Matthew Winick
The Fraser Valley Bandits (5-4) will try to gather momentum from a too-little-too-late fourth quarter push as they avenge their loss against the Edmonton Stingers (9-1) at home on Tuesday night at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. local time.
After trailing by as much as 21 points, the Bandits outscored the Stingers 27-19 in the final frame, including getting the game to within three during the Elam Ending. Nonetheless, the hole the team dug was too large to climb out of, and Fraser Valley added another tough loss to its resume.
The road doesn’t get much easier this time around, as the Bandits and Stingers face off once again, with very different motivators. Edmonton is looking to be the first CEBL team to reach 10 wins on the season, while Fraser Valley is trying to avoid dropping a third straight game and falling to .500 for the first time all year.
Pressure on the Player of the Year
While the result wasn’t what head coach David Singleton and the Bandits wanted in game one of this four-game mini-series, they can at least be encouraged by the fact that they held last year’s Player of the Year, Xavier Moon, to just 12 points on 6-14 shooting, adding just three assists and five turnovers.
The scoring output was Moon’s second lowest of the season, and the five turnovers were the most in any game this year for the import guard. Noticeably, the fourth quarter – typically Moon’s time to shine, saw him score only two points as Fraser Valley mounted its unsuccessful comeback.
With the Bandits’ aggressive attack, and multiple players ready for the assignment, the team has the ability to continue to put pressure on Moon and make both scoring and facilitating difficult for him. Whether they can turn that pressure into a victory or not will be put back on display in Tuesday’s contest.
Battle of the Benches
Neither the Stingers nor the Bandits have particularly deep bench units, but success from their reserves could be a key towards pulling out a key win on Tuesday.
Edmonton put up just 19 bench points in Sunday’s win, while Fraser Valley countered with just 18. Neither team had a reserve score in double-figures.
Both teams do have capable players coming off the pine. The Stingers feature Adika Peter-McNeilly and Jahmal Jones, two Ryerson alumni who are steady, veteran presences for the squad. Meanwhile, the Bandits trot out Malcolm Duvivier and Gentrey Thomas, two microwave scorers who can get hot in an instant.
All told, there is certainly potential for one of these benches to explode on Tuesday. If that’s the case, whichever reserve unit can play a big role could lead to a win.
Playoff Picture
The 9-1 Stingers don’t have many worries when it comes to the playoff picture right now, as they’ve been atop the CEBL standings from start to finish this season. While victories continue to come for Edmonton, it won’t necessarily change the team’s outlook moving forward.
Current CEBL standings can be found here
Sitting in second as recently as Friday, the Bandits are now fourth, and are quickly losing grasp of the coveted second seed – meaning a bye to the semifinals. While Fraser Valley clinched a playoff spot by virtue of Saskatchewan’s loss on Monday, positioning is key moving forward. All CEBL games will be available for live streaming on the CEBL’s new OTT streaming service CEBL+, cbcsports.ca , the free CBC Gem streaming service, the CBC Sports App for iOS and android devices, and on Twitch.
A league created by Canadians for Canadians, the CEBL has the highest percentage of Canadian players of any professional league in the country, with 75 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 typically runs from May through August. Head to CEBL.ca for more information or follow us on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube