Bandits hold on to beat Rattlers in CEBL’s final regular season game
By: Matthew Winick • August 11, 2021
The Fraser Valley Bandits (7-7) survived a late push from the Saskatchewan Rattlers (1-13) to win by a score of 84-79 on Tuesday night at the SaskTel Centre in the CEBL’s last regular season game of the 2021 campaign.
The contest was neck and neck throughout, with neither squad able to gain a double-digit lead at any point. Each time Fraser Valley tried to pull away, Saskatchewan fought back to bring the game within reach once again.
The Rattlers took a slim 74-72 lead into the Elam Ending thanks to an and-one finish from Nervens Demosthene, but the Bandits controlled the last few minutes of action. Much like Sunday’s contest which saw a narrow Fraser Valley victory, Saskatchewan was simply unable to get over the hump.
It was clear that the Bandits were ready for the pressure and intensity that comes with playoff basketball, something they will be faced with soon enough with the quarterfinals set for this weekend.
“We’re excited. We have some momentum right now, we’re catching a bit of momentum, and things are starting to fall into place,” said Bandits’ coach David Singleton after the game, “We just want to keep continuing this momentum… and I think we’re going to be in great shape.”
7-foot big man Brandon Gilbeck led the Bandits in scoring on the night with 18 points on an efficient 9-13 shooting from the field to go along with six rebounds, two assists and two blocks. The import from Spring Green, Wisconsin feasted on a shorter Rattlers frontline, using his elite size and impressive lateral quickness to run the floor and finish at the rim for easy baskets.
“I tried to do my work early, get close to the basket and seal them,” said Gilbeck, “It’s kind of nice because my teammates have really been giving me good post passes. It’s made it easy.”
On the other side, Saskatchewan put forth a valiant effort in its final contest of the season, with the Saskatoon faithful cheering their team on. While the Rattlers knew they had no playoff games to prepare for, they gave full effort and pushed the four-seeded Bandits to the final whistle twice in the last three days.
“The amount of respect I have for these guys is through the roof, we really had a genuine good group of guys,” said Rattlers’ head coach Conor Dow, “I didn’t know what to expect coming into tonight, but the togetherness we played with, the passion we exhibited on the court, is exactly what we want from our team.”
Leading the way in the scoring column for Saskatchewan was guard Kemy Osse, dropping 22 points in the loss. Potential Canadian of the Year candidate Devonte Bandoo also put together a solid game, scoring 19 points, adding four assists and four rebounds. The game for Bandoo was a strong finish to what was a very successful first year of professional basketball for the guard out of Mississauga, Ontario.
“I learnt about adversity, playing with a team that was struggling, and learning how to execute and play through that stuff,” said Bandoo, “Having a season like this, you learn from it, get better from it and take that to the offseason.”
Moving forward, the Rattlers will head into their offseason, looking towards improving on their second-straight last place finish in the CEBL standings.
On the other side, the Bandits will begin to prepare for their crucial quarterfinal matchup at home against the Guelph Nighthawks at 4:00 p.m. ET/1:00 p.m. PT on Sunday. The winner of that game will advance to the semifinals the following weekend at the Final Four in Edmonton.
All CEBL games will be available for live streaming on the CEBL’s new OTT streaming service CEBL+, cbcsports.ca, the free CBC Gem streaming service, the CBC Sports App for iOS and android devices, and on Twitch.
A league created by Canadians for Canadians, the CEBL has the highest percentage of Canadian players of any professional league in the country, with 75 percent of its current rosters being Canadians. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. The only First Division Professional League Partner of Canada Basketball, the CEBL season typically runs from May through August. Head to CEBL.ca for more information or follow us on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.
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The Vancouver Bandits announced Friday that the club has signed Houston Rockets’ NBA G League guard John Knight III to its roster for the 2026 Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) season. Knight, a 6-foot-3 guard from Jackson, Miss., has spent the past three seasons in the NBA G League with the Houston Rockets’ minor league affiliate, Rio Grande Valley Vipers, where he became known for his dunking ability and shutdown defensive skills. During the 2025-26 season, Knight averaged 7.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game while playing 31.1 minutes per night across 34 games with 29 starts. “We are really excited to add John to our roster this summer. He is an explosive, high-level athlete who can impact the game on both ends and defend multiple positions,” said head coach and general manager Kyle Julius. “He has had real success in the NBA G League, and we expect him to bring that same production, toughness, and versatility to our group right away.” Prior to the NBA G league, Knight made his professional debut during the 2022-23 season with Norwegian club Frøya Basket where he averaged 22.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 6.3 rebounds per game. Knight led the team in all categories, as well as steals (104), blocks (39), and minutes played (1363). Before turning pro, Knight attended Utah State University during the 2018-19 season before transferring to Southern Utah University from 2019 to 2022. During his time with the Thunderbirds, Knight earned First Team All-Big Sky Conference honours in 2022 during his senior year. Knight will reunite with fellow Thunderbird alumnus and recent Bandits free agent signing Tevian Jones, who both shared the court during the 2021-22 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.
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