By Justine Jones
The top two teams in the CEBL are set to clash on Thursday night, as the Edmonton Stingers (6-0) travel east to take on the Hamilton Honey Badgers (6-1) at 7:00 p.m. ET at the FirstOntario Centre.
Edmonton sits atop the league standings and remains undefeated on the year, while the Honey Badgers have won six games in a row. Hamilton’s only loss of the season came at the hands of the Stingers, as the Honey Badgers fell, 91-87, on opening night back on June 26. To start the season, Edmonton had six players returning from their title winning roster and it showed early on in that game, as the Stingers opened up a 19 point lead after two quarters. Hamilton minimized turnovers and mounted a valiant comeback in the second half, thanks to a 30-point CEBL debut from Lindell Wigginton.
Now that the Honey Badgers have built chemistry together, tonight’s rematch is sure to be an exciting game.
Showdown of superstars
In his third season in the CEBL, Xavier Moon has continued to prove why he is the reigning two-time league MVP. Through six contests, the Stingers’ guard is averaging 22.3 points and 5.5 assists per game. Moon is a top-notch playmaker who is able to get his teammates involved by drawing the defence in, yet what makes him so dangerous is his ability to take it to the next level at any moment. The six-foot-two guard has produced record-breaking performances, including a 21-point first quarter against the Niagara River Lions on July 2. More recently, Moon tallied 19 points in the final frame in Edmonton’s win over the Saskatchewan Rattlers on July 8.
Tonight marks an intriguing matchup between two early Player of the Year frontrunners in the aforementioned Moon, stacked up against the Hamilton Honey Badgers’ Lindell Wigginton. In his first CEBL season, Wigginton has headed the Honey Badgers offence, and leads the league in scoring, averaging 24.9 points per game. The Dartmouth, N.S. native also is the CEBL’s top playmaker with 5.7 assists per game. This battle of the backcourt between Wigginton and Moon will be entertaining to watch, and will also be key in determining the game’s outcome.
Canadian content
While the entire league has solid Canadian talent, Edmonton and Hamilton each have homegrown players who put forth standout performances in the CEBL Summer Series last year. Edmonton native Jordan Baker took home the Canadian of the Year Award while Hamilton’s very own JV Mukama was a close runner up.
Baker has continued his successes from last season into Edmonton’s 2021 campaign. Through six games the six-foot-eight forward is averaging just under a double-double with 16.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Baker had his best performance of the year in Edmonton’s last outing where he scored 25 points and grabbed 14 rebounds en route to the Stingers sixth win of the season.
Mukama came into this season with an injury, but the Honey Badgers forward has still contributed to the team’s success thus far, averaging 10.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. The former CEBL First Team All-Star is beginning to hit his stride as in the Honey Badgers’ most recent win against Niagara he registered 16 points and six rebounds.
All eyes will be on these two leaders in Canadian basketball tonight.
Recent matchups
Another storyline to watch for is how these two teams start the game. Hamilton has looked in top form recently and is coming off a pair of hard-fought, close contests against its southern Ontario rivals, the Guelph Nighthawks and Niagara River Lions. Edmonton on the other hand has played its last three games against the winless Saskatchewan Rattlers. Tonight also marks the first time the Stingers have travelled to Ontario this season. Both the Stingers and Honey Badgers will be looking to assert themselves tonight as the CEBL’s top team.
All CEBL games will be available for live streaming on the CEBL’s new OTT streaming service, CEBL+ , c bcsports.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.