Such was the case for the Vancouver Bandits in the heartbreaking loss to the Calgary Surge in the

This year saw the Bandits’ historic season ended in a heartbreaking semifinal loss to the Calgary Surge in the CEBL Western Conference semifinal finishing the regular season with a franchise-best 19-5 record and the league’s top seed who were a mere two points away from advancing to the Western Conference final. 

But to the frustration of Bandit supporters it was a series of overturned foul calls in “Target Time” that opened the door for Calgary’s Gilyard II to seal the game with three free throws, ending Vancouver’s season in front of a stunned home crowd. 

The loss denied the Bandits a chance to face the Winnipeg Sea Bears at Championship Weekend, despite entering the postseason as favourites to capture the franchise’s first league title. 

The matchup began with both teams leaning on their regular-season strengths, but momentum quickly swung back and forth. 

Vancouver’s trademark physicality showed in the opening quarter, though Calgary erased a seven-point deficit in the final minute of the frame. 

By the second quarter, the Bandits’ missed opportunities and defensive breakdowns gave the Surge room to build a double-digit lead. 

Fouls began to pile up on both sides, slowing the pace and forcing rotations to adjust. By halftime, 

Vancouver trailed by 10 after Zach Copeland closed the gap with a pair of free throws. 

As they had all season, the Bandits surged in the third quarter.

Copeland drained a three-pointer to spark a rally, followed by two free throws that cut into Calgary’s advantage. 

The LEC crowd responded with thunderous energy, pushing Vancouver back into contention. Each basket and foul call drew roars from the stands as the Bandits closed the gap heading into the final frame. 

The fourth quarter saw emotions peak, with fouls dominating the pace of play.

By Target Score Time, the game was tied and on a knife’s edge — Vancouver needing nine points to win, Calgary needing 10. 

The Bandits edged ahead and were just two points away from victory when the officiating took centre stage. 

Three consecutive foul calls in Vancouver’s favour were overturned after video review. Moments later, Calgary drew a foul against Kyle Mangas on a three-point attempt. 

Gilyard II sank all three free throws to clinch the game, silencing the Bandits’ hopes and leaving fans in disbelief.

Despite the disappointing finish, the Bandits capped their best season in franchise history. Just days after their elimination, 

Vancouver players and staff collected four awards at the 2025 CEBL Awards in Winnipeg. Forward Mitch Creek was named Most Valuable Player, after averaging 24.4 points per game to finish second in league scoring. 

Creek also ranked among the top 10 in multiple statistical categories, including three-point shooting (48.6 per cent), free throws made (110), and steals (30). 

His 488 total points were the second-highest in the league this season and the fourth-most ever in a single CEBL campaign. 

Centre Tyrese Samuel earned Canadian Player of the Year and Clutch Player of the Year, after becoming the only player in the league to average a double-double — 21.4 points and 10.8 rebounds per game — while leading the CEBL in field goal percentage at 65.9 per cent. 

Head coach Kyle Julius was honoured as Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season, guiding the Bandits to the league’s best record, a +250 point differential, and top marks in field goal percentage, assists, and overall scoring. It marked the second straight season 

Vancouver swept the league’s top three awards, highlighting both the roster’s depth and the leadership guiding the organization. 

The Bandits may not have lifted the championship trophy, but their 2025 campaign raised the bar for success in the CEBL. With Kyle Julius steering the bench, 

Vancouver remains a contender moving forward — even as their season ended in shock rather than celebration.

Wait till next season – it’ll be even more exciting than this one!!!!

The post Bandits’ Historic Season Ends In Semifinal Loss first appeared on SportsWave Broadcasting.

The Championship weekend is played in Winnipeg with the award event held at The Metropolitan Entertainment Centre Thursday evening which was the first official event of 2025 Championship Weekend (CW25).

Enjoy the read:

The Vancouver Bandits took home four awards, including forward Mitch Creek, who earned top honours as Most Valuable Player. 

Centre Tyrese Samuel was named both Canadian Player of the Year and Clutch Player of the Year, while Kyle Julius secured Coach of the Year honours for the second consecutive season.

