Bandits Defeat Honey Badgers On South Asian Heritage Night
The Vancouver Bandits found themselves in unfamiliar territory on Saturday night.

The team was coming off back-to-back losses – including an ugly, lopsided 33-point defeat two nights earlier in Winnipeg, which knocked them out of first place in the Canadian Elite Basketball League’s Western Conference.
“We just wanted to get back to our identity because we know we're a better club than we've shown these last two games,” said Lloyd Pandi, a CEBL veteran making his Bandits debut after signing with the club this week.
“I think it was truly important because of the history of the Bandits and because it showcased what this program and this ball club are all about. Those last two games weren't really demonstrative of who we are as a ball club, so I felt it was important to get back to showing that.”
Vancouver was hosting the Brampton Honey Badgers at Envision Financial Court at Langley Events Centre on Saturday night as part of the club’s South Asian Heritage Night.
After leading by just four at halftime, the Bandits erupted for 61 second-half points en route to a 102-81 rout, improving to 8-4. Brampton lost a fourth straight and sits at 7-5.
“I really liked how we competed, stayed in the fight (but) ultimately, tonight wasn’t our night,” said Honey Badgers head coach Alex Cerda. “I think we just looked gassed in the second half.”
Mitch Creek – playing his second game since returning to Vancouver last week – picked up where he left off from his 2025 CEBL MVP season, scoring 26 points while adding eight rebounds and eight assists.
“(Mitch's) really a leader because of his experience, how good he is and the type of person he is,” Pandi said. “He makes it easy. He's not really an arrogant type of guy. He's humble. And he goes out there and he does it. It's not like he's one of those guys that talks and doesn't do it.
While Creek led the team offensively, it was far from a one-man show as Jarkel Joiner added 22 points and eight assists, Tyrese Samuel finished with a double-double (18 points, 10 rebounds), Miller Koop had 15 points and Pandi had eight points and five rebounds.
Sean East II and Landers Nolley II led the Honey Badgers with 18 points apiece.
“They get back with urgency and then when you drive to the paint, they make you earn it, they make it really challenging,” Cerda explained of the Bandits defensive style.
“I think collectively, they're better as a team defending than as opposed to individual defenders, but they really cover for one another, and they defend with multiple efforts. It really presented a problem for us.”
Next game: The Bandits are back in action on Saturday, June 27 at 6:00pm as they host the Winnipeg Sea Bears on Envision Financial Court at Langley Events Centre for Filipino Heritage Night. Both teams enter with 8-4 records.
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