Haviah Mighty, The Funk Hunters, and other top Canadian acts also set to perform at Championship Weekend

On a day of celebration in the Nation’s Capital, Javonte Smart gave the home crowd plenty to cheer about, tying the Ottawa BlackJacks franchise record with 37 points in a dominant 104-80 win over the visiting Winnipeg Sea Bears — the team’s fourth straight victory. The crowd had plenty to get behind early as the BlackJacks got off to a 9-0 lead early thanks to the stifling defense they’ve become known for over their winning streak, having now held their last four opponents to 80 points or fewer. It was more of the same from Ottawa in the first quarter, holding Winnipeg to just 6-of-17 shooting from the floor and taking a 29-16 lead into the break. While the BlackJacks got all their points the old-fashioned way in the first quarter – failing to make a three-pointer – they found their shooting stroke in the second, hitting 4-of-6 from deep. For their part, the Sea Bears managed to push the pace and get the home squad to get away from their preferred playing style but were unable to take advantage hitting just nine of their 24 shots. “I thought our guys did a tremendous job,” BlackJacks head coach Dave DeAveiro said following the win. I thought they followed the plan and executed the plan really well. We had the little hiccup in the second quarter where we didn’t lock in defensively. But after that, we just locked in and did a good job making life really tough for their top three guys.” Those three players for Winnipeg – Tevian Jones, Jalen Harris and Simin Shittu – were held to 15, 11 and 11 points, respectively, though Shittu did finish with a franchise record 19 rebounds, just one behind the league record. Emmanuel Akot had 17 points and five rebounds, while Jaylin Williams had 15 and seven rebounds. “The first thing is giving credit to Ottawa” Seas Bears head coach Mike Taylor said. “Javonte was outstanding, they had a great team game. I felt like our defensive effort was inconsistent. I think that we did not pressure the ball and contain the ball like we needed to, and that gave them some easy baskets in transition that got them feeling good. It comes down to the things… on the road you have to work hard, defend, rebound – all the fundamental parts of the game. Today we were a little bit soft with that and Ottawa took advantage. Credit to them, they played a great team game. But especially from our starting five, we expect a little bit more defensive effort.” Winnipeg would make a passionate push early in the third quarter, scoring 14 consecutive points to cut a 58-41 lead down to just three. But Smart would take over once again and the BlackJacks pulled away for the rest of the game. “He’s a scorer. He’s a legitimate scorer,” DeAveiro said. “He’s done this consistently for four games. How many guys can do that consistently for four games when teams are prepping trying to stop you. We’re lucky to have him. He’s also unselfish and will pass the ball to find his teammates to get a good shot. “You put two people on the ball to stop Javonte and you just throw it up and Isaih is athletic enough to go up and finish it. Javonte puts a lot of pressure on teams’ defenses, so you have to come up with strategies to defend Javonte. Any time they put two bodies on him, it’s either a lob up to Isaih or a kick out for a three.” Smart aside, there were a number of impressive performances from the home side. Isaih Moore had 18 points and 14 rebounds, Deng Adel had 14 points, and Tyrell Tate and Zane Waterman both chipped in with 11. The game was the 100th in the history of the BlackJacks, combing both regular season and postseason games. For a player like Adel, it’s been a great experience seeing the team grown, both on the court and off it, during his extended time with the club. “It’s been dope seeing the fanbase grow each year, people coming out and enjoying themselves,” Adel said. “It’s a great area, and it’s just fun to be a part of. Guys want to come here and play here which has been important, and it’s been good.” On top of being their fourth win in a row, it was also the BlackJacks second win over the Sea Bears this season. For the Sea Bears, it was their third straight loss, and second in as many games giving up 100 points.

