Vancouver Bandits & Connect FM Partner to Broadcast First-Ever Canadian Elite Basketball Game in Punjabi

The Vancouver Bandits (7-1) improved to 4-0 on the road this season with an emphatic 101-76 win over the Saskatchewan Rattlers (2-5) on Sunday evening. It was déjà vu for the franchise-record 3,518 fans in attendance at the SaskTel Centre as Vancouver took the second of four regular-season meetings in a similarly dominant fashion to their first matchup — now having won both by an average margin of 32.5 points. The Bandits used a full-team effort for their latest victory as seven different players made at least two field goals, while four scored in double figures. And just like he did last time against the Rattlers, Tyrese Samuel led the way with 21 points. Behind him was Izaiah Brockington, who scored 18 points with three triples, while Shamar Givance and Mitch Creek added 16 points each. “Really happy with the win,” Vancouver head coach and general manager Kyle Julius said post-game. “Pleased with the energy, togetherness and connectivity of the guys.” On the other side, Cody John spearheaded the Rattlers as their two-game win streak got snapped, finishing with a team-high 18 points. Meanwhile, Jamir Chaplin chipped in 16 points, while Grant Anticevich and Jordan Bowden off the bench scored 11 points, respectively. It was no secret that the Rattlers entered Sunday looking for revenge after last month’s home-opener was spoiled thanks to a 40-point loss to the Bandits — a franchise-record win for Vancouver. Saskatchewan head coach Eric Magdanz admitted as much pre-game, noting the rematch had been marked on the calendar. Unfortunately for his Rattlers squad, the Bandits' league-leading offence continued to prove troublesome as they shot 66 per cent from the field (12-of-18) in the opening frame. The hot start sparked a 13-2 run that helped carve out a 30-16 lead after the first. Practically identical to last time, when Vancouver led by 11 points after 10 minutes into the first matchup. “We had moments where we fought back, but that’s got to be consistent for 40 minutes,” Magdanz said post-game. “We’ve improved in some areas, but we have some growth yet to happen … we (previously) found success by playing together, playing as a team and we lacked that today.” The Bandits have now scored at least 100 points in six of their eight games and are the only team in the CEBL averaging 100-plus points per game. And it’s been done collectively as four Bandits (Creek, Kyle Mangas, Samuel and Curtis Hollis) rank top 30 in the CEBL for scoring. “Not trying to be arrogant, but we seem to be getting everyone’s best game,” Julius said on his team’s mindset entering the contest. “But when you’re one of the top teams in the league, everybody really prepares for you, and so we really thought today was going to be a significant challenge.” As has been the case for much of the season, Vancouver asserted their dominance by spreading the wealth as all five starters scored in the first quarter — led by Brockington, who had eight points on 3-for-3 shooting, including two triples. Also like last time, the Bandits held onto the momentum from there, building their lead up to 20 points (56-36) at the break. Seven different players on Vancouver finished the half with five-plus points, spearheaded by Mangas’s nine points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field. Unlike the first matchup, however, the Rattlers came out of halftime with a much better response. Rather than getting outscored by 17 in the third like the previous mid-May matchup, Saskatchewan won the frame on Sunday — the first-time beating Vancouver for a quarter this season — and chipped into the deficit, down 72-54. And that was largely thanks to John, as the Mississauga, Ont. native single-handedly scored the Rattlers' first 10 points of the quarter. “We played within our tempo, we played physically defensively and that let us get out in transition,” Magdanz explained when asked how his team found success in the third. But although Saskatchewan had already proven it could rally with the clock stopped — going on an 11-0 run in Target Score Time against the Calgary Surge on Friday for their second win — Sunday’s deficit proved too large to overcome. Ultimately, Vancouver’s game plan was similar to the first matchup, and it yielded similarly positive results. The Bandits focused exclusively on rim pressure and were met by little resistance, finishing plus-eight for paint points (50-42) while earning 10 more free throws than the Rattlers. “Proud of how we stuck to the game plan and attacked the paint first and really got ourselves going early,” Brockington said after the win. The Bandits went up by as many as 26 points headed into Target Score Time before Samuel tipped in a Hollis miss for the game-sealing score — providing one final dose of been there, done that as forward also made the winning basket the last time these teams played. Box Score https://www.cebl.ca/game?id=2600593

