Niagara River Lions Announce 2020 Season Schedule 

St. Catharines, ON - The Niagara River Lions of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) announced Tuesday its 2020 season schedule. The River Lions open the CEBL campaign at home at Meridian Centre on May 7 versus the recently announced expansion franchise, the Ottawa BlackJacks.

The River Lions are highly anticipating their second season in the CEBL after a record-breaking summer which included earning the best record in franchise history with a 75%-win ratio, Head Coach Victor Raso being named Coach of the Year and several players earning individual accolades.

The River Lions schedule was announced at the Canadian Broadcasting Centre in downtown Toronto as part of the league’s complete 2020 schedule launch and the naming of CBC Sports as the CEBL premier media partner. All 20 regular season River Lions games will be streamed live on CBC Gem, CEBL.tv and the Island Sports Network. Niagara will also be part of a nationally televised broadcast as part of the CBC Game of the Week when the River Lions host the Hamilton Honey Badgers on July 4 and when they travel to Saskatchewan on July 18.

Tuesday’s announcement also included naming Edmonton the host city of the 2020 CEBL Championship Weekend at Edmonton’s Expo Centre from August 14-16, 2020.

Niagara River Lions Season Tickets are on sale now, while voucher packs, group tickets and single game tickets will be available in early 2020. For more information on the Niagara River Lions visit www. riverlions.ca

Highlights of the Niagara River Lions schedule include:

• A total of 20 regular season games during the 14-week campaign.
• Ten home games at Meridian Centre
• Five Thursday night games, three contests on Friday and two games on Saturday
• Five games versus the Hamilton Honey Badgers (three home, two away), and four games (two home, two away) against other Ontario Opponents, Guelph and Ottawa.
• Three games against reigning CEBL Champions, Saskatchewan, and a pair of contests against Fraser Valley and Edmonton.
• The River Lions will visit Hamilton on May 23 for a rematch of the 2019 Championship Weekend Semi-finals
• Nationally televised games on CBC when the River Lions host Hamilton on July 4 and visit Saskatchewan on July 18.
• The lone visit by the reigning CEBL champion Saskatchewan Rattlers on July 16
• The regular season finale on August 6 when the River Lions host Edmonton
• The team with the best regular season record will join host Edmonton with automatic berths into the four-team Championship Weekend showcase. The next four teams in the standings will play quarterfinal games August 9 to determine which two will advance to Edmonton.

NIAGARA RIVER LIONS 2020 CEBL SCHEDULE

Date Time (ET) Opponent Place

Thursday May 7, 2020 7:00pm vs. Ottawa Meridian Centre

Saturday May 9, 2020 7:00pm at Guelph Sleeman Centre

Thursday May 14, 2020 7:00pm vs. Guelph Meridian Centre

Thursday May 21, 2020 9:30pm at Saskatchewan SaskTel Centre

Saturday May 23, 2020 7:00pm at Hamilton FirstOntario Centre

Friday May 29, 2020 7:00pm at Guelph Sleeman Centre

Wednesday June 3, 2020 11:00am at Hamilton FirstOntario Centre

Friday June 5, 2020 7:00pm vs. Ottawa Meridian Centre

Friday June 12, 2020 7:00pm vs. Hamilton Meridian Centre

Sunday June 14, 2020 2:00pm at Ottawa Arena at TD Place

Friday June 19, 2020 11:00am vs. Guelph Meridian Centre

Saturday June 27, 2020 9:00pm at Edmonton Expo Centre

Thursday July 2, 2020 7:30pm at Ottawa Arena at TD Place

*Saturday July 4, 2020 2:00pm vs. Hamilton Meridian Centre

Thursday July 16, 2020 7:00pm vs. Saskatchewan Meridian Centre

*Saturday July 18, 2020 4:00pm at Saskatchewan Sasktel Centre

Saturday July 25, 2020 7:00pm vs. Fraser Valley Meridian Centre

Thursday July 30, 2020 7:00pm vs. Hamilton Meridian Centre

Saturday August 1, 2020 10:30pm at Fraser Valley Abbotsford Centre

Thursday August 6, 2020 7:00pm vs. Edmonton Meridian Centre

**Sunday August 9, 2020 TBD TBD TBD

*CBC Game of the Week – subject to change.

**Championship Weekend Play-In Game If necessary

2020 Championship Weekend at Expo Centre (Edmonton, Alberta)

Friday, August 14, 2020 TBD Championship Weekend Semifinal

Sunday, August 16, 2020 TBD Championship Weekend Final

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Media Contact:

Michelle Biskup, Director of Operations

mbiskup@riverlions.ca

905-802-1656

About The Niagara River Lions

The Niagara River Lions are one of the original six teams of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL). Playing out of Meridian Centre in downtown St. Catharines, the River Lions represent the twelve municipalities of the Niagara Region while living up to the River Lions moniker of pride and strength of community. Visit www.riverlions.ca for more information.

About Canadian Elite Basketball League

The Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) is a new basketball experience that features world class professional basketball in a fan-friendly entertainment environment across seven cities in Canada. The 2019 inaugural season saw more than 100 Canadian and international players take to the court, culminating with the Saskatchewan Rattlers earning the first CEBL championship trophy. CEBL players come from NBA G-League clubs, top NCAA programs, the Canadian national program, U SPORTS and other Division 1 FIBA leagues. As the First Division Professional League partner of Canada Basketball, the CEBL is set to start its second season in May 2020. All games are live streamed on the CBC Gem app, CEBL.TV and the Island Sports Network. Head to cebl.ca or follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook to learn more.