Bandits Forward Tyrese Samuel Signs Exhibit 10 Contract With Phoenix Suns for 2025 NBA Training Camp

The Vancouver Bandits started their road trip with a fresh slate, snapping a two game losing skid. The Bandits defeated the Saskatoon Mamba 92-85 on Tuesday night. “I thought the effort of the guys was much better than the last two games,” said Bandits interim head coach Ransford Brempong. Tevin Brown led the way with a season-high 28 points in only his fourth game as a Bandit. “We need Tevin Brown. He looked comfortable today so that’s encouraging (to see),” said Brempong. “When my teammates find me with their passes, I’ve got to be ready to knock the shot down,” said Brown. Both teams had a slow start, unable to score as they combined for only four made threes in the first quarter. The Bandits trailed 14-13 after the opening 10 minutes. The remainder of the game was filled with back-and-forth action as neither team could jump out to a sizeable lead. Eight out of the nine Bandits who featured tonight got on the scoresheet. Tyrese Samuel recorded 14 points, four blocks and eight rebounds. Shamar Givance followed with 13 points and six assists off the bench. In the second quarter, the Bandits jumped out to a lead as big as 14, headlined by 15 points in the quarter from Brown. By quarter’s end, the Bandits took a 49-42 lead into the break. Despite the momentum heading into the second half for the Bandits, the Mamba slowly chipped away at the lead, tying the game at 64 to begin the fourth quarter. Vancouver saw a chance to pull away in the final quarter and never looked back. They outscored Saskatoon 28-21 in the fourth. “We played a lot faster tonight and that’s the identity that we want,” said Brempong. The Bandits beat out the Mamba 24-2 in fastbreak points. A corner three from Jarkel Joiner was the target score game winner. He finished with 14 points and four assists. The stat of the game was bench points, with the Bandits narrowly beating out the Mamba 28-26 in that category. The Bandits were without several key players during Tuesday’s win. Miller Kopp will be competing in the NBA Summer League with the Houston Rockets, and reigning Canadian Elite Basketball League Most Valuable Player Mitch Creek is playing for Australia during FIBA World Cup Qualifiers. “We can’t take anybody lightly,” said Brown about the remainder of the road trip. The Bandits will play the Calgary Surge on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. before heading to Edmonton on Saturday for the final game of the road stand. 

Three players who are currently on the Vancouver Bandits roster or have previously played for the club are listed on rosters for the 2026 NBA Summer League, currently on going until July 19, 2026. One member of the current Bandits roster, as well as two Bandits alumni, will be represented across three NBA Summer League clubs, respectively. Current Bandits forward Miller Kopp will suit up for his hometown Houston Rockets. Appearing in 14 games, including 13 starts, Kopp has recorded averages of 13.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists. He has been placed on the Bandits’ reserve Roster in order to participate in NBA Summer League play, while also retaining his CEBL rights, and will return to the club at the conclusion of his commitments. The Boston Celtics will feature guard Kyle Mangas, who played for the Bandits during the 2025 season. Mangas finished in the top-five on the team in points (15.3), rebounds (4.6), and assists (3.3) throughout 17 games played, including 15 starts. DJ Steward, a member of the 2023 roster, will play for the Portland Trail Blazers to round out the Bandits’ presence at NBA Summer League.

The Vancouver Bandits announced Monday that the club has re-signed American guard Zach Copeland for his third consecutive Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) season. A 6-foot-4 guard from Oakland, Calif., Copeland has logged 37 games for the club averaging 16.8 points, 3.1 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game across the past two seasons. Having built a reputation as an elite sharpshooter and clutch scorer, Copeland led the CEBL in total three-pointers made during the 2024 season with 67 and ranked second overall in 2025 with an average of 3.5 three-pointers per game. Most recently, Copeland played professionally in Italy during the 2025-26 season splitting time between New Basket Brindisi and Tramec Cento where he averaged 15.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists across 39 games played. His overseas career also includes stops in Germany, Finland, Ukraine and England. Copeland began his post-secondary career at City College of San Francisco, where his performance in the 2016-17 season earned him both the Coast-North Conference Player of the Year and the California Community Colleges Men's Basketball Coaches Association Co-Player of the Year awards. His impressive play at the junior college level led him to transfer to Illinois State University, where he played two seasons of NCAA Division I basketball from 2018-20. In his final year at Illinois State, Copeland became the Redbirds’ leading scorer with 14.5 points per game, also ranking 7th among Missouri Valley Conference leaders and establishing himself as one of the conference's top players.