Vancouver Bandits simply two wins from being topped kings of Canada

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It’s that point of 12 months when Mike Morreale, summer season warmth apart, begins to sweat.

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“I simply get nervous,” mentioned the Canadian Elite Basketball League commissioner.

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“It’s that game-day mentality; I believe as a former participant — particularly playoff time, common season I’m fairly good … I simply get anxious,” mentioned the CFL legend and two-time Gray Cup champ.

“I don’t know why, as a result of I don’t have a horse within the sport. I simply need the whole lot to go easily. Every thing ratchets up this time of 12 months.”

Welcome to Championship Weekend within the CEBL.

Langley hosts the occasion this weekend, the place one of many Vancouver Bandits or three different groups will emerge carrying the crown as nationwide champs.

Friday evening will see the 2 semifinals tip off; the Niagara River Lions tackle the Scarborough Taking pictures Stars at 5 p.m. adopted by the Bandits and Calgary Surge meet at 7:30 p.m. Each video games are on TSN4/TSN+.

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Sunday’s championship sport is at 4 p.m. on Sunday (TSN3/TSN+) on the Langley Occasions Centre.

Nevertheless it’s not simply hoops this weekend; there’s a large 3-on-3 match on Saturday, commissioner’s breakfast, coaches’ clinic, awards ceremony with an aerial shock awaiting attendees, and a live performance collection headlined by Juno-nominated artists SonReal and Boslen on Saturday. It’s just like the Last 4 meets condensed Gray Cup week.

“It’s my favorite time of 12 months,” Morreale mentioned.

“Creating championship weekend and actually making an attempt to show it right into a vacation spot for Canadian basketball and a celebration for Canadian basketball is absolutely thrilling. Vancouver to me, and particularly in and across the Langley Occasions Centre, it’s turn into a house for basketball in B.C. So I’m actually enthusiastic about what we will do to raise it to the subsequent degree.”

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That is 12 months 5 for the CEBL, and it’s grown to 10 groups, the newest being the Winnipeg Sea Bears, who have been a juggernaut in each attendance and ends in common season play. Coming into the playoffs, the growth workforce — coached by 2022 Bandits boss Mike Taylor — had damaged the entire Bandits’ league data for largest crowds in workforce historical past, now boasting the highest seven most attended video games — together with the ten,580 who got here to their 87-81 loss at Canada Life Centre to the Edmonton Stingers.

The Bandits expect capability crowds for all three video games this weekend, even when they’re not enjoying in them. Vancouver obtained a bye into the semifinal spherical because the hosts for Championship Weekend, which rotates between CEBL cities yearly. The Manitoba provincial authorities acknowledges the profit and financial affect the fledgling Bears have had, and have pledged $1 million in funding ought to Winnipeg get the 2025 competition.

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Whereas the Bandits are one of many groups with the perfect attendance, they’re nonetheless pushing to interrupt by into the mainstream consciousness of sports activities followers within the Decrease Mainland. Internet hosting this weekend is very large for the group.

“What you have got at each Bandits sport is the hardcore followers, the season-ticket holders which might be going to be there it doesn’t matter what. They usually’re there for the basketball. They take pleasure in that it’s being performed in an entertaining method and sport day expertise,” mentioned Bryan Slusarchuk, who, together with Kevin Dhaliwal, bought franchise possession of the Bandits from the single-entity CEBL in 2022.

“The flip facet of that’s the informal fan. Championship weekend — due to the entire different stuff taking place, due to the elevated expertise, the festival-type ambiance — will entice some first-time attendees that haven’t seen an expert basketball sport earlier than. And what we need to do is use championship weekend to show these individuals to the sport, convert a few of them into actual followers that find yourself coming to a number of video games subsequent 12 months.”

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In a notoriously fickle area, one of the simplest ways to do this is to have a winner.

The CEBL is a remarkably aggressive league, with no single membership separating itself from the pack within the 2023 season.

Calgary, Vancouver’s semifinal opponent, completed atop the West Division, however have been simply 12-8. Niagara earned a berth within the semifinals by ending atop the East and league total with a 13-7 file. Scarborough was third within the East (11-9).

