Vancouver Bandits Open 2023 CEBL Season Tonight vs. Winnipeg Sea Bears

Josh Kozelj • May 27, 2023

WINNIPEG, BC, May 27, 2023 – The Vancouver Bandits tip-off its fifth season of Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) tonight against the expansion Winnipeg Sea Bears in a Saturday night road game matchup at 5 p.m. PT (8 p.m. ET) at the Canada Life Centre.


The game will be broadcast live on TSN+, CEBL+ and on the CEBL Mobile app available on iOS and Android devices. 


The two western conference rivals will look at making an early season statement in the newly formed CEBL Western Conference. Ahead of its milestone fifth season, the CEBL restructured its model of competition: separating the league’s 10 teams into eastern and western conferences.


Winnipeg’s opening weekend roster features a heavy dose of local talent. 


All in all, there will be six players suiting up for the Sea Bears who call Winnipeg home, including three men—Ryan Luke, Shawn Maranan and Donald Stewart—who previously played for the University of Winnipeg Wesmen. 


Perhaps the team’s most impactful local, however, will be Simon Hildebrandt, a University of Manitoba product who the Sea Bears selected first overall in this year’s U SPORTS draft. The 6-foot-9 forward from Winnipeg amassed roughly 17 points per game and shot better than 45 per cent from the field last year for the University of Manitoba Bisons—on his way to earning U SPORTS National Rookie of the Year in 2023. 


The Bandits, meanwhile, who are also hosting the CEBL’s Championship Weekend from Aug. 11-13, are set to kick off their fifth season in the CEBL.


Vancouver will look to build on a franchise-record 12 wins they set in last year’s regular season under the guidance of now Winnipeg head coach, Mike Taylor.

 

Head coach Kyle Julius, who led the Bandits to the CEBL Finals in 2020, is returning behind the bench this summer after spending the previous two seasons solely as the team’s general manager. The Bandits are returning three players from their 2022 roster, including Alex Campbell, Vancouver’s all-time franchise leader in scoring. 


In total, the trio of returnees—Campbell, Malcolm Duvivier, and Shane Gibson—will be expected to should the brunt of the offensive workload. Duvivier and Gibson both ranked in the top five in three-point field goal percentage in 2022. Gibson will not be present for tonight’s season opener for Vancouver due to overseas obligations with his current club in Turkey. 


Although the rest of the Bandits’ roster will feature many new faces, they won’t be lacking in height, as Vancouver has five players who stand between 6-foot-9 and 6-foot-11; including Kelowna, B.C. native Grant Shephard.


Full broadcast schedule of CEBL Games of the Week on TSN can be found here. All games will also be streamed live internationally on the CEBL’s OTT platform, CEBL+, and on the CEBL Mobile app for iOS and Android devices. 


Bandits fans will have their first chance to watch the Bandits on home soil at 7 p.m. PT on Saturday, June 3 when Vancouver welcomes the Calgary Surge for its first-ever visit to LEC.


Single game tickets for the highly anticipated fifth season of Bandits Basketball are available for purchase at this link. Season tickets are available for purchase and can be accessed by clicking here.


A key highlight of Vancouver’s fifth CEBL campaign will be its hosting of Championship Weekend, which takes place between Friday, August 11 and Sunday, August 13. An annual celebration of the highest level of Canadian professional basketball, Championship Weekend features a postseason format that combines three games of playoff basketball as part of a multi-day festival experience designed to celebrate the intersection of arts, culture and sport. As hosts of Championship Weekend, the Bandits receive an automatic semifinal berth.


Individuals interested in learning more about tickets for the Vancouver Bandits’ 2023 season are kindly asked to call (604) 455-8881 or email tickets@thebandits.ca. A complete regular season schedule can be found by clicking here.


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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