CEBL Summer Series: The Final

On Championship Sunday of the Canadian Elite Basketball League’s 2020 Summer Series, the Edmonton Stingers met the Fraser Valley Bandits at the Meridian Centre in St. Catharines, Ontario. The perennially powerful Albertan squad was seeking retribution for its upset loss to the Saskatchewan Rattlers in the 2019 semifinals. The BC side, the lovable losers of the CEBL's inaugural season, were looking to complete a worst-to-first turnaround.

The Stingers and the Bandits played closely-contested, defensive basketball throughout the first two quarters of the final, trading the lead repeatedly. Edmonton fought their way into a 39-35 advantage going into halftime, due largely to fifteen points from their emotional leader, Xavier Moon, 2019 CEBL Player of the Year. After a cool first half, the Stingers' Jordan Baker established himself as more of a factor in the third quarter, and Edmonton expanded its lead into double digits. The Stingers weathered Fraser Valley's fourth quarter surges, transforming turnovers into more points and building up a commanding lead. Going into the Elam Ending, Edmonton led 81-63, making the Target score 90. Appropriately, it was Xavier Moon who netted the final free-throw shot to win the championship for the Stingers. Unsurprisingly, Moon was named MVP.

The CEBL trophy was processed into the arena not by the Mounties, as per last season's championship final, but rather by a medical doctor. This seemed more than fitting given the full-blown pandemic in which we live. The right to raise the trophy is much-deserved for Stinger's returnees such as Baker and Moon. This championship win may also provide some measure of solace for Stinger stalwart Travis Daniels, whose sister passed away earlier this week. 

And so the Edmonton Stingers received their due plaudits, though no one deserves plaudits more than CEBL Commissioner and CEO Mike Morreale. He has done praiseworthy work keeping his basketball brand in operation in the midst of a public health crisis, ensuring that a passable product was put on the court even in the face of COVID-19. A man of indomitable spirit, he is working to continue the growth of the league, having teased the possibility of a Montreal-area expansion franchise for next season. All told, Morreale's approach vis-a-vis the CEBL should be the template for how to start a fledgling sports league and to keep it running in a society where major league sports brands are increasingly hegemonic and epidemiological concerns in the public sphere are increasingly volatile. Viva la CEBL!

Rattlers Fold Against Blackjacks

The final game of the CEBL Summer Series was a do-or-die, must-win affair for the Saskatchewan Rattlers. Standing between the 1-4 Rattlers and the tournament's final playoff spot was the 2-3 Ottawa Blackjacks team, who were themselves fighting for a quarterfinal spot. The Blackjacks are an expansion franchise, the logo of which depicts an Argus-eyed rabbit in mid-hop, following after the general pattern of CEBL logos, such as that of the Rattlers, which features an Argus-eyed rattlesnake, and that of the Niagara River Lions, which features an Argus-eyed lion, and that of the Hamilton Honey Badgers, which features an Argus-eyed badger, and that of the Guelph Nighthawks, which features an Argus-eyed American nightjar, and that of the Edmonton Stingers, which features an Argus-eyed vespine creature (the only exception is the Fraser Valley Bandits' logo, which features a rather gimlet-eyed fox). A Blackjacks win meant the Rattlers' defense of their 2019 championship would end not with a bang but with a whimper, and without even so much as a playoff appearance.

At the outset, the Rattlers looked eager to defend their crown, perhaps for the first time in the tournament. They came out of the starting blocks with the pedal to the floor, building a quick 8-0 lead on the strength of two threes from Kai Williams. The Rattlers couldn't keep their foot on the gas in the second, though, and Ottawa fought back to tie the game at 23, and then built up a lead from there. The Rattlers couldn't muster a basket until the five minute point of the second, and managed only 9 points in the full frame. Negus Webster-Chan was a microcosm for the Rattlers' impotent offense, going into halftime zero-for-ten from the field. As a whole, the Rattlers appeared too tired to penetrate the perimeter of the Blackjacks' defense. Their unforgiving schedule, with two instances of games on back-to-back days, was evidently taking its toll on the Rattlers. The score was 38-32 Ottawa going into the break.

