The BlackJacks and Bandits look to bounce back from semi-final losses in 2021 with a good start to a new season.

The Ottawa BlackJacks will host the Fraser Valley Bandits to open the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) season on Wednesday in the nation’s capital at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT at TD Place Arena. The matchup is one of three games that tip-off the 2022 CEBL season on Wednesday night.

This will be the fourth all-time meeting between Ottawa and Fraser Valley, with the BlackJacks winning two of the first three meetings. The BlackJacks defeated the Bandits 90-84 in their last meeting at TD Place in June, backed by a huge first quarter performance.

Both teams will look to improve on their 2021 campaigns in the season opener. Ottawa and Fraser Valley each reached the semi-final last season only to lose to the Edmonton Stingers and Niagara River Lions respectively. The BlackJacks finished the 2021 regular season in 6th place with a 4-10 record while the Bandits earned a 4th place finish with a 7-7 record.

Ottawa enters the season with a squad built by General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Jevohn Shepherd. Charles Dubé-Brais returns for his second season as Ottawa BlackJacks head coach with Tyrell Green, Ryan Wright and Chad Posthumus returning to the team from 2021.

The BlackJacks’ roster features six Ontario natives including two players from Ottawa. The natives of the nation’s capital also played collegiate ball at home, with 2022 additions Aiden Warnholtz of Carleton and Maxime Boursiquot of the University of Ottawa joining the team in the training camp roster.

Shepherd’s roster features veterans of pro basketball from throughout the globe, including two players with NBA experience. Walt Lemon Jr., a Chicago native, who played brief stints in the league with the New Orleans Pelicans and Chicago Bulls joins the squad in his first CEBL season. Lemon Jr’s wealth of experience in the NBA, NBA G League, Europe and Asia, along with his well-rounded game should allow Coach Dubé- Brais to make lemonade.

Additional NBA experience comes rolling in with Deng Adel, a Louisville alumnus from South Sudan who played 19 games with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2019. Adel also brings experience in the NBA G League and the NBL in Australia with the Illawara Hawks.

Meanwhile, the Fraser Valley Bandits enter the season with two returning players from the 2021 squad, including their team MVP Alex Campbell. Campbell averaged 14.7 points last season on 46 per cent shooting and 42 per cent from three. Campbell is a journeyman of Canadian professional basketball, playing seasons in Saint John, Windsor, and Charlottetown in the NBL of Canada and with Saskatchewan and Fraser Valley in the CEBL.

Campbell is joined by fellow returner Malcolm Duvivier. Duvivier was a key contributor for the Bandits for the last two seasons, averaging 10.2 points in 2021 and 11.3 points in 2020. He is also a veteran of Canadian pro basketball with stints in the NBL of Canada for the Sudbury Five and Halifax Hurricanes.

Fraser Valley will be led by a new head coach this season. Mike Taylor will make his CEBL debut as the Bandits’ bench boss on Wednesday. He enters the CEBL with an impressive resume as head coach of the Polish men’s national team, improving their world ranking from 42nd to 13th.

He inherits a roster constructed by General Manager Kyle Julius that is taylor-made for his coaching style. In addition to the returners, the squad is highlighted by two-time U SPORTS MVP Kadre Gray. Gray makes his return to Ottawa to face his former team after averaging 15.3 points per game along with 5.6 rebounds and 4.6 assists with the BlackJacks last season.

The roster includes homegrown talent as well. The squad features four British Columbia natives: Langley’s Ty Rowell, Delta’s Sukhjot Bains, along with Adam Paige and Sukhman Sandhu of Surrey.

The game will stream on CEBL+ live internationally and in Canada at cbcsports.ca, the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices and the free CBC Gem streaming service. Games are also available on the CEBL’s official app, CEBL Mobile, available on iOS and Android devices.

Ottawa BlackJacks season tickets are available at https://www.theblackjacks.ca/founding-season-membership-program . The Fraser Valley Bandits will have their home opener June 4th against the Saskatchewan Rattlers. Season tickets are available at https://www.thebandits.ca/season-tickets .

A league created by Canadians for Canadians, the CEBL 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 .