The first ever CEBL game turned out to be the perfect launch to the league as the Niagara River Lions won a nail biter against the Saskatchewan Rattlers at the SaskTel Centre. The final score was 97 – 99.

In a loud SaskTel Centre, both teams got off to an aggressive start – FIBA rules definitely helped push the tempo up the floor. If that wasn’t enough, the Rattlers opened their tally with a tremendous 4-point play by Negus Webster-Chan which got the crowd to an absolute frenzy.

The Rattlers were ahead in both quarters and led at half time 45 – 51. The second half saw the River Lions push their defensive intensity. Guillaume Bouchard started scoring some valuable points for the Ontario team. He ended up finishing with 19 points with a healthy shooting percentage of 50%. He was also well supported by Trae Bell-Haynes who finished with 18 points.

The game went to the wire but Rattlers couldn’t complete a complete a late 10 point come back finishing two short. That being said there were a lot of positives to take for the Rattlers, particularly Tavrion Dawson who led in scoring and finished with 29 points.

The real story here was the historic launch of the league in the city of Saskatoon. On a day declared as Saskatchewan Rattler's day, the city and the entire country watched the launch of the CEBL, a league for Canadians, by Canadians. CEBL CEO, Mike Morreale, and founder Richard Petko as the league tipped off.

A league built for Canadians, by Canadians, the CEBL was also, live streamed on CEBL.tv for free as many tuned in from around the country to celebrate a brand new basketball experience.

For the full schedule and more details on the upcoming games, please head to cebl.tv.