The Rattlers looked altogether out of gas in the third. They made a plethora of unforced errors, and the Ottawa Blackjacks converted these into points. The Rattlers' offensive attack was just that—offensive, in that it offended most every fundamental basketball sensibility. The only highlight of this third quarter, at least from your correspondent's perspective, came when the CBC's audio feed started glitching severely, the commentary suddenly sounding like a reading of William S. Burroughs' cut-up fictions. Ottawa led 60-43 at the end of three frames, as the Rattlers had only scored 21 points in the second and third quarters combined. 

The fourth quarter gave every indication that it would be the final quarter of the Rattlers' season. All throughout, Ottawa's lead hovered just over and just under twenty points. The Blackjacks' advantage likely would have well exceeded twenty had it not been for some flashes of brilliance from the Rattlers' Kemy Osse, who put down a few stirring baskets in the late going. Heading into Elam time, Ottawa led 78-59, making the target score 87. Mercifully, T.J. Lall sank the final three-pointer for Ottawa, giving them an 87-69 victory, putting them in the playoffs, and guaranteeing a new CEBL champion in 2020.

And so ended the Saskatchewan Rattlers' 2020 season, and with it their 2019 championship reign. The 2020 Rattlers will be remembered as a feckless, ragtag bunch, less a team than a motley collection of individuals adrift. Coach Chad Jacobsen failed to rouse, or even reel in, his charges, and these Rattlers played some very ugly basketball as a result. The Rattlers' Summer Series and their ouster therefrom was, in the end, in a word, unceremonious. 

Honey Badgers Stick it to the Rattlers

Somewhere amidst the glut of professional basketball, baseball, and hockey cramming TVs and video streaming services on a Tuesday afternoon in August, 2020, the Saskatchewan Rattlers took on the Hamilton Honey Badgers in a rematch of the 2019 CEBL championship final, and the Honey Badgers managed to avenge the previous year's loss with a 86-73 triumph.

The Honey Badgers jumped out to a 10-0 lead within two minutes, and the situation looked glum for the Rattlers. The Rattlers' three-point shooters looked more like bricklayers than basketball players. The Saskatchewan side trailed 30-14 after the first quarter, and all appeared to be lost for the scuffling snake-elementals. Then, slowly but surely, and due in no small part to the ball-distributing efforts of Saskatchewanese forward Kai Williams, the Rattlers tied the score at 33-33. Incongruously, Saskatchewan led 36-35 at the half.

The lead bounced to and fro between the teams in the third quarter, but in the fourth, the Honey Badgers pulled away. Saskatchewan couldn't sustain any sturdy offensive attack. Going into the Elam Ending, the Honey Badgers led 76-64, making the target score 85. Ex-NBA-er Brionte Weber put down the winning basket for the Honey Badgers.

With the win, the Honey Badgers have stamped their ticket into the Summer Series quarterfinals later this week. The Rattlers, meanwhile, will likely have to win their game tomorrow to get in. All told, neither team seems particularly well-poised to make a repeat appearance in the championship final.

Rattlers Stung by Stingers

The Saskatchewan Rattlers were defeated by the Edmonton Stingers by a score of 88-66 in a Saturday afternoon laugher in St. Catharines, Ontario. The Rattlers started with a lead in the first quarter, but, as with previous leads, it quickly evaporated, as his often been the case for the Saskatchewan side in this Summer Series. The Stingers, meanwhile, were driven by sparkplug guard Xavier Moon, the 2019 CEBL Player of the Year. Moon tossed three after three into the basket, precluding any chance for a Rattlers' comeback. Decidedly absent for the Rattlers was Negus Webster-Chan, who spent the entirety of the game on the sidelines. Moreover, point-producer Kris Joseph left the game prematurely for the banged-up Rattlers. The win hopefully provided a bright spot among shadows for Stingers' import Travis Daniels. Yesterday, Daniels' sister passed away suddenly, and Daniels is unable to leave Canada to be with his family, lest he be forced to quarantine. As if that wasn't enough, Daniels was shouldered in the groin while making a first-quarter drive to the hoop. Emotional and physical pain notwithstanding, Daniels helped set in motion the fast-break that led to the game-clinching bucket in Elam time, which was thrown down by the hardworking Edmontonian Jordan Baker. With the loss, the Rattlers fall to 1-3, and seem less and less likely to make a concerted defense of their 2019 title.

