In the wake of the covid-19 pandemic, the league cancelled its schedule and ran an abbreviated “summer series” featuring a seven-team round-robin, followed by a single-knockout playoff.
Final summer series standings (7): Edmonton Stingers (5-1); Fraser Valley Bandits (4-2); Hamilton Honey Badgers (3-3); Guelph Nighthawks (3-3); Ottawa BlackJacks (3-3); Niagara River Lions (3-3); Saskatchewan Rattlers (1-5)
Playoff non-qualifier:
Saskatchewan Rattlers: Denzell Taylor (Toronto, Ont./Old Dominion); Jelane Pryce (Brampton, Ont./Ryerson); Negus Webster-Chan (Scarborough, Ont./Old Dominion & Hawaii); Kai Williams (Regina, Sask./South Dakota St); Kemy Osse (Montreal, Que./Arkansas-Little Rock); Kenny Ejim (Brampton, Ont./Humber); Rashawn Browne (Toronto, Ont./Manitoba); Robinson Opong (Quebec City, Que./Rogers State); Shane Osayande (Toronto, Ont./Saskatchewan); Kevin Bracy-Davis (Cincinnati, O./Davis & Elkins); Carl Brown III (Louisville, Ky./Cal State-Northridge); Kris Joseph (Montreal, Que./Syracuse); coach Chad Jacobson; assistant Nelson Terroba; video coordinator Mario Celebre
In the quarterfinals, the 3rd-seeded Hamilton Honey Badgers edged the 6th-seeded Niagara River Lions 85-83. Jean-Victor Mukama paced the Honey Badgers with 23 on 8-15 from the floor, 4-5 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 8 boards. Briante Weber added 16 on 8-17 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 4 boards, 6 assists and 2 steals. Kalif Young notched 13 on 5-7 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 8 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. Ammanuel Diressa added 10 on 2-4 from the floor and 6-8 from the line. Jaylen Babb-Harrison scored 8 on 3-8 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc and 2 boards. Cody John notched 7 on 1-3 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 2 boards. Alex Johnson notched 6 on 2-4 from the floor and 2-3 from the arc. Owen Klassen scored 2 on 1-4 from the floor, 6 boards and 3 assists, while Derek Cooke Jr, Lock Lam and Jermel Kennedy were scoreless. The Honey Badgers hit 30-64 from the floor, 10-19 (.526) from the arc and 15-19 (.789) from the line, while garnering 32 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 17 assists, 9 steals and 20 blocks. Trae Bell-Haynes paced the River Lions with 23 on 6-12 from the floor, 0-5 from the arc, 11-13 from the line, 2 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals. Kassius Robertson added 20 on 8-16 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards and 4 assists. Daniel Mullings notched 14 on 6-10 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 4 boards and 2 steals. Guilluame Payen-Boucard added 7 on 3-6 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 5 boards. Ryan Ejim scored 7 on 3-4 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 7 boards and 4 assists. Dorian Pinson scored 5 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 0-2 from the line, 5 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Tyrone Watson notched 4 on 1-3 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Emmanuel Owootoah added 3 on 1-3 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 2 steals, while Grandy Glaze and Sam Muldrow were scoreless. Glaze nabbed 3 boards. The River Lions hit 30-63 from the floor, 6-24 from the arc and 17-23 (.739) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 19 assists, 10 steals and 18 turnovers. The Niagara River Lions: Trae Bell Haynes (Toronto, Ont./Vermont); Guillaume Boucard (Montreal, Que./Carleton); Kassius Robertson (Toronto, Ont./Missouri); Dorian Pinson (Greenville, S.C./Lincoln Memorial); Ryan Ejim (Brampton, Ont./Carleton); Daniel Mullings (Toronto, Ont./New Mexico State); Tyrone Watson (Hamilton, Ont./New Mexico State); Emmanuel Owootoah (Toronto, Ont./Fresno State & Carleton); Ryan Anderson (Seattle, Wash./Nebraska); Sam Muldrow (Florence, S.C./South Carolina); Grandy Glaze (Toronto, Ont./Grand Canyon); coach & general manager Victor Raso; assistant general manager Antwi Antuahene; assistant Jeff Joseph; assistant Doyle Anthony; assistant Danielle Boiago; assistant Willy Manigat
In the other quarterfinal, the 5th-seeded Ottawa BlackJacks clipped the 4th-seeded Guelph Nighthawks 83-75. Olivier Hanlan paced the BlackJacks with 19 on 7-15 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 3-3 form the line, 6 boards and 4 assists. Thomas Scrubb added 17 on 7-11 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 3-3 from the line and 4 boards. Johnny Berhanemeskel notched 16 on 6-7 from the floor, 3-4 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 6 boards and 2 assists. Shaquille Keith added 10 on 4-10 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Lloyd Pandi scored 8 on 3-7 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-3 from the line and 5 boards. Eric Kibi added 5 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 5 boards. Munis Tutu scored 3 on 1-8 