Fraser Valley Bandits host Guelph Nighthawks in play-in with quarterfinals berth on the line
The Fraser Valley Bandits and Guelph Nighthawks will look to advance to the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) quarterfinals in a play-in showdown at Langley Events Centre at 7:30 PT on Thursday night.
The Bandits enter the game after finishing the regular season in fourth place in the CEBL standings with a 12-8 record to clinch a home playoff game in Langley. The Nighthawks finished in seventh place at 10-10 and earned the final playoff spot after clinching with a win over Saskatchewan last week. The winner will play either the Niagara River Lions or Scarborough Shooting Stars in this weekend’s quarterfinals. The Bandits would play Scarborough if they win, while the Nighthawks would play Niagara.
Fraser Valley and Guelph split their two matchups in the regular season with the Bandits securing a 90-85 victory at the Sleeman Centre and the Nighthawks winning 87-79 in Langley. In Fraser Valley’s win, Shane Gibson led all scorers with 23 points while Thomas Kennedy netted 21 points to go along with 9 rebounds. Cat Barber provided Guelph with 22 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds in the loss, while AJ Hess added 20 points, Ahmed Hill contributed 19 points and TJ Lall had 15 points and 13 rebounds. The Bandits had a 40-30 advantage in points in the paint in the win, and a 22-4 advantage in bench points. Free throws were also a difference maker in the first meeting, with the Nighthawks going 14-21 from the line at a 66 per cent rate.
In the second meeting, the Nighthawks went on a 9-2 run in Elam time to power themselves past the Bandits. Giorgi Bezhanishvili was a low-post force for the Nighthawks in the win, scoring a game-high 19 points on 8-14 shooting from the field and 2-4 from three, along with 7 points in Elam time. Cat Barber chipped in 15 points that included the game-winning bucket and Stef Smith also scored 15 points for Guelph. Gibson led the way with 16 points on 6-11 shooting for the Bandits while Alex Campbell scored 15. Both teams had balanced attacks with five players reaching double figures on each side. The Nighthawks were efficient from the field and beyond the arc, shooting 52 per cent from both areas in a winning effort. After giving up 10 offensive rebounds in the first half, Guelph regained focus on the boards in the second half, giving up just one offensive rebound.
Shane Gibson emerged as the number one scoring option for the Bandits this season and leads the team with 18.7 points per game, 4.4 rebounds per game and 1.3 steals per game on 48 per cent shooting from the field. Alex Campbell is a two-way weapon for Fraser Valley, averaging 13.3 points per game, 5.8 rebounds per game, and 1.6 steals per game and Marek Klassen showed off his elite playmaking in 9 games, averaging 10 points per game and 6.4 assists per game. The Bandits also have a strong frontcourt with Thomas Kennedy, James Karnik, Brandon Gilbeck and Maxie Eshoe. Kennedy is averaging 14.5 points per game and 8.3 rebounds per game on 64 per cent shooting from the field, while Karnik averages 15.9 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game.
“This Fraser Valley team has toughness. We have a lot of grit, a lot of good chemistry,” shooting guard Shane Gibson says, “We've had a lot of guys come in and out of the team, which has thrown off the chemistry, but somehow we've been able to bring it all back around and the core group of guys have been there.”
Meanwhile, Cat Barber has cut through defences all season and scored 19.6 points per game for Guelph to go along with 5.2 assists per game and 4.7 rebounds per game. TJ Lall has been a consistent two-way force for the Nighthawks with 10.2 points per game, 6.9 rebounds per game, 1.2 steals per game and 1.2 blocks per game. Ahmed Hill played all 20 games for Guelph and averaged 17.8 points per game on 44 per cent shooting from the field and 40 per cent from three. Mid-season additions AJ Hess, Maurice Calloo and Giorgi Bezhanishvili have all had a positive impact on the squad and average double-figures. Bezhanishvili has had the largest impact, averaging 15.2 points per game on 50 per cent shooting from the field while hauling in 6 rebounds per game.
The Nighthawks wrapped up the season as the second-best offence in the league behind Niagara with 87.7 points per game on a league-best 46 per cent from the field off of 17.9 assists per game. Meanwhile, the Bandits finished fourth in points per game at 85.9 on 45.1 per cent shooting, and they usurped the Saskatchewan Rattlers for the league lead in three point shooting, finishing with 221 threes made on a league-best 37.6 per cent.
Tickets for the play-in game are available at https://www.thebandits.ca/tickets.
Fans will be able to live stream all games including the playoffs on the CEBL’s OTT streaming service CEBL+, the CEBL’s official app, CEBL Mobile for iOS and Android devices, cbcsports.ca, the free CBC Gem streaming service, the CBC Sports App for iOS and Android devices and on NXT Level Sports in the U.S. As part of its playoff coverage, CBC Sports will broadcast the quarterfinal games Sunday, August 7, semifinal games Friday, August 12, and the Championship game on Sunday, August 14. For the complete broadcast and streaming schedule, click here. All times are subject to change.
The CEBL’s fourth regular season began May 25 and ends August 1. A league created by Canadians for Canadians, the CEBL is the largest pro sports league in the country with 10 teams located in six provinces. It has the highest percentage of Canadian players of any professional league in the country, with 71 percent of its current rosters being Canadians. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. The only First Division Professional League Partner of Canada Basketball, the CEBL season runs from May through August. Head to CEBL.ca for more information or follow us (@cebleague) on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.
