Edge-of-your-seat Excitement Expected When Fraser Valley, Hamilton Clash in Semifinals of CEBL Summer Series
Ottawa BlackJacks • August 8, 2020
Before the CEBL Summer Series began, league prognosticators were looking at Fraser Valley and wondering how much better they might be than the Bandits team from a year ago that finished 4-16 and last in the Canadian Elite Basketball League’s inaugural campaign. New head coach and general manager Kyle Julius brought an impressive international coaching resume and a roster of players familiar to him to Abbotsford to relaunch a franchise that dropped the first nine games in its history.
Midway through the Bandits opening game of the Summer Series, those questions were answered. Fraser Valley would be a team that would get after its opponent from the opening tip through the final buzzer. They opened eyes around the league by taking a 59-42 lead into halftime of their opening game against an Edmonton team that would lose that night but then roll off five straight wins over every other club in the league en route to securing the top seed in the playoff rounds. The Stingers were a popular pick to win the CEBL Summer Series before it began, but it was Fraser Valley that turned heads on opening weekend.
Julius made it a point to explain how his Bandits are everything today’s opponent, the Hamilton Honey Badgers, are not, posting a team video rightly touting that his club lacked the NBA G League and Canadian National team flavour of some other clubs. The Honey Badgers weren’t named, but they didn’t need to be. Their roster is filled with well-known players, while the Bandits roster is filled with players who have only become better known to observers who have watched the Summer Series since it began July 25.
Hamilton lost three probable starters, all with NBA G League pedigree, for different reasons the week before the Summer Series began - and then lost spiritual leader Duane Notice, also from the G League and national team program, to a torn Achilles during the Series. Head Coach Ryan Schmidt has had to reshape his roster multiple times in the past month, especially in the past 10 days, as players have been lost along the way. Yet the Honey Badgers still lead several CEBL statistical categories and have shown they can play with anybody on any given night.
Today’s matchup presents two teams similar in that they rely heavily on ball pressure and scoring in transition. While it may look like controlled chaos to the casual fan, generating scoring from defense and ball movement is key to both clubs. Fraser Valley rolls four guards much of the time, led by sharp-shooting veterans Marek Klassen and Junior Cadougan. Youngster Malcolm Duvivier and vocal team leader Jahenns Manigat push the ball, get to the basket, and wreak havoc on defense. In the black pinstripes, Brianté Weber has shown to be the best defensive player in the Summer Series and why he’s had stints in the NBA with Miami, Houston, Golden State, Charlotte, and Memphis. He’s averaging a league-best 2.43 steals a game, but more than that, he’s a presence on all 94 feet of hardwood any time he’s in the game.
Hamilton has shown the most balanced lineup in the Summer Series with eight players averaging 19 or more minutes of playing time through seven games. Weber’s 25.4 average leads the way. Only Weber (12.9) and Jean-Victor Mukama (12.7) are averaging double-digit scoring on the Hamilton roster for today’s game. Hamilton’s 44.1 to 41.7 rebounding advantage enables the team to get out and run as it likes to do.
Look for Hamilton to exploit its size advantage in the frontcourt and force Fraser Valley to beat them with outside shooting. The Bandits are averaging 22.0 points off opponents’ turnovers, so will be working to force Hamilton, already generous with league-high 19.4 giveaways per game, into sloppy play and careless mistakes.
Number three seed Hamilton topped second-seed Fraser Valley, 102-96, in their August 1 meeting. But since then both clubs have lost key producers—Cameron Forte who was the Bandits most productive offensive threat in the frontcourt, and Caleb Agada for Hamilton who scored 16 points in 19 minutes despite not having had a minute of practice time with the Honey Badgers prior to being added to the active roster 90 minutes before tipoff.
Expect an entertaining high-octane game fueled by ball pressure and grit this afternoon. The winner draws either top-seed Edmonton or the expansion Ottawa BlackJacks in the CEBL Championship game at 12 noon Sunday. Knowing these two clubs, the loser starts work Monday preparing for the 2021 CEBL season.
Quarterfinal Recap
After defeating Guelph, 84-70, on Wednesday to earn the number-two seed and a bye into the semifinals, Fraser Valley had the advantage of watching Thursday as Hamilton and Ottawa each played quarterfinal games. The BlackJacks grounded the Guelph Nighthawks, 83-75, to advance to the semifinals to face top-seed Edmonton at 3:50 p.m. ET today.
The Honey Badgers knocked out Niagara for the second year in a row to open the playoffs, 85-83, in a game that looked out of reach for the River Lions before they waged a furious comeback and took the Elam Ending the distance. With the target score of 84 posted, Weber rolled home a tough layup in traffic to deliver the victory. Hamilton had led 75-69 heading into the Elam Ending. Mukama scored a game-high 23 points and pulled down eight rebounds to pace the Honey Badgers.