This also marked the second straight year the Bandits swept the CEBL’s top three awards (MVP, Canadian Player, and Coach), repeating the feat achieved by Tazé Moore, Koby McEwen, and Julius in 2024.

The full list of award winners is as follows:

2025 CEBL Award Winners

Most Valuable Player:  Mitch Creek (Vancouver Bandits)

Canadian Player of the Year:  Tyrese Samuel (Vancouver Bandits)

Coach of the Year:  Kyle Julius (Vancouver Bandits)

Sixth Man of the Year:  Zane Waterman (Ottawa BlackJacks)

Defensive Player of the Year:  Jameer Nelson Jr. (Calgary Surge)

Developmental Player of the Year:  Isaac Simon (Saskatchewan Rattlers)

Clutch Player of the Year:  Tyrese Samuel (Vancouver Bandits)

Fox 40 Officiating Recognition Award: Karl Toulouse

Creek’s leadership and production were instrumental in Vancouver’s league-best 19-5 record this season. He finished second in the CEBL in scoring with 24.4 points per game, ranked third in three-point percentage (48.6%), and fourth in field goal percentage (58.4%). 

The 6-foot-5 Australian’s 488 total points were the second-highest in the league in 2025 and the fourth-most ever recorded in a single CEBL season.

He also ranked among the league’s top 10 in several other categories, including free throws made (2nd – 110), field goals made (3rd – 171), minutes played (6th – 687.7), and steals (9th – 30).

Photo’s below taken at the Langley Events Centre with the left one from Sportswave and the one on the right taken by Jagraj Lalli.

In his first CEBL season, Samuel was a dominant force for the Bandits and the only player in the league to average more than 20 points (21.4) and 10 rebounds (10.8) per game.

Despite playing just 15 games, the Canadian big man tied for the league lead with six Target Score Winners, earning the Clutch Player of the Year award via a tiebreaking vote over Calgary’s Sean Miller-Moore. He also led the CEBL in field goal percentage (65.9), ranked third in rebounds per game, and tied for third with eight double-doubles.

Julius led Vancouver to a .792 winning percentage (19-5) in 2025 — the highest ever over a full, non-pandemic-shortened CEBL season — even with the league’s longest and most demanding schedule to date (24 games).

The Bandits posted a league-best +250 point differential, more than 50 points ahead of the next closest team, while boasting the top-ranked offence and fourth-ranked defence. 

Vancouver finished first in total points (2,372), field goals made (868), field goal percentage (48.2), three-pointers made (277), three-point percentage (38.4) and assists (558), and ranked second in steals (208).

Despite their high-paced offence, the Bandits committed the third-fewest turnovers (328) and allowed the fourth-fewest points (2,122).

Waterman played a significant role off the bench for the Ottawa BlackJacks this summer and was a key contributor to the team’s strong second-half surge, helping secure second place in the Eastern Conference. 

In just 14 games, he was part of nine wins, averaging 15.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 23.1 minutes per game, while shooting 52.9 per cent from three-point range.

Nelson Jr. delivered a strong two-way performance for Calgary in 2025, making a particularly significant impact on defense. 

He set a new CEBL single-season steals record with 57 in just 19 games and added five blocks. His 3.0 steals per game led the league by a full steal over MVP runner-up Sean East II, and his total steals shattered the previous record of 44 set by Lloyd Pandi in 2024 by 13. 

He also showcased his offensive prowess last Saturday in the Western Conference Semifinal against Vancouver, scoring a CEBL playoff-record 39 points in a 105-103 Surge win to secure a berth at CW25.

Simon contributed valuable minutes for the Saskatchewan Rattlers in 2025, emerging as the top performer among this year’s class of Developmental Players. 

He appeared in all 24 games — including six starts — and averaged 4.7 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists per contest. 

Simon will return to the University of Alberta Golden Bears for the upcoming U SPORTS season.

Toulouse, a day-one member of the CEBL as Manager of Minor Officials, was honoured with the Fox 40 Officiating Recognition Award. 

