore opened the scoring for Calgary with a historic bucket. “Rugzy’s” strong take to the hoop marked 1,000 all-time regular season points for the CEBL veteran. Miller-Moore reached the 1,000-point milestone for regular season and playoffs against Vancouver earlier in the season. Calgary continued to attack the paint in the opening frame and seized an early lead. The Surge big three of Nelson Jr., Brown III and Miller-Moore all contributed and the team shot 57 per cent to go ahead 28-21 after 10 minutes. The Surge built on their lead in the second with more efficient shooting, extending the advantage to as much as 12. However, the Rattlers were resilient. Led by Bowden and Pierre-Louis, Saskatchewan climbed back to tie the game with less than 30 seconds remaining in the quarter. Brown III broke the tie at the charity stripe on the final possession, taking Calgary into the locker room with a 51-49 lead. To begin the third quarter, Brown III had his athleticism on full display with a windmill dunk on offence and massive rejection on defence. Still, Saskatchewan found its rhythm from mid-range thanks to Pierre-Louis and snagged the lead for the first time since the first quarter. The Western Conference rivals exchanged leads five times in the third, including a buzzer-beating transition layup from Simon that gave Saskatchewan a 72-71 advantage after 30 minutes. Saskatchewan earned its biggest lead of the game at six points after a Pierre-Louis and-one in the fourth, but Calgary came back to tie it once again. A contested finish for Bowden put the Rattlers ahead two before Target Score Time, and the home team made quick work from there. Anticevich, Bowden and Pierre-Louis all connected from beyond the arc to secure the much-needed win on home court. Box Score https://www.cebl.ca/game?id=2600618 Up next for both teams Saskatchewan faces another team near the top of the Western Conference with a trip to Vancouver on Saturday (June 28), while Calgary heads east for a matchup with Brampton next Thursday (July 3). Next CEBL action Scarborough visits Winnipeg in an inter-conference meeting on Friday night (June 27). For the full 2025 CEBL schedule and up-to-date results, please visit cebl.ca/games . - CEBL -