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 4 boards and 4 assists. Tajinder Lall notched 3 on 1-1 from the floor and 1-3 from the line. Jean-Emmanuel Pierre-Charles added 2 on 1-1 from the floor, 6 boards and 2 assists, while Isaiah Osborn and Kyle Landry were scoreless. The BlackJacks hit 32-64 from the floor, 6-20 (.300) from the arc and 13-19 (.684) from the line, while garnering 47 boards, including 6 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Tre’darius McCallum paced the Nighthawks with 17 on 5-15 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc and 5-6 from the line. Tyrell Green added 14 on 5-10 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 4 boards and 3 assists. Kimbal MacKenzie scored 14 on 4-14 from the floor, 2-9 from the arc, 4-5 from the line, 3 boards and 3 assists. Jonathan Arledge notched 11 on 3-9 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 4-6 from the line, 3 boards and 2 blocks. Jabari Craig scored 6 on 3-4 from the floor, 4 boards and 2 blocks. Corey Johnson added 5 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 0-2 from the line. Myles Charvis notched 4 on 2-5 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 6 boards and 6 assists. Olu Famutimi added 2 on 0-3 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards and 2 steals. Marcus Anderson scored 2 on 1-5 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 4 boards and 2 assists, while Joel Friesen and Tyrrel Tate were scoreless. The Nighthawks hit 25-70 from the floor, 9-31 (.290) from the arc and 16-23 (.696) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 6 on the offensive glass, 17 assists, 6 steals, 6 blocks and 8 turnovers. The Guelph Nighthawks: Olu Famutimi (Toronto, Ont./Arkansas); Kimbal Mackenzie (Oakville, Ont./Bucknell); Jamal Reynolds (Pickering, Ont./Canisius); Myles Charvis (Mississauga, Ont./Ryerson); Tre’darius McCallum (Myrtle Beach, S.C./DePaul); Tyrrel Tate (Calgary, Alta./Fayetteville St); Marcus Anderson (Brampton, Ont./Carleton); Joel Friesen (Abbotsford, B.C./Alberta); Tyrell Green (Toronto, Ont./U.N.L.V.); Corey Johnson (Ottawa, Ont./Harvard); Jabari Craig (Scarborough, Ont./East Carolina); Jonathan Arledge (Washington, D.C./Old Dominion); coach & general manager Charles Kissi; assistant Mike Rao; assistant/player development Arsalan Jamil; assistant Wumi Agunbiade; assistant Bob Urosevic; assistant Chris Rao; assistant Mike Girling; video coordinator Kareem Thawer.
In the semis, the top-seeded Edmonton Stingers dusted the 5th-seeded Ottawa BlackJacks 88-75. Mathieu Kamba paced the Stingers with 26 on 9-12 from the floor, 4-6 from the arc, 4-5 from the line, 3 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. Jordan Baker added 13 on 5-7 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2-2 form the line, 10 boards and 4 assists. Xavier Moon notched 13 on 5-13 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 4 boards and 5 assists. Travis Daniels scored 9 on 3-8 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 5 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Brody Clarke added 8 on 3-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-5 from the line and 4 boards. Mambi Diawara notched 7 on 3-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 2 assists. Adika Peter-McNeilly scored 7 on 2-8 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 4 boards and 3 assists. Kareem South added 5 on 2-8 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 2 assists, while Alexander ‘Sasha’ Kappos, Xavier Ochu, Zac Overwater and D Bernard (not listed on summer series roster) were scoreless. The Stingers hit 32-66 from the floor, 9-24 from the arc and 15-24 (.625) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 22 assists, 6 steals, 2 blocks and 13 turnovers. Olivier Hanlan paced the BlackJacks with 17 on 6-10 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 5 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Johnny Berhaneneskel added 16 on 4-7 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 6-7 from the line and 7 assists. Kyle Landry notched 10 on 4-5 from the floor, 1-1 form the arc, 1-1 from the line and 6 boards. Thomas Scrubb scored 10 on 3-13 form the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 9 boards and 3 assists. Shaquille Keith added 9 on 3-9 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 3-3 from the line and 5 boards. Eric Kibi scored 6 on 3-5 from the floor and 3 boards. Lloyd Pandi scored 3 on 0-2 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 3-6 from the line, 4 boards and 2 steals. Tajinder Lall notched 2on 2-2 from the line. Isaiah Osborne added 2 on 2-2 from the line, while Jean-Emmanuel Pierre-Charles and Munis Tutu were scoreless. Pierre-Charles nabbed 3 boards. The BlackJacks hit 23-57 from the floor, 6-19 (.316) from the arc and 23-30 (.767) from the line, while garnering 39 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 6 steals and 20 turnovers.