Nighthawks Soar Past the Rattlers

In their third Summer Series contest, the Saskatchewan Rattlers were defeated by the Guelph Nighthawks by a score of 87-71. The sole standout for Saskatchewan was Kevin Bracy-Davis, who put down some pivotal threes to keep the Rattlers close to the Guelph side in the first half. The Nighthawks' defense, however, wouldn't let the Rattlers establish any sort of sustained offensive attack. In the fourth quarter, mental lapses—turnovers, missed free-throws, etc.—ensured the Rattlers could not get back into the game. Going into the Elam Ending, the Nighthawks led 78-64, making the target score 87. In a matter of minutes, the Nighthawks' Tyrell Tate drained the winning bucket for the win off a rebound.With the loss, the Rattlers are 1-2 at the midway point of the CEBL Summer Series tournament.

Rattlers Outfoxed by the Bandits

The Saskatchewan Rattlers were defeated by the Fraser Valley Bandits by a score of 87-75 in a Tuesday night tete-a-tete between the CEBL's two undefeated teams (insofar as 1-0 counts as "undefeated") at the Meridian Centre in St. Catherines.

The Bandits look strong in the opening minutes, though the Rattlers quickly took back control and the lead, pulling well ahead by the end of the first quarter. Saskatchewan was up 49-38 at the half, and seemed as if they were poised for their second win. Fraser Valley managed to tie the game up in the third, and trailed by just two going into the fourth. In the final frame, the Bandits sneaked ahead. The Rattlers just couldn't score.  Negus Webster-Chan was able to drain a crucial game-tying three to keep things close as Elam time approached. The Bandits were up 78-72 going into the Elam Ending, making the target score 87. With the Bandits at 84, their stalwart spark-plug Marcus Capers was fouled past the three point line. He drained all three of his subsequent foul shots. Capers had been solid for the Bandits all evening, and so it seemed fitting that he would record the winning basket.

The star of the evening was the Bandits' Cam Forte, largely on account of his defensive performance. Forte tied the CEBL record for steals in a game with 6, a mark that previously belonged to the incomparable Bruce Massey, formerly of the 2019 Rattlers.

Another encouraging performance came from sideline reporter Amy Audibert, whose genuine enthusiasm for both the interviews she conducts and the action on the court is always unquestioningly conveyed. The most telling moment of the broadcast itself, however, was when color commentator Jevohn Shepherd mistook the Rattlers' totem animal for a bear. He seemed incredulous when he was informed that the team logo, and the "Rattler" it denotes, makes reference a snake.

With the loss, the Rattlers fall to 1-1. The Bandits, meanwhile, are the cream of the crop in the CEBL at 2-0, a complete about-face from their dismal 2019 campaign.

Rattlers Tame the River Lions

Just one month short of a year ago, the Saskatchewan Rattlers were crowned CEBL champions, and all was right and decent in the world. Flash forward eleven months, and we live in a nearly full-blown dystopia. In view of a global pandemic, we can't travel or gather in public places, and when we do leave the house, we don a mask...if we accept the coronavirus is real. Indeed, a significant portion of society believes that COVID-19 is a conspiracy concocted for purposes of resetting the economy or keeping Donald Trump from further terms or some other comparable nonsense. And so the virus spreads unabated. As a consequence, sports are played in empty arenas in "bubble" cities. 

