Kur Jongkuch called up to Canada national team at FIBA World Cup qualifiers

The Vancouver Bandits are excited to welcome back Connect FM as the team's Official Punjabi Radio Broadcaster for the 2026 Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) season, entering a third consecutive year of collaborative and community-focused basketball coverage. As part of this partnership, Connect FM will broadcast live in Punjabi all Saturday and Sunday Bandits regular season home games taking place at Envision Financial Court at Langley Events Centre. In 2024, the Bandits and Connect FM made history by becoming the first team in CEBL history to deliver a live Punjabi-language radio broadcast. Furthermore, the club’s South Asian Heritage Night has become a mainstay for Bandits fans, consistently ranking as one of the club’s highest-attended and most popular game dates of the season. The Connect FM radio broadcast team will feature play-by-play broadcaster Jagraj Lalli and analyst Jarman Chahal, who together bring experience from Hockey Night In Canada: Punjabi Edition, the BC Hockey League as well as several broadcasting stints with various leagues and community events throughout the Lower Mainland area. Connect FM will provide live Punjabi commentary for seven Bandits home games this season. Fans can tune in across multiple platforms: Online: connectfm.ca → Click Listen LIVE Surrey FM 91.5 App: Connect FM Canada (available via App Store & Google Play) Radio: 91.5 FM in Surrey and surrounding areas 2026 Vancouver Bandits Punjabi Radio Broadcast Schedule on Connect FM: Sunday, May 24: vs. Calgary Surge | 5:00 p.m. Saturday, June 13: vs. Ottawa BlackJacks | 6:00 p.m. Saturday, June 20: vs. Brampton Honey Badgers | 6:00 p.m. (South Asian Heritage Night) Saturday, June 27: vs. Winnipeg Sea Bears | 6:00 p.m. Sunday, July 5: vs. Calgary Surge | 12:30 p.m. Saturday, July 25: vs. Saskatoon Mamba | 6:00 p.m. Sunday, August 2: vs. Winnipeg Sea Bears | 12:30 p.m.

The Vancouver Bandits announced Saturday the signing of 6-foot-1 American guard Jarkel Joiner for the remainder of the 2026 Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) season. A 6-foot-1 hailing from Oxford, MS, Joiner joins the Bandits having most recently played for the Toronto Raptors NBA G League affiliate, Raptors 905, where he averaged 11.6 points, 4.2 assists and 2.7 rebounds across 35 games, including 24 starts. Prior to his time with the Raptors, Joiner spent two seasons with the Atlanta Hawks G League affiliate, College Park Skyhawks. Hailing from Oxford, MS, the 6-foot-1 guard joins the Bandits following a stint with the Toronto Raptors’ NBA G League affiliate, Raptors 905. Joiner appeared in 35 games, including 24 starts, while recording averages of 11.6 points, 4.2 assists and 2.7 rebounds. His pro experience also includes two seasons with the College Park Skyhawks, the G League affiliate for the Atlanta Hawks. Joiner played his collegiate basketball at Cal State Bakersfield and Ole Miss before finishing his senior season at North Carolina State. During his time with the Wolfpack in 2022-23, he averaged 17.0 points and a team-high 3.6 assists per game, earning Second-Team All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors. Joiner will wear number 1 with the Bandits.

Talk about a first impression. Playing for the first time in front of a sold-out home crowd at Envision Financial Court at Langley Events Centre, Vancouver Bandits guard Jaelen House lived up to the hype. The highly-touted point guard – and son of NBA champion Eddie House and nephew of former NBAer and Vancouver Grizzlies guard Mike Bibby – showed just what he brings to the court. An NBA G League all-star, House delivered 32 points, seven rebounds and 17 assists – the latter of which set a new Canadian Elite Basketball League record, leading Vancouver to a 111-88 win over the visiting Edmonton Stingers on Friday night. “Blessed. I mean, I can't do it without God, so I just feel blessed to be able to do that,” House said of his historic night. House also led all players with 38:26 of game time and was clearly the offensive catalyst, something he appreciates. “I think it’s a good thing, having somebody believe in you so much to where you have the ball in your hands the whole game and you’re making decisions for everyone,” he said. “I appreciate (the coaching staff) for that.” The game concluded a home-and-home series between the clubs with the Stingers winning 91-78 less than a week ago before the Bandits exacted revenge. Vancouver improved to 2-1 with Edmonton dropping to 1-2. Following the loss to the Stingers, Vancouver coach Kyle Julius had called the game the team’s worst performance in the last two or three seasons, in his opinion. “Get a win, get some get back, that was really it,” House said of the team’s mindset. “I think we just played harder defensively; that’s really about it and we made a few more shots.” Vancouver led for the majority of the first half but were up just a single point late in the second quarter before closing on a 12-2 run to build a double-digit advantage the rest of the way. In addition to House’s big game, Tyrese Samuel scored 24 points and eight rebounds with Miller Kopp adding 21 points and eight rebounds. Both Kopp and House hit four 3-pointers. “They made some good adjustments. They went a little bit bigger with their lineups and they beat us up on the glass,” said Edmonton coach Jordan Baker, referring to the fact his team was outrebounded 49-36 while committing 18 turnovers, resulting in 27 Vancouver points.  “And when you give up 111 points, it's going to be tough to win a basketball game.” Dain Dainja led the Stingers with 27 points and nine rebounds. Vancouver is back in action on Sunday afternoon as they welcome the Calgary Surge (0-2) to Envision Financial Court at Langley Events Centre. Game time is 5:00pm.