Saskatchewan Rattlers Host The Niagara River Lions in 2022 CEBL Season Kickoff
The 2022 CEBL Season kickoff is here and the Niagara River Lions travel to Saskatoon to take on the Saskatchewan Rattlers at 7:30 p.m. CT. The Niagara River Lions finished the 2021 season as CEBL runner up losing out to the to the Edmonton Stingers in the Championship final (101-65) while Saskatchewan missed the playoffs last year and finished seventh in the regular season standings.
With the addition of three new expansion teams, the season is longer than ever and the journey for teams from the beginning to Championship Weekend on August 12-14 in Ottawa will include twenty games. The first stop for the Rattlers and River Lions is the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
The River Lions brought back point guard Phil Scrubb in Free Agency, a guard from the Carleton Ravens who finished fourth in the CEBL in assists per game (4.8) while averaging 30 minutes per game and 14.9 points per game. There are also well setup with three Canadian guards who shared the backcourt last season in Daniel Mullings, Jaylen Babb-Harrison and Jake Babic.
Munis Tutu, a Carleton Ravens guard was during the offseason while Olu Ashaolu was brought back for another season in the frontcourt. Isaiah Budjoso was one of the River Lions draft pick in the 2022 CEBL U SPORTS Draft, from Loyola Chicago and most recently Brock University adding more depth to the backcourt. In 2021, Niagara averaged 84.6 points per game finishing as the fourth highest scoring offence in the league, while rebounding the ball 36.4 times a game and averaging 3.8 blocks per game, a testament to their paint presence. A stellar defensive team, the River Lions led the league with 9.8 steals per game.
The Rattlers have considerably rebuilt their roster going into their fourth season. Anthony Tsegakele was selected in the first round of the 2022 CEBL U SPORTS Draft from Brandon University, averaging 17.7 points, 11.9 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 32.9 minutes in 36 collegiate games. Ali Sow was brought into the Rattlers in free agency from the Laurier Golden Hawks U SPORTS program. Playing alongside their U SPORTS talent, Saskatchewan brought back Devonté Bandoo who has NBA G League experience with the Grand Rapids Gold after graduating from Baylor. Kemel Archer adds national experience alongside Dani Elgadi, two U SPORTS alumni from Laurier and Brock respectively. Archer took his professional career overseas playing in the United Kingdom while Elgadi played in Portugal for Esgueira. A bright sport for the Rattlers last season was their shooting from beyond the arc as they made 129 threes, with help with Bandoo finishing third in the league in both three-pointers made and three-point percentage with 43.4 percent and 43 made threes.
In the history of the two teams, the River Lions have only lost to the Rattlers once, on July 26, 2020 where they were defeated 96-79 during the 2020 Summer Series. Both teams have re-established their rosters and made key transactions during the offseason and time will only tell how the series between the two teams goes from here.
All games will be streamed live internationally on the CEBL’s OTT platform, CEBL+. and on the CEBL Mobile app for iOS and Android devices. Games will also be available to stream live in Canada via cbcsports.ca, the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices, and the free CBC Gem streaming service.
A league created by Canadians for Canadians, the CEBL has the highest percentage of Canadian players of any professional league in the country, with 71 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 runs from May through August. Head to CEBL.ca for more information or follow us (@cebleague) on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.