Bandits, Stingers Face-Off in All-West CEBL Championship Final
August 9, 2020
The top two seeded teams heading into the CEBL Summer Series playoffs have reached the championship game and will now do battle to claim Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) supremacy. The Edmonton Stingers and Fraser Valley Bandits will relive their Summer Series opening game on Sunday with the stakes raised to the ultimate degree.
The Stingers, who boast the most productive offence in the league at 89.5 points a game and are riding a six-game win streak, defeated the Ottawa BlackJacks, 88-75, Saturday afternoon to advance to their first CEBL Championship. The Bandits took down the Hamilton Honey Badgers on Saturday by a score of 76-75 off an Olu Ashaolu bucket in Elam Ending time.
The Stingers enter Sunday’s game with only one loss in the Summer Series – an opening night defeat at the hands of the Fraser Valley Bandits. The Bandits cruised to a 113-110 victory on July 26. With their past history, the Bandits know they are capable of toppling the CEBL’s top team. However, the Stingers will come out hungry looking to rectify that opening night defeat.
Sunday’s CEBL Summer Series championship final between Edmonton and Fraser Valley tips-off at 12 p.m. ET (10 a.m. MT, 9 a.m. PT) and will be nationally televised by CBC and live-streamed on Twitch, CBCSports.ca and the CBC Gem App.
Playoff Jitters
This is the first Championship berth for both the Edmonton Stingers and the Fraser Valley Bandits. The Stingers nearly made it to the finals last year, dropping an 85-83 heartbreaker to the eventual champions, the Saskatchewan Rattlers, in the semifinals at Championship Weekend. Fast forward nearly a full calendar year and the hottest team to end the regular season is looking as polished as ever at the Summer Series. With a returning cast of stars that includes Xavier Moon, Jordan Baker and Travis Daniels, the continued development of Mathieu Kamba and Brody Clarke, as well as welcome additions like Mambi Diawara, the Stingers are a formidable group.
Factor in the fact that head coach and general manager Jermaine Small has led Edmonton to a 16-4 record during his tenure as head coach, and the Stingers have the look of a team that is ready for its moment on the big stage.
The Fraser Valley Bandits are the Cinderella story of the Summer Series. After finishing last in the standings a year ago, the Bandits have flipped the script. Given this is Fraser Valley’s first time in the CEBL postseason, the Bandits will look to lean on team veterans such as Junior Cadougan, Kyle Johnson, Jahenns Manigat and Olu Ashaolu to lead the team to the promised land.
Battle in the Paint
The Bandits are the lone team to defeat the Edmonton Stingers during the round robin, but the Stingers improved with each and every game they played. Although the Bandits own the modest head-to-head advantage, the Stingers are an imposing team when it comes to owning the glass and protecting the paint. Big man Daniels leads all players with 1.6 blocks per game, while Baker leads the league with 9.9 rebounds per game.
With Fraser Valley adopting a small-ball approach to rebounding, the Bandits’ guard corps will face the physically taxing task of keeping Edmonton off the boards, and equally, of avoiding an elite shot blocker like Daniels when coming into the paint.
All Eyes on the West
Today’s championship final will feature the two furthest west teams in the CEBL.
More than 130 million new viewers will be able to watch the CEBL championship game thanks to distribution agreements secured by MEDIAPRO Canada, the international media rights and production partner of the Canadian Elite Basketball League. The finals will be available to viewers in Australia, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan.
The finals will be televised across Canada by CBC, as well as live-streamed on CBC Gem, cbcsports.ca, and on Twitch.tv (CEBLeague). Fans can catch Sunday’s CEBL Championship game on CBC and all of those online platforms starting at 12 noon ET (10 a.m. MT, 9 a.m. PT).
Fox Sports, the top sports broadcaster in Australia with more than two million subscribers, Astro SuperSport, Malaysia’s dominant pay-TV sports broadcaster, and Singapore’s Singtel mioSports channels will be airing the games throughout Asia-Pacific territories.
In the Philippines where there are 75 million smartphones in use, the free TapGo app will deliver the games to a country that is renowned for its passion for basketball and is the third biggest market for the NBA behind the United States and China. In Taiwan, Sportcast, operated by CSTV Group, will telecast the three games.
MEDIAPRO Canada previously facilitated the live streaming of all 26 CEBL Summer Series games on Twitch.tv, the world’s leading live, interactive streaming service for gaming, sports, entertainment, and music with 17.5 million users. Games are available on the twitch.tv/cebleague channel. Twitch recently launched a standalone sports category, featuring other top professional basketball leagues, including the NBA G League, Australia’s National Basketball League, and Brazil’s Novo Basquete.
LATEST NEWS
The Canadian Elite Basketball League has confirmed that the start time for the Vancouver Bandits’ away game on Thursday, May 14 against Saskatoon Mamba at SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon, Sask, has been changed from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 a.m. PT. This game will be Vancouver’s first game of the 2026 CEBL regular season. The game, along with all Bandits games during the 2026 season, will be live-streamed on the CEBL’s OTT platform, CEBL+, and the CEBL Mobile app. Fans can also tune in on the CBC Gem app and the CBC Sports YouTube channel.
