Just one blemish. A single loss. It’s all that separated the defending CEBL champion Edmonton Stingers from a perfect 2021 regular season. Hosting the CEBL Championship Weekend as the league’s top seed, the Stingers will get a chance at redemption when they face the surprising sixth-seeded Ottawa BlackJacks in Friday’s second semifinal contest. The BlackJacks were producers of that “one” in the Edmonton loss column.

Watch live at 9:30 p.m. ET on CBC Gem, CEBL+. 
Replay on CBC TV Saturday at 2 p.m. ET.
 
It was July 17 in the nation’s capital when Ottawa upset the Stingers, slowing down the pace of the game and walking away with a  79-74  victory in front of the first home crowd at the Arena at TD Place and on the CBC TV Game of the Week. The BlackJacks held the league’s top scorer, Xavier Moon, to 17 points before he fouled out late in the game.

The contest was the most memorable of a BlackJacks regular season that produced just four wins. Ottawa was a team that saw a lot of personnel changes, resulting in nine different starting lineups. Conversely, Edmonton has been a model of consistency, keeping many of the players that raised the CEBL championship trophy last season. 

Friday night’s semifinal is being billed as a classic “David versus Goliath” matchup. However, it’s been a while since the Stingers have been in game mode. While rest and recovery are huge benefits this time of the season, a little rust might have to be removed early in the game. Edmonton has not played since August 6 against Fraser Valley, after having earned a direct berth to the league’s finale by virtue of their 13-1 mark in the regular season.

The Stingers have been the class of the CEBL again this season. They are the only squad to have defeated every team in the league and sported a perfect 7-0 record at home - the same place where the CEBL Championship Weekend is being held. 

Two-time league MVP Xavier Moon will have the spotlight on him again when these two teams meet at Expo Centre. The pride of Goodwater, Alabama, who is a finalist again for the league’s top individual prize, continued his dominance on the CEBL in 2021. He averaged a league-best 22.9 points to go along with 4.8 assists – good enough for third in the league rankings. Look for CEBL U SPORTS Player of the Year finalist, Alain Louis, to spend a lot of time in front of Moon. He is one of the best ball defenders in the league and will be key to Ottawa’s success against the Stingers on Friday night.

While Moon receives much of the headlines, the Stingers’ success has come from more than one source. Jordan Baker, last year’s Canadian Player of the Year, has continued to be a force in the league, contributing 14.9 points and 10.1 rebounds (second in the CEBL) during the regular season. However, the x-factor for Edmonton has been the addition of Marlon Johnson, who came to the Stingers after winning a CEBL title with Saskatchewan in 2019. Johnson has been a clutch player for his new team, netting the game-winning shot in Elam Ending five times - the second most in the CEBL behind Hamilton’s Lindell Wigginton. 

How They Got Here

The BlackJacks surprised the Hamilton Honey Badgers and the entire league with a  96-94  upset win at FirstOntario Centre on Saturday in the first CEBL quarterfinal. Kadre Gray set the CEBL playoff record with 32 points, and newcomer Chad Posthumus became the first player to record a 20-20 in the playoffs, with 24 points and 20 rebounds. What was most impressive for Ottawa was it used a makeshift roster with only a handful of regulars in the lineup due to Covid-19 protocols (all BlackJacks players and staff tested negative in subsequent testing). Giving pros added confidence is a dangerous gift. Despite their record, Ottawa is headed to Edmonton with fire in their eyes and a belief in each other.

Season Series

In their first regular season meeting July 5, Moon recorded game highs of 25 points and nine assists, while teammate Adika Peter-McNeilly netted a bench-high 21 points as the Stingers handed the BlackJacks their third straight defeat,  104-87 , at Expo s  Centre. Ottawa forward Nick Ward registered a double-double by scoring a team-best 24 points (9-12 FG) in addition to a game-high and BlackJacks regular season-best 13 rebounds. The Stingers set CEBL season highs for triples (19) and three-point attempts (42). Eight different Edmonton players hit a shot from beyond the arc. The BlackJacks got to the line 31 times but shot just .580 (18-31 FT) when they got there. 

Playoff History

Friday night’s game is a rematch of the 2020 CEBL Summer Series semifinal when the Stingers defeated Ottawa,  88-75 , en route to their first league title. Not much has changed for Edmonton, but the BlackJacks have an entirely different roster on the court and a different coaching staff for this year’s playoffs. 

Don’t be fooled by earlier wins and losses. Regular season records don’t mean anything coming into this game. In a one-game playoff format, 40 minutes will determine who gets a shot at CEBL glory.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

The first semifinal game takes place Friday (7 p.m. ET, 5 p.m. MT, live on CBC TV) when the second-seeded Niagara River Lions (10-4) tip off against the fourth-seeded Fraser Valley Bandits (7-7), who dominated their quarterfinal game against Guelph,  104-84 , on Saturday.

Championship Weekend Schedule

Semifinals: Friday, August 20, 2021
No. 2 Niagara River Lions vs. No. 4 Fraser Valley Bandits (7 p.m. ET, 5 p.m. MT)
No. 1 Edmonton Stingers vs. No. 6 Ottawa BlackJacks (9:30 p.m. ET, 7 p.m. MT)
 
Championship Game: Sunday, August 22, 2021
Semifinal Winner 1 vs. Semifinal Winner 2 (4 p.m. ET, 2 p.m. MT)
 
All CEBL Playoff 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