He oversees 150 minor officials across all 10 CEBL markets, audits numerous games nationwide to ensure statistical accuracy, and has attended every CEBL Championship Weekend to support score table staff. 

A member of the Toronto Raptors stats crew since the team’s inception in 1995, Toulouse exemplifies the spirit of basketball development in Canada through more than 30 years of dedication and high-level performance.

The 2025 All-CEBL First, Second, and All-Canadian Teams were also revealed at the CEBL Awards:

All CEBL First Team:  Greg Brown III (Calgary Surge), Mitch Creek (Vancouver Bandits), Sean East II (Edmonton Stingers), Javonte Smart (Ottawa BlackJacks), Donovan Williams (Scarborough Shooting Stars)

All CEBL Second Team:  Khalil Ahmad (Niagara River Lions), Jameer Nelson Jr. (Calgary Surge), Tyrese Samuel (Vancouver Bandits), Simi Shittu (Winnipeg Sea Bears), Terquavion Smith (Scarborough Shooting Stars)

CEBL All-Canadian Team:  Keon Ambrose-Hylton (Edmonton Stingers), Quincy Guerrier (Montréal Alliance), Sean Miller-Moore (Calgary Surge), Tyrese Samuel (Vancouver Bandits), Simi Shittu (Winnipeg Sea Bears)

Award nominees, winners and All-CEBL First, Second, and All-Canadian Teams are determined by votes cast by the league’s head coaches, general managers, assistant coaches, select league broadcasters, and internal media personnel. 

Team representatives are prohibited from voting for a player or head coach from their own team.

All CEBL award winners will receive a customized ring from Jostens, the Official Supplier of Award Rings of the CEBL; a custom trophy from protocole, crafted from maple and solid metal with a silkscreened CEBL logo; and a special gift from the league’s partner, Foot Locker.

The Conference Finals doubleheader at CW25 on Friday, August 22 featured the defending champion Niagara River Lions defeat the Scarborough Shooting Stars in the East matchup by a 93-91 margin.

The which following game by the host Winnipeg Sea Bears facing the Calgary Surge in the West Championship game that saw Calgary pull out a 90-79 win to advance to the final.

Ticket and event information is available at cebl.ca/championshipweekend.

The post CEBL Award Winners first appeared on SportsWave Broadcasting.

A few years later, the tournament was officially announced on July 8, debuting during the 2023-2024 NBA season.
Also known as the Emirates NBA Cup due to the airline company’s sponsorship, the NBA’s in-season tournament will be renamed the NBA Cup in the upcoming season. 

Taking place during the regular season, the multi-stage tournament follows a group play format, where 30 NBA teams compete for the NBA Cup. 

The 2023 edition of the tournament boasted a cash prize of $500,000, which went to the Los Angeles Lakers and tournament MVP LeBron James.

Part of the goal for the newly renamed NBA Cup is to help drive interest in a part of the season when casual sports fans’ attention is focused on football.

This season’s tournament began on November 12, with each team playing four group games against each other. 

The top four teams then advance to the knockout round to battle it out for the top four placement in Las Vegas, culminating in a championship game on December 17.

Based on the groups announced, fans are keeping a close eye on West Group C, which consists of the Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks, New Orleans Pelicans, Golden State Warriors, and Memphis Grizzlies. 

The group’s collective competitive power has earned it the ominous nickname “Group of Death.” Meanwhile, the reigning NBA Cup winners Lakers are grouped with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz, and San Antonio Spurs in West Group B.

If you missed last year’s inaugural NBA Cup season, this year is a good time to catch up. Fortunately, there are many things you can do to elevate the NBA fan experience throughout the ongoing NBA Cup. 

Below, we’ll take a look at some of the ways fans can make the most of the NBA Cup 2024 experience:
NBA betting

Aside from attending NBA Cup matches in person, there’s no better way to keep up with the tournament than to stream them online. 

Coverage of the NBA Cup is split across various ways, including online streamers such as DirecTV Stream, Sling TV, Hulu+ Live TV, and FuboTV. Meanwhile, cable users who prefer traditional channels can access NBA Cup games through ESPN, TNT, and NBA TV.