First Meeting
Playing for the first time without guard Duane Notice, who appeared to be on his way to contending for tournament MVP honours, the Hamilton Honey Badgers welcomed Caleb Agada to the team 90 minutes before tip-off and needed all of his 16 points, plus the team-high 18 from Manny Diressa to seal a 102-96 victory. Fraser Valley got off to a slow start in this one, something that was a pattern for the team throughout the six-game regular season portion of the competition and had to play catch up most of the contest. Hamilton led 76-59 midway through the third quarter and resisted short rallies from Fraser Valley down the stretch. The Bandits posted an 18-10 scoring edge during the Elam Ending to narrow the final margin.
Hamilton shot .507 from the floor in this contest, and had six players score in double figures led by Diressa’s 18. The Honey Badgers dominated the boards by a 46-39 advantage, with the Bandits total including a game-high 10 retrieves from the now-departed Cameron Forte. Fraser Valley scored 26 points off 20 Hamilton turnovers, a key area the Bandits will need to exploit again today.
| PPG | FG-FGA | FG% | FT-FTA | FT% | O-D-REB | AST | TO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton | 86.6 | 211-486 | .434 | 116-161 | .721 | 92-217-309 | 131 | 134 |
| HBB Opp. | 84.7 | 210-496 | .423 | 112-151 | .742 | 90-202-292 | 132 | 122 |
| Fraser Valley | 87.7 | 185-423 | .437 | 100-131 | .763 | 73-182-255 | 113 | 94 |
| FV Opp. | 80.7 | 170-416 | .409 | 90-124 | .726 | 78-178-256 | 92 | 112 |
CEBL On the World Stage
More than 130 million new viewers will be able to watch this weekend’s semifinals and championship game of the CEBL Summer Seriesthanks to distribution agreements secured by MEDIAPRO Canada, the international media rights and production partner of the Canadian Elite Basketball League. The three games are now available to viewers in Australia, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan.

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 are airing the games throughout Asia-Pacific territories.

In the Philippines, where there are 75 million smartphones in use, the free TapGo app is delivering 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 Seriesgames 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.

Next Up
The winner of this matchup meets the winner of today’s second game between top-seed Edmonton and four-seed Ottawa in the CEBL Championship game Sunday at 12 noon. Defending champion Saskatchewan failed to qualify for the playoff portion of the Summer Series after posting a 1-5 record during the round robin portion of the competition, so a new league champion will be crowned.
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Physio District is proud to partner with the Vancouver Bandits as the organization’s Official Sports Medicine & Rehabilitation Provider. Led by Director of Sports Medicine & Rehabilitation Vic Sanghera and Physiotherapist Neil Nijjar, the partnership will support the Bandits with comprehensive injury management, rehabilitation, performance optimization, recovery, and return-to-play services throughout the CEBL season. With extensive experience working in high-performance sport, amateur and professional athletics, and international competition environments, Physio District brings an integrated approach focused on athlete availability, performance support, and evidence-informed care through manual therapy, movement analysis, and corrective exercise principles. In collaboration with the Bandits performance staff, the partnership will also incorporate advanced athlete monitoring and performance technologies through Hawkins Dynamics systems, including force plate testing and TruStrength performance assessment tools, to support rehabilitation progression, performance profiling, and return-to-play decision-making. Physio District is committed to helping athletes perform at their highest level while supporting long-term health, recovery, and durability throughout the demands of a professional basketball season. Physio District is excited to support the Vancouver Bandits organization and contribute to a high-performance environment both on and off the court.