The CEBL champion Rattlers should have been opening the season at home with the ceremonial unfurling of the 2019 championship banner from the rafters at the SaskTel Centre. Instead, with the virus not fully in check, the Rattlers had their "home opener" in the Meridian Center in St. Catharines, Ontario, home of the Niagara River Lions and the CEBL's designated "bubble" city. Here, the Rattlers will embark upon defending their crown in a "Summer Series," a single round-robin among the CEBL teams with playoffs to follow, all the games for TV viewers only. Their first opponents? The "visiting" Niagara River Lions. We suffer this unceremonious start to this stripped-down sophomore season in the interest of public health.

From the warm-ups onward, things looked much different for the Rattlers. The only returnees from the 2019 championship squad are Jelayne Price, Shane Osayande, and the venerable Negus Webster-Chan (hereafter NWC). More noteworthy were the absences: Chad Posthumus has entered his post-Rattlers life, and Marlon Johnson has left approximately seven feet of emptiness in the Rattlers' roster. Marlon Johnson made the Saskatchewan Rattlers. His absence is nothing less than a disruption of the psyche for Rattlers' diehards.

When the game commenced, the atmosphere was different, too. The CEBL referees are now using electronic push-button whistles rather than risking saliva-based coronavirus transmission via more conventional means of blowing down fouls. This has had only minimal impact on gameplay. More jarring, at least from the perspective of the Rattlers' faithful, was the empty arena. The absence of fans in the stands marked only a slight drop in attendance from typical 2019 games in gloomy Ontarian burgs like Guelph and Hamilton. Kudos to the CEBL for not putting cardboard cutouts in the empty seats, or for piping in crowd noise as per Major League Baseball. These innovations have succeeded only insofar as they have made the baseball experience uncanny, desperate, and surreal. 

More daring is the CEBL's adoption of the "Elam Ending," an Asperger's-ish alternative to the usual conclusion of basketball game. While the last portion of the fourth quarter conventionally devolves into strategic fouling and becomes decidedly drawn-out as such, the Elam Ending, named for the Mensa member/middle-school principal who invented it, diverges dramatically: the game clock is rendered meaningless after the first dead-ball with less than four minutes remaining. At this point, a "target score" (T) is determined by the formula T = n+9, where n equals the number of points held by the team in the lead. The two teams then shoot it out to reach this number and end the game. This guarantees that every game will end on a basket, rather than a bunch of pedantic intentional fouling. Moreover, it gives a glimmer of hope to teams down by a lot with only a little time remaining.

In the first quarter of the Rattlers' season opener, the home team (that is, the Rattlers) came out a bit flat, going down 13-5 after four minutes of action. The mood at the Meridian Centre was moribund. Girded in exposed pipes and industrial heaters, the St. Catharines arena gives the impression of a boiler room (at least on livestream). But the Rattlers came to life by the middle of the first quarter and snatched back the momentum, galvanized by none other than NWC. They took a convincing 50-39 lead into the halftime.

The River Lions showed some ferocity early in the second half, but couldn't claw back. Their perennial star, Guillaume Boucard, was conspicuous by his lack of offensive contribution. Meanwhile, former Rattler Ryan Ejim was as butter-fingered as ever beneath the basket, reminding us all of his Saskatchewan days. The Rattlers took an 86-67 lead into the Elam Ending, making the target score 95. Elam time dragged on, as the Rattlers couldn't buy a bucket, missing shot after shot. Both teams looked tired, particularly the River Lions, who'd played their series opener the day before. But in due course, Kemy Osse put the River Lions out of their misery when he drained the winning three-ball for Saskatchewan.

And so the game ended 96-79 for the Rattlers, marking an impressive start for the Saskatchewan side. The CEBL and the Rattlers are back, and so the world regains some vague semblance of decency. But with that said, so much was missing in this "home opener": there was no Ssswish stalking the sidelines, no Gregger running inane promos, and no Venom Girls twerking in synchrony (which may in fact be a progressive deletion). Alas, it's far better than no CEBL at all.