And Vancouver (8-12, 4th West) holds a 4-1 file towards these three groups. After a 1-4 begin to the 12 months, the Bandits have began to peak on the proper time, knocking off Ottawa and Scarborough — who have been tied for first within the East on the time — with game-winning pictures of their final two video games.

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“Profitable these final two towards nice groups within the East I believe has the entire guys actually, actually energized,” mentioned Slusarchuk, who was courtside for Giorgi Bezhanishvili’s come-from-behind, Elam-winning three-pointer towards the Stars two weeks in the past.

“It’s like every league; it’s not the way you begin, it’s the way you end. And this league is such a dash. There’s so many video games condensed into a comparatively brief time frame, and momentum is the whole lot.”

The identical might be mentioned of the league’s success. The 12 months after launching, the COVID-19 pandemic shut down sports activities globally, however the CEBL was the primary North American League to renew play. Its endurance had been established. Its progress to 10 groups, and with non-public possession in different groups coming in following Slusarchuk and Dhaliwal’s buy, its progress has, too.

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“If we simply have a look at the metrics of impressions or media tales amongst main carriers throughout the nation and mass media, we’re beginning to play with the large boys,” mentioned Morreale. “That’s thrilling, however on the identical time, it means we obtained to at all times be higher and higher and higher, as a result of extra eyeballs on us means extra consciousness, extra issues that may probably go flawed.

“We’re nonetheless sufficiently small that we’ve obtained to be very sensible and the way we proceed to construct. We’re not so large that we simply take it as a right. Seeing it form of play out and changing into extra mainstream and extra part of the material of the sporting neighborhood, it brings with it some actually good challenges however it additionally brings with it plenty of pleasure to have the ability to ship that product to folks that haven’t seen it earlier than.”

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WHAT’S HAPPENING

• Championship weekend will see the 2 semifinals on Friday evening (5/7:30 p.m.), and the ultimate Sunday afternoon (4 p.m.). All video games are on the Langley Occasions Centre and shall be televised on TSN.

• The Commissioner’s Breakfast, that includes audio system together with Morreale, former nationwide workforce participant Kim Smith and Drew Inexperienced, CEO of Indochino, goes Friday morning (8:30 a.m.) on the LEC.

• The live performance from Juno nominated artists SonReal and Boslen goes Saturday evening at Good Co. Granville (965 Granville St., Vancouver), with doorways opening at 6:30 p.m. and the present beginning at 8 p.m.

• A coaches’ clinic, the place the perfect from throughout the CEBL will speak and provides demonstrations on basketball programs, scouting, tradition improvement, observe drills and extra, runs 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturday. It contains lunch.

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• The Bandits 3X3 Clutch Event has reached its capability of groups, however spectators can watch the motion on the LEC.

BANDIT TO WATCH

Nick Ward: The primary-year Bandit and fifth-year professional has been a monster within the paint. The 6-9 ahead out of Michigan State has 14 double-doubles this 12 months, together with his 28-point, 15-rebound efficiency towards Calgary. He’s sixth in scoring (18.5 ppg) and rebounding (8.0 rpg) however leads the CEBL in discipline purpose proportion (61.9 per cent)

THE J. COLES NOTES

The Scarborough Taking pictures Stars are again within the playoffs, however rapper J. Cole, who performed for them final 12 months, is just not. They beat Brampton 98-74 within the play-in sport, then downed the Ottawa BlackJacks 77-72 within the quarterfinals.

The opposite semifinalist, Calgary, downed the Edmonton Stingers 84-68 per week after the Alberta squad upset the Sea Bears 87-81.

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ELAM ENDING

A twist to the sport that at all times confounds newcomers to CEBL video games, right here’s the way it works.

The clock is stopped with 4 minutes left, and a goal rating equal to the main workforce’s whole, plus 9. The primary workforce to that rating, wins.

For instance, if the Bandits have been main a sport 78-72, the goal rating can be 87. The shot clock continues to be in impact, however the sport clock is turned off.

The Elam Ending was created to maintain video games from degenerating right into a free-throw fest of deliberate fouls and rushed possessions.

[email protected]

Twitter.com/TheRealJJAdams

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