The Vancouver Bandits were unable to find consistent offense against the Edmonton Stingers, suffering a 91-78 defeat Saturday night at the Edmonton Expo Centre. The game started with both teams going blow for blow in scoring, until the Stingers began to pull away with three-pointers from Samage Teel and Michael Nuga. The Stingers applied overwhelming defensive pressure, slowing down the Bandits up-tempo offence. The Bandits got into a rhythm in the second quarter, chipping away at the deficit and out-pacing the Stingers defense. The Stingers went cold offensively as they approached half time, going a full three minutes without scoring. That dry spell for the Stingers took place during a 19-6 run for the Bandits in that quarter, as they defended aggressively and found more space on the attack. Jalen House shot 8 for 9 in the first half at the free throw line, while Tevian Jones used his explosive athleticism to score 16 points. The Bandits took the lead on free throws from reigning Canadian Player of the Year, Tyrese Samuel, who finished with a team-leading 13 rebounds. The second quarter ended with the Bandits on top, 42-38. The Stingers responded in the third quarter with gritty, physical defense, while using the full shot clock on offense. The Bandits couldn’t build momentum, allowing 33 points and surrendering the lead. The Bandits flirted with a comeback in the fourth, shrinking the Stingers’ lead to seven points, but were unable to capitalise. House led the game in scoring with 27 points, but he was disappointed with the defensive effort from the Bandits. “We were letting them get [points] too easily in the paint, easy threes.” Vancouver head coach Kyle Julius said “our defensive effort was poor everywhere,” calling tonight’s game “one of our worst performances in two to three years.” The success in the second quarter came from the Bandits “playing good defense, playing hard,” said House. “That’s obviously why we shot up and got that three point lead going into half time, but we got away from it.” The Stingers big man Dain Dainja put up 25 points and 14 rebounds in over 29 minutes, all of which led his team. Vancouver falls to 1-1, and goes down 0-1 in the home-and-home series. Vancouver will play Edmonton again on Friday, May 22 for their Home Opener at Envision Financial Court at the Langley Events Centre. Tickets are available for purchase at this link . Box Score https://www.cebl.ca/game?id=2798728
Highlights of the Vancouver Bandits against the Mamba on May 14, 2026.
The Vancouver Bandits opened the 2026 Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) season on the road with a 124-95 victory over the re-branded Saskatoon Mamba at SaskTel Centre on Thursday. Guard Jaelen House, who was signed just two days prior to the season opener, ran the floor for the fast-paced Bandits offense posting a double-double with 33 points and 10 assists. His debut efforts earned him “Player of the Game” honours in his first CEBL games “Jaelen [House] just got in here 24 hours ago,” said Vancouver head coach Kyle Julius. “Figuring the guys out, figuring the system out, that’s big.” Vancouver wasted no time, jumping out to an early lead from House and Mychal Mulder. The team set a new franchise record, scoring 68 points in the first half. Local rookies Dominic Parolin and Shadynn Smid both debuted and got their first professional buckets. Parolin logged an efficient 11 points in over six minutes, while Smid played impressive defense. Saskatoon had difficulties slowing down Vancouver, especially struggling with the chemistry between House and Tyrese Samuel as they combined for 57 points. Their soft and porous defense provided plenty of time and space for Vancouver to feast, with six players scoring double digits. When asked about the balanced attack, Mulder credited their teamwork. ”Just continuing to play together. I think we did a good job of sharing the ball, did a good job of locking in on our defensive assignments,” he said. Saskatoon’s offense was stymied, with every player logging a negative plus/minus. Vancouver’s tight defense clogged passing lanes and strangled Saskatoon’s offense to the tune of 21 turnovers. Tevian Jones picked up four steals, leading the team. Mulder was proud of the effort, saying they defended “as a unit on that end of the floor. [We’re] continuing to grow as a unit and staying together.” Vancouver dominated in the paint, scoring 74 points under the hoop against Saskatoon’s underwhelming 42. House, Samuel, and Jones flashed their speed on the fast break, with the team scoring 21 points while flying downhill. Saskatoon head coach Isaiah Fox got a rude awakening in his first game with the team, saying “Obviously, that could’ve went better.” “Vancouver is a very physical team, and I don't think we quite matched their physicality,” he said. “There were some good moments but unfortunately they came already when we were down double-digit points.” The physicality was on display in the third quarter as Vancouver suffocated Saskatoon defensively, allowing just 17 points. Saskatoon went a whole 2:45 without scoring, while Vancouver increased their lead to 32 in that time. Their biggest lead of the game would be 36. However, Saskatoon made progress in the fourth quarter, out-scoring Vancouver 31 to 24. Trey Townsend came off the bench to lead Saskatoon, scoring 10 of his 15 points in the final frame. Dajuan Gordon chipped in 20 points for Saskatoon, knocking down 5-6 at the charity stripe. Julius was unhappy with the team letting off the gas late in the game. “I thought we really let up in the fourth quarter, but it's an entirely new group,” he said. “We only have two, three guys from last year's team, so overall it was a solid first game for sure.” “I think these first couple games are all about us getting used to the league. We have a lot of guys that have never played in this league,” Julius added. “so we're still kind of just getting used to everything.” Vancouver begins their season 1-0. Vancouver will travel to Edmonton to take on the Stingers on Saturday, May 16, at the Edmonton EXPO Centre at 6:00 p.m. in a home-and-home series. Edmonton comes to Envision Financial Court at Langley Events Centre to play Vancouver in their Home Opener on Friday, May 22, at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are available for purchase at this link .
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