The Scarborough Shooting Stars’ roster is starting to take shape and they appear ready to make some noise. Donovan Williams' return from a four-game absence proved momentous, as the CEBL’s leading scorer put up 30 points to lead the Shooting Stars (7-5) to a 103-93 win over the Winnipeg Sea Bears (5-7) on Friday. While it wasn’t quite a repeat of Scarborough’s dominant showing as last Sunday, a 32-point win against the defending champion Niagara River Lions, the victory did mark back-to-back games setting season-highs in scoring for the Shooting Stars, as they’re now just 0.5 games behind first place in the Eastern Conference. Williams entered the road game averaging a league-best 25.5 points per game (among qualified players) and only increased that lead atop the leaderboard after his game-high 30 points on 11-of-18 shooting to go with six rebounds and four assists. “They made a big run, but we weathered the storm,” Williams said post-game. “We hit a little adversity, but we did all the things we needed to do to win the game.” Right behind him, however, was Terquavion Smith, who finished with 28 points, going 7-for-10 from the free throw line while adding five rebounds and five assists. A late addition to the Shooting Stars, the import is averaging 26.8 points through four games. David Walker’s 12 points and Joirdon Nicholas’s 13 off the bench rounded out Scarborough’s double-digit scoring efforts. “That’s a team win, a gritty road win,” Shooting Stars head coach Mike De Giorgio said after the win. “They hit us back and we just responded. Kudos to our guys, they really locked in.” On the other side, Simi Shittu led the way with 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting, five rebounds and three blocks. Jalen Harris and Tevian Jones also chipped identical lines of 21 points and three assists. “We fought towards the end, (but) it kind of got away from us in the second quarter,” Harris said after Winnipeg’s second straight loss directly after a four-game win streak. “We’ve got to figure it out before we get back for the next one.” Although the outcome resulted in a second consecutive double-digit victory for the Shooting Stars, it wasn’t without its intrigue. Scarborough appeared to be headed towards another emphatic win when it had built a 21-point edge in the first half, thanks to a 14-0 run in the second quarter and withstood a late 11-3 push by Winnipeg to still lead 58-46 at halftime. That lead was largely built thanks to some hot early shooting, going 6-for-10 from distance in the opening frame, and some opportunistic defence as the Shooting Stars forced eight Sea Bears turnovers in the first half. Quite the uncharacteristic showing from Winnipeg considering it averaged just 13.3 per game entering the night, second-fewest in the CEBL. The Sea Bears cleaned things up coming out of the break, however, only giving it away four times the rest of the way, even winning the turnover battle 17-12 by the final buzzer. “It’s all about effort,” Shittu said post-game. “When teams are making runs like that, it’s all about effort, really … we got a lot of talent, guys who can play. It’s just about being connected.” It was that disciplined second half that helped Winnipeg storm back, cutting what was a 14-point halftime deficit as low as five points in the third before trailing 78-70 after 30 minutes. The Sea Bears also made things easier by upping the rim pressure and getting to the line, scoring without burning clock as they finished plus-15 on free throw attempts and went 28-of-37 from the charity stripe. From there, the Sea Bears did give it one last push, cutting down to nine in Target Score Time what was up to a 15-point deficit early in the fourth, but they couldn’t inch any closer as the Shooting Stars duo of Williams and Smith got to work. The pair of imports scored all of Scarborough’s points with the clock stopped, the first four by Williams before Smith’s game-winning layup capped off five straight points from him. Underscoring the victory was the Shooting Stars' dominance on the glass, finishing plus-13 (43-30), with their 14 offensive rebounds good enough to earn a 17-12 edge on second chance points and a plus-10 edge on paint points (54-44). Fronting that effort for Scarborough was Khalil Miller’s 14 rebounds, which tied a single-game franchise record.

WINNIPEG — The Winnipeg Sea Bears announced the signing of Canadian guard Cody John, a seasoned six-year veteran of the Canadian Elite Basketball League. He began the 2025 season with the Saskatchewan Rattlers. In the team’s first seven games, he averaged 18.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists. His stint with the Rattlers included two standout performances — a CEBL career-high 25 points in the opener against the Edmonton Stingers and a 20-point outing at Canada Life Centre against the Sea Bears on June 15. John has built a respected résumé across the league, suiting up for the then-Hamilton Honey Badgers (2020, 2021), Ottawa BlackJacks (2022), Brampton Honey Badgers (2023) and, most recently, the Saskatchewan Rattlers, where he played last summer and the start of the 2025 season. The Mississauga, Ont., native also brings international experience, having played professionally in Cyprus, Kosovo and most recently the United Kingdom with Manchester in the Super Basketball League. There, he averaged 9.5 points in 18.8 minutes over 27 games during the 2024–25 season. In Cyprus, John signed with Omonia Nicosia in Division A and appeared in 14 games, averaging 17.