LANGLEY, B.C. , May 13, 2022 – The Fraser Valley Bandits announced Friday that the club has signed three-time All-Northeast Conference (NEC) selection and all-time leading scorer in Sacred Heart University (SHU) NCAA Division I program history Shane Gibson.

A 6-foot-2 guard from Killingly, Conn., Gibson scored 2,079 career points over four seasons for the Sacred Heart Pioneers. In 2011-12, Gibson’s scoring average jumped from 17.2 to 22 points per game and he led the entire NEC conference in scoring and finished fourth in all of Division I in points per game. That same season, his 43.3 per cent three-point percentage placed him first and 12th among all players in the NEC and Division I, respectively.

Since graduating from SHU, Gibson has starred and won championships in several of the top professional leagues around the globe; including a 2018 title with AEK Larnaca in Cyprus. Prior to winning a championship with AEK Larnaca, Gibson also won a league title in the Balkan International Basketball League (BIBL) in 2017 and an NBL Canada championship in 2016 with the Halifax Hurricanes. Gibson was named most valuable player of the BIBL for the 2016-17 season after averaging 16.8 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game.

Gibson’s winning pedigree and prowess as a deadly shooter with an ability to make his teammates better has made him a proven commodity in the international basketball world.

“Shane is an elite shooter and has proven to be a winner everywhere he goes. He has won multiple championships in different leagues and has always been a key player on those teams. Shane is a tremendous competitor and teammate. We know he will help enhance our culture,” said Bandits general manager Kyle Julius.

Gibson is in the middle of his eighth season of professional basketball. This past 2021-22 season, he played for KK Mladost Zemun in Serbia where he averaged 12 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.4 steals per game on 58.4 and 43.8 per cent shooting from two-point and three-point range, respectively.

“I am looking forward to joining the Bandits and contributing to a winning culture. I have heard nothing but good things about the support of the fanbase and the foundation that is being built in Fraser Valley. I can’t wait to get on the court with my teammates and to put in the work required for an exciting and successful season in front of our fans and in the community,” Gibson said.

Fraser Valley opens its fourth Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) season on the road on Wednesday, May 25 at 4:30 p.m. PT against the Ottawa BlackJacks. Following a three-game road swing to start the year, the Bandits will debut at Langley Events Centre (LEC) for their home opener against the Rattlers on Saturday, June 4.

Full and partial season ticket packages, as well as group and single game tickets are available for purchase at thebandits.ca/tickets . Fans are kindly asked to call (604) 866-0529 or email [email protected] for any questions or ticket related inquiries.

Fans can also fill out this form to register their interest for tickets and to arrange to be contacted directly by a team representative.

All CEBL regular season games will be livestreamed on the free CBC Gem streaming service, cbcsports.ca , the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices and CEBL+ .

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