Vancouver Bandits Sign Local University Standouts Ashton Bain and Dario Lopez

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.

The Vancouver Bandits have signed 6-foot-9 forward and Surrey, BC product Majok Gum for the 2026 Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) season. An attendee of 2026 Training Camp, Gum competed for the Bandits during the 2026 preseason and appeared in two games during the 2025 CEBL regular season. Gum began the 2025-26 overseas season in Germany with BÖRGEL Ballers Ibbenbüren before transferring to BK Amager in Denmark's first division, Basketligaen, where he averaged 14.9 points and 11.6 rebounds per game across 19 games played. At the collegiate level, Gum played five seasons at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ont. In 117 games (41 starts), he averaged 4.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 0.6 blocks while shooting 46.5 per cent from the field. His 52 career blocks ranked him sixth all time in Golden Hawks program history. An alumnus of Byrne Creek Secondary in Burnaby, B.C., Gum helped lead the Bulldogs to a second place finish at the 2018 BC 3A Boys Basketball Provincial Championship, while also earning Best Defensive Player honours at the tournament. Gum will wear number 4 for the Bandits.