By Justine Jones
The Saskatchewan Rattlers (0-2) return to the Abbotsford Centre looking for their first win of the season, as they take on the Fraser Valley Bandits (2-0) at 5:00 p.m. ET/ 2:00 p.m. local time.
This marks a rematch of both team’s season opener, where the Bandits emerged victorious with a 92-74 win.
Saskatchewan is still in search of its first victory on the season, after losing a heartbreaker, 73-71 to the Hamilton Honey Badgers on Monday. A deep three-pointer by the Rattlers’ Tevonn Walker tied the game at 71, but after the basket the Honey Badgers regained possession and won on an Elam Ending bucket by Lindell Wigginton.
The Rattlers’ opponent today, the Fraser Valley Bandits, who remain undefeated after topping the Niagara River Lions earlier this week with a convincing 104-81 win.
This is the second of four meetings for these two teams this season, with the other two matchups scheduled for August 8 and August 10 at the SaskTel Centre.
Strong Start
Fraser Valley has picked up two wins early on in the CEBL season largely due to strong rotation depth and a consistent effort from the top of their lineup to the bottom.
Former Saskatchewan Rattlers, Alex Campbell and Shaquille Keith, provided a boost off the bench for the Bandits in their season opener on Saturday. In game two, Kenny Manigault contributed solid energy when he checked into the game.
This roster has looked very good early on because of their ability to build chemistry quickly. These were considerations head coach Dave Singleton and general manager Kyle Julius weighed when constructing the Bandits’ roster for the year.
“It’s how we train and also how we recruited the players. I think that’s in their DNA,” said head coach Dave Singleton. “How we’ve trained up until this point has prepared them for these type of situations.”
In their win over the Niagara River Lions on Tuesday night, the Bandits had seven players score in double digits. Fraser Valley was able to set the tone early with their tenacity on defence and on-ball pressure that forced the River Lions into turnovers. They were able to get out in transition early and often, and converted these steals into layups and three-pointers.
The Bandits came ready to play and led from start to finish, something that was not apparent in their season opener against the Rattlers. In game one, the Bandits fell behind early as Saskatchewan opened up a nine-point lead after the first quarter. A strong start to the game will be key if Fraser Valley wants to improve to 3-0.
Front court forces
Some central contributors for the Rattlers so far this season have been in their front court. In Saskatchewan’s season opener, forward JaKeenan Gant led the way for the Rattlers tallying 22 points on 61 per cent shooting. On Tuesday night, Gant scored 13 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. The six-foot-eight forward has showed his versatility early on this season, draining three-pointers while also being dominant around the rim.
Another frontcourt force for the Rattlers is offseason acquisition Travis Daniels. Daniels was named a CEBL First Team All-Star in both 2019 and 2020, and was an integral part of the Edmonton Stingers’ championship winning roster last summer. He has since taken his talents to Saskatchewan and has been solid for the Rattlers early on, scoring 14 points in his debut, and adding 13 points in the team’s second contest.
Despite their 0-2 record, the Rattlers can be encouraged with their improvements from game one to game two. Specifically, the team took better care of the ball, recording six less turnovers in their second match compared to their season opener.
“Anytime you have a setback, it’s an opportunity to learn from it and to grow and to get better,” said head coach Chad Jacobson after the Rattlers’ opening night loss. “It is a longer season, we have 13 more games, we definitely need to be better and clean things up but we can’t hit the panic button after one game.”
All CEBL 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.
Media Contact
Ansh Sanyal
Director, Brand & Marketing
CEBL
[email protected]