To take your NBA viewing experience to the next step, many avid basketball fans are now actively betting on games. 

In a survey looking forward to the NBA Finals this year, new data shows that consumer intent to bet on the NBA Finals has gone up by a notable margin from 2023. 19% of American adults aged 21 and up say they are at least “somewhat” likely to place bets this year, compared to the 13% recorded in last year’s Finals. 

Meanwhile, the latest CivicScience data revealed that 28% of US adults express some level of interest in watching the Finals, a mere one-point uptick from last year.

Nowadays, it’s very easy to access NBA betting odds online. Reputable betting platform Thunderpick is one of the industry leaders, where users can also place bets using cryptocurrencies while keeping track of games in real-time. 

You can also use the platform’s Live Mode to watch games and place bets on in-play events. 

Aside from straightforward odds, you can try out other NBA betting markets for more chances of winning, such as betting on Handicaps, Totals, and more. 

As long as you wager responsibly, NBA betting can help add to the high stakes of competitive basketball, keeping you immersed in the games.

Social Media

When not streaming or watching the NBA Cup games, one of the best ways to keep up with tournament standings and which teams are performing well is to stay tuned on social media. In fact, this is how many non-US NBA fans interact with the sport. 

According to Matthew Brabants, senior vice president and head of international content partnerships at the NBA, nearly 70% of the NBA’s social media engagement comes from outside the US. 

Brabants noted that this may be due to the time zone constraints that global fans may face when trying to keep up with live NBA games. 

For example, for European fans, NBA games take place during the night, making first—and third-party content platforms crucial for the NBA to reach audiences worldwide.

As such, the NBA has invested in making sure that NBA-related content is made as accessible to fans as possible, regardless of their device, from televisions to computers and smartphones.

Aside from following official NBA team accounts, many fans also enjoy following their favorite players, podcasters, and vloggers to keep up with the regular season and special tournaments like the NBA Cup.

Virtual match tracking

Finally, innovations in digital technology have made watching and keeping up with NBA games a fascinating and revolutionary experience. Switzerland-based sports tech company Sportradar recently introduced its proprietary 4Sight Streaming technology to create a new Virtual Live Match Tracker. 

This feature creates 3D visualizations of NBA games in real-time, allowing fans to view the action from multiple angles instead of being restricted to shots from cable TV or online streamers.

The technology was previously used in tennis and is now being adapted for NBA games.

In addition to the 3D visualizations, the system can analyze game data to generate predictive insights and animated overlays that help viewers better understand the action. 

In line with our subheading on the popularity of NBA betting, technologies like this can help avid bettors make more informed decisions while allowing fans and viewers to develop a deeper appreciation for the game. 

For the NBA nerds who enjoy in-depth stats and analysis, Sportradar also introduced Advanced Visualizations, which transforms NBA players’ skeletal tracking data into interactive graphics showing elements like player movement patterns and performance metrics. 

This is especially helpful if you’d like a more objective view of how your favorite players and teams are doing throughout the NBA Cup tournament.

Of course, you can always keep up with the latest reports on the NBA’s hoop action here at SportsWave Broadcasting. 

Whether you’re keeping an eye on Orlando Magic to see if they’ll continue their perfect streak of homecourt wins or looking at Franz Wagner’s trajectory as “Most Improved Player” in the league, we’ve got you covered.

The post The NBA Cup 2024: What it is and How Fans Can Make the Most of the Experience first appeared on SportsWave Broadcasting.

Since then we have been receiving various articles from them and this is one of the most recent so we wanted to share and pass it on for your reading.

Enjoy the article and thanks again to Cr!er Media for the article

It’s been no secret that the Eastern Conference looks considerably weaker than the West so far.

There has been a fair share of injuries to go around that have hindered the success of certain teams. 

Resting Joel Embiid and iPaul George’s knee injury have stunted the process in Philly, the Raptors have had their own health concerns in their effort for an ‘ethical tank’ and the Magic are hopeful to get Paolo Banchero back before Christmas.
However, the Magic have separated themselves from the rest of the NBA, let alone the Eastern Conference. 