In the other semi, the 2nd-seeded Fraser Valley Bandits nipped the 3rd-seeded Hamilton Honey Badgers 76-75. Malcolm Duvivier paced the Bandits with 18 on 6-15 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 3-5 from the line and 8 boards. Jahenns Manigat added 13 on 4-14 from the floor, 3-12 form the arc, 2-3 from the line, 4 boards, 6 assists and 3 steals. Marek Klassen notched 12 on 5-8 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 4 boards and 2 steals. Marcus Capers scored 11 on 4-5 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc and 2-3 from the line. Junior Cadougan added 9 on 3-10 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards and 4 assists. Tavarion Nix scored 6 on 2-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-3 from the line and 5 boards. Olu Ashaolu notched 4 on 2-5 from the floor and 3 boards. Kyle Johnson added 3 on 1-7 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 4 boards and 2 assists, while Daniel Adedirian and Jabs Newby were scoreless. The Bandits hit 27-69 from the floor, 9-32 (.391) from the arc and 13-20 (.650) from the line, while garnering 39 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 15 assists, 9 steals and 18 turnovers. Jean-Victor Mukama paced the Honey Badgers with 24 on 9-14 from the floor, 5-10 from the arc, 1-2 form the line, 2 boards, 2 assists and 4 steals. Kalif Young added 11 on 4-6 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 3-6 from the line, 6 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Briante Weber notched 9 on 3-9 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 3-4 form the line, 10 boards, 6 assists and 3 steals. Jaylen Babb-Harrison scored 9 on 2-6 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 5-7 from the line, 3 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Owen Klassen added 7 on 3-11 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 7 boards and 2 assists. Ammanuel Diressa scored 6 on 2-5 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 4 boards and 2 steals. Alex Johnson added 6 on 2-8 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc and 3 boards. Derek Cooke Jr notched 3 on 1-2 from the floor and 1-2 from the arc, while Cody John, Lock Lam and Jermel Kennedy were scoreless. The Honey Badgers hit 26-62 from the floor, 8-29 (.419) from the arc and 15-24 (.625) from the line, while garnering 46 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 15 assists, 14 steals, 2 blocks and 23 turnovers.
In the final, the top-seeded Edmonton Stingers clubbed the 2nd-seeded Fraser Valley Bandits 90-73. Xavier Moon paced the Stingers with 31 on 11-14 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 6-6 from the line, 5 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Brody Clarke added 14 on 6-10 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Travis Daniels notched 14 on 7-10 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc and 8 boards. Adika Peter-McNeilly scored 13 on 4-11 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 3-3 from the line, 3 boards and 4 assists. Jordan Baker added 7 on 2-7 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 3-6 from the line, 6 boards, 4 assists and 2 blocks. Mathieu Kamba scored 6 on 2-6 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Mambi Diawara notched 3 on 1-5 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc and 3 assists. Kareem South scored 2 on 1-3 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 0-1 from the line and 4 boards, while Alexander Kappos, Xavier Ochu, Zac Overwater and D Bernard were scoreless. The Stingers hit 34-66 from the floor, 6-21 (.286) from the arc and 16-21 (.762) from the line, while garnering 43 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 18 assists, 6 steals, 5 blocks and 15 turnovers. Junior Cadougan paced the Bandits with 13 on 4-10 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 2-2 form the line, 2 boards and 5 assists. Marcus Capers added 12 on 4-6 from the floor, 4-4 from the line, 4 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Marek Klassen notched 11 on 3-8 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 4 boards and 3 assists. Ola Ashaolu scored 10 on 1-8 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 8-10 from the line, and 4 boards. Jahenns Manigat added 10 on 3-5 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 3 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Malcolm Duvivier scored 10 on 3-11 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 2-2 form the line, 3 boards and 3 assists. Tavarion Nix notched 4 on 1-1 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Kyle Johnson added 3 on 1-8 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 2 assists, while Daniel Adediran and Jabs Newby were scoreless. The Bandits hit 20-57 from the floor, 10-25 (.400) from the arc and 23-27 (.852) from the line, while garnering 31 boards, including 6 on the offensive glass, 20 assists, 6 steals, 2 blocks and 13 turnovers. Stingers coach and general manager Jermaine Small said “a big part of it was that last year we focused on the goal too much, this year we focused on the process. Kudos to Kyle (Julius) and his team, they’re a gritty bunch. I said that the biggest thing would be our composure and our poise. We came out the second half and we had that killer instinct. We just put it away and having the MVP doesn’t hurt.” Championship MVP Xavier Moon said “it was a tough journey. The league got a lot better since last year and everybody came to play. We knew we had to come out with that tenacity. We dropped the first game to them (Fraser Valley), so we knew it was going to be a tough task, but everybody handled their business from start to finish and we came out and got this championship.” Bandits coach Kyle Julius said “it’s unfortunate that it didn’t end the way we wanted. I just told the group that I’m extremely proud of them. The work that we put in, the approach. We did everything the right way, throughout the tournament and preparation. We started with our group chats and meetings back in March. I couldn’t be more proud of the group. That’s a special group to me.” The league adopted the Elam Ending for the final. Using the system, at the first dead-ball whistle after the time goes below four minutes in the final quarter, the clock gets turned off. At that point, a target score is set, equaling the leading team’s point total plus seven. Then, the first team to hit that target score wins. If a team is trailing by 10, it would have to score 17 before the other team scores 7.