A full schedule of CEBL play wrapped up on the West Coast as the Vancouver Bandits hosted the Ottawa BlackJacks in a high-stakes cross-conference clash. The Bandits returned to the win column with a 95-81 victory over the BlackJacks at the Langley Events Centre, improving to 6-1 and reclaiming the top spot in the West after suffering their first loss of the season last weekend. Led by Mitch Creek, who finished with 21 points and nine rebounds, the Australian import maintained his consistent level of play despite a tight back-and-forth with the Eastern Conference visitors. “We understand that teams might be able to stay with us for three quarters,” Creek commented on playing a complete game as a team. “When we got to the fourth quarter, we really turned it up. We had each other’s backs, and we had that groove, confidence and swagger to come back… That’s the basketball we know we play and we’re excited to carry that momentum forward.” While it didn’t show on the score sheet, Kyle Mangas offered a steadying force throughout the night. He created opportunities from the back court with two steals, one block and a team-leading seven defensive rebounds. “Kyle didn’t have a great game offensively, but he’s so calm and confident,” said Bandits head coach Kyle Julius on the American import. “He’s so resilient and he makes a few plays in the end that going in the fourth quarter, his steadiness and maturity makes a big difference.” Despite the loss, Ottawa (2-3) did not go down without a fight as their bench contributed 42 points in the game. Quarterbacked by Christian Rohlehr, who neared a double-double of 11 points and nine rebounds. “They made that push for us,” said Rohlehr about the BlackJacks’ bench contributions. “They give the guys confidence and make us fight. We believe that we can get away with a win but we just couldn’t execute all the way.” Justin Jackson also made a key impact off the bench, scoring 12 points off the bench, shooting 4-for-6 and a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc. “Our bench has been really good for us,” BlackJacks head coach Dave DeAveiro commented on the full roster involvement. “They come in and they pick up defensively. They run their offense. They don’t try to do too much and just try to be solid.” The first half saw both teams trade momentum. The Bandits pulled ahead early with a 21-12 lead in the first quarter, but the BlackJacks stormed back in the second, outscoring the home team 23-17 to cut Vancouver’s lead to just 38-35 going into halftime. Ottawa’s second half comeback was heavily backed by their bench scoring with a combined 18 points before halftime and strong defense with 11 rebounds while generating a plus-6 to close the first 20 minutes of the game. The second half remained tight. Jackson’s hot streak—including three consecutive threes—kept the BlackJacks within one point entering the final frame, trailing just 65-64. But the final momentum shift went in the way of Vancouver. The Bandits immediately responded to their first sight of losing their lead they managed to maintain throughout the game. Opening the final frame with a 10-2 run in preparation for Target Score Time, they outpaced the BlackJacks. With less than three minutes left on the clock before time was stopped, the Bandits threw down the final gauntlet, bringing the score up to 86-74, setting Target Score to 95 points. From there, Tyrese Samuel and Curtis Hollis took over, dropping four and five points, respectively to secure the win and send the BlackJacks back on the road. For Julius and his roster, Friday night was an opportunity to put their training and preparation to the test. Starting the 2025 season with dominant wins over their opponents, they found themselves needing to shift and remind themselves that no win will come easily. Their 95-80 loss to the Calgary Surge was a reality check. “In Calgary, we found ourselves a step slow. We were lethargic, didn’t have a scout, didn’t have a shootaround—we were put in the trenches,” Creek reflected on their loss and how the Bandits returned to form for tonight, “We found ourselves going back and reteaching the basics, fundamentals, floor spacing—things that people overlook seven games into a season.” These resets, even throughout the game with so called “anger time-outs” (according to Julius) were reminders for the Bandits to regain their fight and play harder. As for Ottawa, the road ahead is tough as they try to return to a .500 record. “We’re going through rough patches,” DeAveiro admitted. “We haven’t responded the way we wanted to so we’ll go back and watch the tape to figure out ways we can manage those situations better… The big thing is staying together and probably keep relying on our bench to get us through tough situations like that.” Box Score https://www.cebl.ca/game?id=2600611

The Vancouver Bandits have announced today the following roster updates in advance of its Friday, June 6 game at home against the Ottawa BlackJacks at 7:00 p.m. PT: G Tristan Jass (lower body) is ruled out for today's game.