Streaking Ottawa BlackJacks visit Vancouver Bandits in Sunday showdown

The Ottawa BlackJacks (-150) search for their fifth straight win in a trip west to take on the Vancouver Bandits (+110) on Sunday at Langley Events Centre at 7 p.m. PT.

The game will be available for streaming on TSN+, CEBL+ powered by BetVictor and on the CEBL Mobile app available on iOS and Android devices.

The BlackJacks will look to secure their grip on first place in the Eastern Conference ahead of the final quarter of the regular season. At 9-5, Ottawa currently sits one game above second-place Scarborough and third-place Niagara in the east. If the BlackJacks can hold on to first, they’ll clinch a trip back to Langley Events Centre for CEBL Championship Weekend in August. 

They would join the Bandits, who enter Sunday’s contest at 5-7 in fourth place in the Western Conference. Vancouver has a spot in Championship Weekend reserved due to their hosting duties. However, the Bandits will look to find championship form before the August 11-13 weekend comes around. 

Vancouver has lost three of their last four games and is coming off a home-and-home split with the Edmonton Stingers. The Bandits kick off a three-game homestand against Eastern Conference teams on Sunday after six consecutive games against Western squads. 

In the 92-78 loss to the Stingers on Monday afternoon, Bandits’ big men Giorgi Bezhanishvili and Nick Ward were each held to 10 points or less. In both games against Edmonton, Ward and Bezhanishvili were limited on the glass as well with neither player exceeding six rebounds in either matchup.  

The Bandits will look to Ward and Bezhanishvili for bounce-back performances on Sunday against Ottawa. The duo has been largely consistent for Vancouver this season on a squad that has endured an array of changes from game one. They’ve led the Bandits to a league-best 45 rebounds per game with both bigs ranking in the CEBL’s top 10 in that category. Bezhanishvili is also 10th in points per game at 17.4 and is just shy of averaging a double-double at 9.8 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Ward is averaging 17.3 points per game at a league-best 60.9 per cent rate. 

However, the third option for Vancouver heading into the playoffs remains an open question. No active player outside of “Giorgi B” and Ward averages over 10 points per game. Shaquille Keith and Malcolm Duvivier emerged as the Bandits’ best performers in Monday’s loss while coming off the bench. Keith netted a team-high 20 points, while Duviver tallied 13 points and nine rebounds. Jahenns Manigat was the top bucket-getter for Vancouver on Canada Day, while University of Victoria point guard Diego Maffia has shown flashes as well. 

The organization tweaked the roster ahead of Sunday’s game with the team adding even more size. The Bandits signed former CEBL champion and high-flying athlete Marlon Johnson Jr. on Saturday. The 6’10 ”Dunk King” won a championship in 2019 with Saskatchewan and in 2021 with Edmonton. In 50 regular season starts in the CEBL, he averages 11.6 points and 6.5 rebounds.

The Bandits also released MJ Walker earlier in the week. 

“I guess you never know what to expect from Vancouver,” Ottawa head coach James Derouin said. “There's talent up and down that lineup. They play hard, they got bigs…they're tough for us to match up with.”

The BlackJacks enter the meeting with Vancouver as the hottest team in the league. Ottawa’s defence has had a spectacular stretch, both before and after the five-game winning streak. The BlackJacks haven’t conceded 90 points since June 17 – a seven-game stretch. 

Despite a one-point win, Ottawa was hobbled in their last game against Saskatchewan on Wednesday. Kadre Gray, Thomas Scrubb and Zena Edosomwan were all absent for the victory over Justin Wright-Foreman and the Rattlers. Gray is having a season worthy of Canadian Player of the Year consideration, scoring 16.8 points per game and distributing a league-best 6.7 assists per game. Scrubb is averaging double-figures as well, while Edosomwan averages just under 10 points and rebounds per game.

However, Ottawa features one of the most high-powered offences in the CEBL with several avenues of attack. Deng Adel does it all for the BlackJacks, averaging 17.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.9 assists in 10 starts this season. Jackson Rowe contributes as a scorer and rebounder with 13.9 points per game and 6.3 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Michael Flowers, Tyrrel Tate, Maxime Boursiquot, James Jean-Marie and Matthew Coleman are all capable contributors as well. 

The BlackJacks also made a roster move earlier this week. Georgia native Jakeenan Grant joins the team after playing in France. The 6’8 forward previously played for the Saskatchewan Rattlers in 2021 and played just under four minutes against his former squad on Wednesday. 

Derouin hopes the winning ways continue against the Bandits on Sunday with two more games left on their road trip. 

“We're gonna go in there and try to steal a win, but obviously, everyone's aware of how talented they are and how physical they are,” Derouin said after the win over Saskatchewan. “We're gonna have to be ready for a fight and play a little bit better than we did tonight. Vancouver's a really good team.”

All games are available for streaming on TSN+, CEBL+ powered by BetVictor and on the CEBL Mobile app available on iOS and Android devices.

A league created by Canadians for Canadians with a mission to develop Canadian players, coaches, sports executives, and referees, the CEBL boasts the highest percentage of Canadian players of any pro league in the country with 71 per cent of its 2022 rosters being Canadian. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international pro leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. Nine players have moved from the CEBL into the NBA following a CEBL season, and 28 CEBL players attended NBA G League training camps during October. The CEBL season runs from May through August. More information about the CEBL is available at CEBL.ca and @cebleague on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.