The co-bronze Ottawa BlackJacks: Jean Emmanuel Pierre-Charles (Ottawa, Ont./Carleton & uOttawa); Eric Kibi (Montreal, Que./Arkansas-Little Rock & Abilene Christian); Yasiin Joseph (Ottawa, Ont./Carleton); Munis Tutu (Cairo, Egypt/Loyola Marymount & Carleton); Tajinder Lall (Cambridge, Ont./Carleton); Shaquille Keith (Toronto, Ont./Cape Breton); Johnny Berhanemeskel (Ottawa, Ont./uOttawa); Phillip Scrubb (Richmond, B.C./Carleton); Thomas Scrubb (Richmond, B.C./Carleton); Kyle Landry (Calgary, Alta/Northern Arizona); Olivier Hanlan (Gatineau, Que./Boston College); Isaiah Osborne (Windsor, Ont./Windsor & UTEP & Carleton); coach Osvaldo Jeanty; general manager Dave Smart; assistant Jamie Campbell; assistant Jafeth Maseruka; assistant Brandon Edwards; physician Jessica Curran; therapist Seadon Pereira
The co-bronze Hamilton Honey Badgers: Duane Notice (Vaughan, Ont./South Carolina); Derek Cooke Jr (Washington, D.C./Wyoming); Briante Weber (Chesapeake, Va./Virginia Commonwealth); Owen Klassen (Kingston, Ont./Acadia); Jean-Victor Mukama (Hamilton, Ont./Ryerson); Lock Lam (Ottawa, Ont./Lakehead); Jaylen Babb-Harrison (Ajax, Ont./Eastern Kentucky); Ammanuel Diressa (Toronto, Ont./Tennessee Tech & Ryerson); Cody John (Toronto, Ont./Weber State); Kalif Young (Vaughan, Ont./Providence); Jermel Kennedy (Malton, Ont./Lander); Alex Johnson (Toronto, Ont./Cal State-Bakersfield & North Carolina St); Caleb Agada (Burlington, Ont./uOttawa); coach Ryan Schmidt; general manager Jermaine Anderson; player consultant Joel Anthony
The silver-medalist Fraser Valley Bandits: Marek Klassen (Abbotsford, B.C./Point Loma Nazarene); Kyle Johnson (Scarborough, Ont./Long Island-Brooklyn); Jabs Newby (Brampton, Ont./Gannon & Eastern Kentucky); Daniel Adediran (Lagos, Nigeria & Surrey, B.C./Fraser Valley); Junior Cadougan (Toronto, Ont./Marquette); Jahenns Manigat (Ottawa, Ont./Creighton); Malcolm Duvivier (Toronto, Ont./Oregon State & Akron); Marcus Capers (Winter Haven, Fla./Washington State); Olu Ashaolu (Toronto, Ont./Oregon); Tavarion Nix (St. Petersburg, Fla./Midwestern State); Cameron Forte (Tempe, Ariz./Portland State); coach & general manager Kyle Julius; assistant general manager Rob Damiani; assistant David Singleton; senior advisor Stu Julius; scouting K.J. Smith
The champion Edmonton Stingers: Xavier Moon (Goodwater, Ala./Morehead St); Mathieu Kamba (DR of Congo/Central Arkansas); Brody Clarke (Toronto, Ont./Alberta); Adika Peter-McNeilly (Scarborough, Ont./Ryerson); Travis Daniels (Eutaw, Ala./Mississippi St); Jordan Baker (Edmonton, Alta./Alberta); Zac Overwater (Didsbury, Alta./Lethbridge); Sasha Kappos (Miami, Fla./Dalhousie); Xavier Ochu (Milton, Ont./Dalhousie); Mambi Diawara (Montreal, Que./Calgary); Kareem South (Scarborough, Ont./Texas A&M-Corpus Christi); Kirk Williams Jr (White Plains, N.Y./Bridgeport); coach & general manager Jermaine Small; assistant George Hoyt; assistant David Joseph; assistant Borko Popic; assistant Jermaine Holness