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 36.1 minutes. In 2024 with Saskatchewan, he reached 500 all-time CEBL regular-season points, averaging 11.7 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 26.5 minutes while playing in all 20 games. “We are really excited to add Cody John to our team,” said Sea Bears head coach and general manager Mike Taylor. “We believe Cody's shooting and experience can immediately help our team and boost our bench production. Adding a CEBL starter to deepen our rotation was an opportunity we wanted to capitalize on. Cody has had several good games against us over the last few seasons and we are happy to welcome him to Winnipeg." Before turning pro, John had a standout collegiate career at Weber State University, appearing in 129 games, the fifth-most in school history, and earning two All-Big Sky Conference honours. During his time with the Wildcats, he helped capture the 2015 Gulf Coast Showcase title, the 2016 Big Sky Conference championship and an appearance in the NCAA March Madness tournament. The Sea Bears tip off their next home game on Friday, June 27 at 7:30 p.m. CT against the Scarborough Shooting Stars, where John is set to make his Winnipeg debut. Tickets are available now

With team royalty in the building, the Edmonton Stingers showed championship-level resolve. The Stingers weathered a first-quarter storm to beat the Winnipeg Sea Bears 98-85 on Sunday at Edmonton Expo Centre. Prior to the game, longtime Stinger Brody Clarke — who retired after last season — was inducted to the team’s Ring of Honour. Former teammate Xavier Moon, a two-time champion and three-time MVP with the Stingers, was also in attendance for the celebration. And Edmonton’s response to an early deficit might have made them proud. “Resilience is one of our core values and us being able to figure things out when things don’t go our way is part of battling adversity,” Stingers forward Nick Hornsby said. Edmonton was punched in the mouth during the opening 10 minutes as the streaking Sea Bears raced to a 27-19 lead. But the Stingers got off the mat, regained the lead early in the second and never looked back from there. By the time the clocks turned off for Target Score Time, the Stingers led 89-75. While the Sea Bears showed some fight, the deficit ultimately proved too much to overcome. Nick Horsnby ended the proceedings after drawing a shooting foul, making his first free throw to clinch the game. The Stingers moved to 6-6 win the win, while the Sea Bears fell to 5-6 as their four-game winning streak was snapped. Edmonton has now won four of its past five games. “The vibes are high but we’re not satisfied. We’re always longing for that next game and ready to play and get that next win,” Hornsby said. Head coach Jordan Baker added that he was happy with his team’s response after its slow start. “We’re not gonna get too high getting up 10 or 15 and we’re not gonna get too low, so understanding that we’re gonna stick to our stuff,” he said. “I might have to scream at them in a timeout, but they responded very well tonight.” Hornsby, who is in his third year with the Stingers, recorded 17 points, six assists and five rebounds in the win. Sean East II led the Stingers with 27 points while also adding eight rebounds and seven assists. Forward Keon Ambrose-Hylton neared a double-double with 19 points and eight rebounds. But it’s Hornsby who has taken the torch as a Stingers leader in the absence of the likes of Clarke and Moon. The 30-year-old from Irvine, Calif., has quickly made Edmonton his CEBL home. “Too comfortable. I love it here. I enjoy talking to the fans in the off-season and almost a second home, really. It’s great coming back,” he said. The sentiment is still shared by Moon to this day. “It was a huge stepping stone for me getting to the NBA,” he told the broadcast after the game. “Great fanbase here, band of brothers that I’ll have for a lifetime, and the city — I can’t even put it into words.” Luck may have been on Edmonton’s side in its latest win as the Stingers twice beat the buzzer with three-point heaves. Hornsby launched one from halfcourt ahead of the shot clock expiring during a second-quarter possession, and Isiah Osborne added a triple of his own from the wing at the third-quarter horn. Edmonton’s Aaron Rhooms was away from the team as he competes for Canada at the 3x3 World Cup in Mongolia. Meanwhile, Winnipeg’s strong run of play was halted seemingly as soon as the first quarter turned into the second. Head coach Mike Taylor pointed to “readiness” as one of the reasons for the team’s winning streak coming to an end. “You could see us be a little casual with the ball offensively. … We gave up too many points off of those turnovers, we didn’t get very much bench production,” Taylor said. “Our team’s been on a great streak, I’m really proud of the guys, but we’ve gotta work for consistency.” Canada’s Simi Shittu led the Sea Bears with a game-high 30 points and 12 rebounds, while Jalen Harris contributed 22 points, six rebounds and five assists. Harris said his team may just have been tired at the end of a road trip that also included a win over Vancouver on Friday. “We just gotta refocus on ourselves. We got a few days in between the next game and that’s kind of our mindset each game, focusing on ourselves — how can we be better? — and doing that moving forward,” he said. Taylor added that the Stingers out-hustled his squad — especially in the middle two quarters. “They beat us to all the loose balls and they did the little things, the physical things that give you an advantage,” he said. The Stingers’ win capped a wild Sunday across the CEBL, which saw all 10 teams play on the same day for just the second time ever.