Alliance looking to build on momentum of first win as they host winless BlackJacks
The Montreal Alliance (1-3) are looking to build on the momentum of their first win of the season as they welcome in an Ottawa BlackJacks (0-3) team that’s still searching for its first victory in the 2024 campaign.
The game tips off at 7:30 p.m. ET from Verdun Auditorium, with live coverage available on CEBL+ powered by BetVictor, TSN+, RDS.ca, the RDS app, Courtside 1891 (outside of North America) and on the CEBL mobile app available for iOS and Android devices. The game will also be televised on TSN, RDS and NLSE in the United States.
The Alliance managed to defeat the Brampton Honey Badgers Sunday, 95-77, despite being without leading scorer Jordan Bowden, who was placed on the injured list on May 30 with a lower-body injury.
In his absence, fellow Alliance starters Chris Smith and Ahmed Hill chipped in with 23 and 19 points, respectively as Montreal routed Brampton.
The 95 points Montreal put up Sunday was an encouraging step in the right direction for an offence that’s been inconsistent this season. In two of the Alliance’s four games thus far, they’ve been held to below 78 points, while in their other two contests, they’ve put up 90 and the 95 from Sunday’s outing.
“Staying consistent in what we do,” said Alliance interim head coach Ryan Thorne Sunday. “Where we would fall short often times was we would play iso ball. … We [have] to trust each other, move the ball side to side, make the defence move to create greater opportunities.”
Alliance head coach Derrick Alston Sr., who has been away from the team as he completed his obligations as head coach of Pioneros de Los Mochis of CIBACOPA in Mexico, will coach his first game with the club Wednesday.
For Ottawa, the 0-3 start is the worst in franchise history.
The team has been shorthanded to begin the year, with key starters from last season Deng Adel and Zena Edosomwan away completing their professional seasons overseas.
With some key absences across the roster, there’s been a need for other players to step up for the BlackJacks, and American imports Brandon Sampson and Isaih Moore look to be those guys.
Both are averaging 19 points per game in just their second and first CEBL seasons, respectively.
If Ottawa is going to finally win a ball game this season, it’ll more than likely be because of the efforts of Sampson and Moore.
Key matchup
The battle between Montreal’s Smith and Ottawa’s Moore should be a fun one to watch.
Both men are long, athletic bigs that can rim run with the best of them. Moore is listed to have an inch over Smith (6-foot-10 compared to 6-foot-9), so that might be a small advantage in favour of Moore.
However, with both players doing such similar things on the floor and emerging as key contributors for their respective teams, it’ll be interesting to see who can get the better of the other – particularly because that could just be the deciding factor in the game.
Milestone watch
· Montreal’s Guillaume Payen-Boucard, of Montreal, Que., needs 12 points to reach 500 for his career, regular season only.
· Montreal’s Ahmed Hill needs seven rebounds to reach 250 for his career, regular season and playoffs.
· Ottawa’s Jermel Kennedy, of Malton, Ont., needs eight rebounds to reach 250 for his career, regular season and playoffs.
· Montreal’s Guillaume Payen-Boucard, of Montreal, Que., needs two assists to reach 100 for his career, regular season only.
· Ottawa’s Lloyd Pandi, of Ottawa, Ont., needs three assists to reach 100 for his career, regular season and playoffs.
· Ottawa’s Tyrrel Tate needs seven assists to reach 100 for his career, regular season and playoffs.
· Montreal’s Ahmed Hill needs four steals to reach 50 for his career, regular season only.
2023 season series
The Alliance finished their season series 2-1 against the Blackjacks last season.
In the third and final matchup between the two sides in 2023, Hill drilled a three-pointer in Target Score Time to seal the win and the season series for Montreal.
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About the CEBL
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 73% of its 2023 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. Fourteen players have signed NBA contracts following a CEBL season, and numerous CEBL players attend NBA G League training camps every year. 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.