Orlando is the only team in the league that has a perfect record at home, standing at an impressive 9-0. 

They’ve held their opponents to just 98 PPG on their homecourt, placing them as a top 3 defence league wide. 

That being said, each of the nine Magic home wins have been against teams that do not have records above .500. 

The Pacers, Bulls and Nets are the only teams Orlando has beaten at home that currently sit in the play-in tournament bracket.

Their next home game on Sunday will be the first against a team that has a winning record, as they welcome the 7 seed Phoenix Suns.

It’s still very early in the season as we’re only about a third of the way through with a lot of basketball left to play. 

A huge key to success has been the outstanding play of Franz Wagner as he’s been posting career numbers and is an early front-runner for ‘Most Improved Player’.

The Suns rank 8th in offensive rating league wide, with Kevin Durant being their lead scorer. However, he’ll be sidelined as he’s ‘week-to-week’ with a left ankle sprain. 

He’ll also be joined by center Jusuf Nurkic who’s been out for the last 3 games with a right thigh contusion.

This puts Phoenix’s scoring onus on star guards Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. 

Even with a stout overall defence, the Magic rank in the middle of the pack at 17th when defending against guards. They allow just over 22 PPG against shooting guards this season. 

The Suns rank about the same at 15th in the league so expect the majority of scoring to come from Franz and company, while trying to expose the center position as forward Oso Ighodaro will see expanded minutes in Nurkic’s absence.

Be sure to tune in as we’ll be bringing you all the live coverage from the Kia Center this Sunday, tipping off at 6:30pm EST.

Director of Sports at Crier Media and credentialed media for the NBA, MLB, NFL and NHL.

The post Report From CR!ER Media first appeared on SportsWave Broadcasting.

Since then we have been receiving various articles from them and this is one of the most recent so we wanted to share and pass it on for your reading.

Enjoy the article and thanks again to Cr!er Media for the article

It’s been no secret that the Eastern Conference looks considerably weaker than the West so far. There has been a fair share of injuries to go around that have hindered the success of certain teams. 

Resting Joel Embiid and iPaul George’s knee injury have stunted the process in Philly, the Raptors have had their own health concerns in their effort for an ‘ethical tank’ and the Magic are hopeful to get Paolo Banchero back before Christmas.

However, the Magic have separated themselves from the rest of the NBA, let alone the Eastern Conference. 

Orlando is the only team in the league that has a perfect record at home, standing at an impressive 9-0. 

They’ve held their opponents to just 98 PPG on their homecourt, placing them as a top 3 defence league wide. 

That being said, each of the nine Magic home wins have been against teams that do not have records above .500. 

The Pacers, Bulls and Nets are the only teams Orlando has beaten at home that currently sit in the play-in tournament bracket. Their next home game on Sunday will be the first against a team that has a winning record, as they welcome the 7 seed Phoenix Suns.

It’s still very early in the season as we’re only about a third of the way through with a lot of basketball left to play. 

A huge key to success has been the outstanding play of Franz Wagner as he’s been posting career numbers and is an early front-runner for ‘Most Improved Player’.

The Suns rank 8th in offensive rating league wide, with Kevin Durant being their lead scorer. However, he’ll be sidelined as he’s ‘week-to-week’ with a left ankle sprain. 

He’ll also be joined by center Jusuf Nurkic who’s been out for the last 3 games with a right thigh contusion.

This puts Phoenix’s scoring onus on star guards Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. Even with a stout overall defence, the Magic rank in the middle of the pack at 17th when defending against guards. They allow just over 22 PPG against shooting guards this season. 

The Suns rank about the same at 15th in the league so expect the majority of scoring to come from Franz and company, while trying to expose the center position as forward Oso Ighodaro will see expanded minutes in Nurkic’s absence.

Be sure to tune in as we’ll be bringing you all the live coverage from the Kia Center this Sunday, tipping off at 6:30pm EST.

Director of Sports at Crier Media and credentialed media for the NBA, MLB, NFL and NHL.

The post NBA Hoop Action first appeared on SportsWave Broadcasting.