The Vancouver Bandits announced Thursday that the club has signed 6-foot-9 forward Dominic Parolin to its roster for the 2026 Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) season. Hailing from Coquitlam, B.C., this marks Parolin’s first professional basketball contract after recently completing a six-year NCAA DI career with stints at Boise State University and Lehigh University. “I can’t wait to start off my professional career with the Bandits. This organization has a history of success and I am excited to be a part of it,” said Parolin. “Having grown up around Vancouver, this is also a great opportunity to reconnect with the local basketball community.” After redshirting during the 2024-25 season, Parolin appeared in 32 games for the Boise State Broncos in 2025-26 where he suited up in 32 games with averages of 5.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 0.5 blocks in 17.0 minutes per game. Prior to Boise State, Parolin played four seasons with the Lehigh Mountain Hawks where he was named Third Team All-Patriot League in 2024. “We are all excited about working with Dominic. He has had a tremendous college career and has a very high ceiling as a professional player,” said Bandits head coach and general manager, Kyle Julius. “Dominic plays with big time toughness, has great size and a versatile game as a power forward. Being a B.C. kid, we are thrilled that he is back home playing for us in front of friends and family.” An alumnus of Centennial Secondary in Coquitlam, B.C., Parolin captained the Centaurs’ senior boys team to a fifth-place finish at the 2020 BC 4A Boys Basketball Provincial Championship, while also earning First Team All-Star honours at the tournament. The Bandits open the 2026 CEBL season on Thursday, May 14 on the road in Saskatoon before coming home for its Home Opener against the Edmonton Stingers on Friday, May 22 at 7:00 p.m. PT at Envision Financial Court at Langley Events Centre. A full game schedule can be viewed here . 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.
The Vancouver Bandits announced Thursday that the club has signed NBA-experienced guard Mychal Mulder for the 2026 Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) season. A 6-foot-3 guard from Windsor, Ont., Mulder appeared in 84 NBA games between 2019 to 2022 for the Golden State Warriors, Orlando Magic and Miami Heat. His breakout season in 2020-21 saw him appear in 60 games for the Warriors, where he averaged 5.6 points, 1.0 rebounds, 0.4 assists in 12.8 minutes, including six starts alongside the likes of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins. “I am excited to be in Vancouver to play with the Bandits and work with coach Kyle Julius this summer. Playing in a Canadian league is a first for me, and it is an opportunity that I take pride in,” said Mulder. “We are going to have a really good group and a very competitive season; Bandits fans, get ready.” Mulder most recently played for the Washington Wizards’ NBA G League affiliate, Capital City Go-Go, during the 2023-24 season where he appeared in 27 games and averaged 5.2 points, 1.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists in 17.3 minutes per game. A product of the University of Kentucky, Mulder played two seasons of NCAA DI basketball from 2015 to 2017. He averaged 4.7 points, 1.5 rebounds, 0.4 assists in 10.6 minutes through 32 contests for a Wildcats squad that advanced to the Elite Eight at the 2017 NCAA March Madness tournament. “Mychal is an elite Canadian player who has built a career as accomplished as any player to play in our league. He will provide big time experience and leadership to our group,” said head coach and general manager Kyle Julius. “He has played with the best players in the world and it is going to be awesome to have him enhance our culture and push our group towards a championship.” Internationally, Mulder has represented Canada at the senior level on two occasions at the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup Qualifiers and the 2021 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Mulder joins reigning CEBL Canadian Player of the Year Tyrese Samuel as players who have signed with the Bandits for the upcoming 2026 season. The Bandits open the 2026 CEBL season on Thursday, May 14 on the road in Saskatoon before coming home for its Home Opener against the Edmonton Stingers on Friday, May 22 at 7:00 p.m. PT at Envision Financial Court at Langley Events Centre. 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.
The Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) is proud to announce CEBL Signing Day , coming April 8. Replacing the CEBL Draft , Signing Day will roll out across league-wide social platforms, spotlighting the next wave of elite Canadian talent as student-athletes from U SPORTS and the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) officially sign for the 2026 season. Two athletes per team will be announced, with the possibility of more signings as the season approaches. Since 2019, the CEBL’s partnership with U SPORTS and more recently also the CCAA has built a pro-level stage where the best intercollegiate talent from coast to coast can shine. CEBL teams are incentivized to carry development players on their active rosters, with up to three developmental players eligible per game outside the Club’s salary cap. The results speak for themselves: 116 student-athletes from 44 schools across Canada have been selected by CEBL clubs through the draft process, a testament to the exceptional depth and calibre of Canadian collegiate basketball. The world will be watching. Through the CEBL's landmark five-year broadcast partnership with CBC Sports, these talented student-athletes will get national, and global, spotlight. Marquee games will air on CBC TV, including the first-ever best-of-three CEBL Finals in league history, with every CEBL game live streamed on CBC Gem and CBC Sports YouTube and CEBL+ . Canadian basketball has never been more visible and it's only getting bigger. For the full 2026 CEBL schedule, visit cebl.ca/schedule . Details on the league’s new playoff format are available at cebl.ca/playoffs , and ticket information for all CEBL games can be found at cebl.ca/tickets .
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