Tonight marks a historic occasion for both the Saskatchewan Rattlers and the Niagara River Lions. The two teams face off in their first-ever CEBL games and the inaugural CEBL game overall.

The Rattlers host the River Lions at 7 pm CT/9 pm ET at the SaskTel centre in Saskatoon.

Both teams feature numerous new signings and draft picks on their opening night rosters. For the River Lions head coach and general manager Victor Raso, there are a number of current and former U Sports players on his roster. It’s a league Raso is familiar with, having played five seasons with the McMaster University Marauders and the Carleton University Ravens. He also served as an assistant coach at Carleton after his playing career. Raso’s team will feature former Raven Guillaume Boucard as well as current Brock Badger guard Tyler Brown. There are also recent Ryerson University grad Filip Vujadinovic. Meanwhile, recent Brock grad Cassidy Ryan is on the practice roster and former Raven Kaza Kajami-Keane is
on the inactive list. The U SPORTS alumni carry experience with the Canadian national team (Kajami-Keane) as well as national and OUA championship experience and all-star accolades.

There are also bolstered by a number of NCAA alumni, including Dorian Pinson, Trae Bell-Hayes, Alex Johnson and others.

On the Rattlers side, they are also stacked with U SPORTS and NCAA talent from near and far.

Saskatchewan has local representation in current University of Saskatchewan guard Chan De Ciman and former Saskatchewan guard Michael Linklater, who has represented Canada in numerous FIBA 3 X 3 competitions.

Other U SPORTS products include former University of Windsor guard Alex Campbell, former University of Manitoba guard Justus Alleyn and University of Winnipeg forward Jelane Pryce. All three of them have played at the U SPORTS Final 8 during their careers and have been recognized as OUA or Canada West all-stars.

The Rattlers also carry a variety of NCAA and professional experience with Bruce Massey (Middle Tennessee University), Tavrion Dawson (California State Northridge University), Marlon Johnson (New Mexico University), Eric Kibi (Abilene Christian University) and Negus Webster-Chan (University of Hawaii).

Tonight’s match will be a historic milestone as both teams chase the honour of winning the first-ever CEBL game.