A pair of star-studded backcourts are set to clash this evening as the Saskatchewan Rattlers (6-10) (-118) host the Brampton Honey Badgers (6-9) (-115) at 9:30 p.m. ET/7:30 local at the SaskTel Centre.

The game will also be available for streaming on TSN+, CEBL+ powered by BetVictor, and on the CEBL Mobile app available on iOS and Android devices.

Tonight is the first and only matchup of the season between CEBL MVP candidate Justin Wright-Foreman and Christian Vital, the reigning CEBL Finals MVP. 

Although Wright-Foreman is coming off a disappointing game by his standards—18 points on 20 per cent shooting—in a 19-point loss to the Edmonton Stingers on Saturday night, the Queen’s New York product is still averaging a league-best 29.1 points per game. 

Off the bench, Mike Nuga has provided Saskatchewan with some consistent secondary scoring. A Sixth Man of the Year candidate, Nuga has scored 38 points in his last two games. 

After the Rattlers last game, Nuga said a commitment to physicality will be important for Saskatchewan to get their third win in four games. And climb to within a game of the Stingers for the final play-in spot in the western conference. 

“We’re at a point in the season where it’s crunch time and we just need to do what we got to do and have that sense of urgency,” he said. 

On the opposing side, Vital is fresh off a 20 point, 5 assist performance in a 96-91 road win over the Vancouver Bandits on Friday night. Koby McEwen, Vital’s backcourt mate, chipped in with 18 points, 6 boards and 6 assists in the win–while guard Cody John also provided 18 points off the bench. 

Brampton’s victory over the Bandits also snapped a five-game losing skid. 

The Montréal Alliance, who the Honey Badgers are chasing for a play-in spot in the eastern conference, defeated the Bandits over the weekend—pushing them one half game ahead of Brampton for that final playoff spot. 

But Brampton has a game in hand over Montréal and will square off against the Alliance at the Verdun Auditorium on July 23. 

Saskatchewan comes into tonight’s game with the edge on the glass over the Honey Badgers—both in total rebounds per game and on the offensive glass. The Rattlers are averaging over 12 offensive rebounds per game, the third-most in the CEBL. Adong Makuoi and Julian Roche, specifically, are hauling in over two and three offensive boards per contest respectively. 

The Rattlers hauled in 16 offensive boards last game and turned that into 15 second chance points. 

Brampton’s Zane Waterman, a 6’8” forward from North Carolina, nearly recorded a double-double (15 points and 9 rebounds) in his second game back from a thumb injury in Vancouver the other night. 

Waterman and Jeremiah Tilmon Jr., averaging 10.5 points on better than 60 per cent shooting from the field, will be tasked to patrol the paint against Wright-Foreman and the Rattlers bigs. 

Outside of the paint, Saskatchewan is averaging the most three pointers per game at over 32 per game. Despite the discrepancy, the Rattlers (32 per cent) and Honey Badgers (31.5 per cent) have a nearly identical shooting percentage from deep. 

After tonight’s game, Brampton will have five days off before returning to the court on July 23—against the Alliance—for their first of four games in six days to cap off the regular season. 

Saskatchewan, meanwhile, will welcome the Vancouver Bandits to the SaskTel Centre on July 19 for their penultimate home game of the year. 

Full broadcast schedule of CEBL Games of the Week on TSN can be found here. All games will also be streamed live internationally on the CEBL’s OTT platform, CEBL+, and on the CEBL Mobile app for iOS and Android devices. 

About the Brampton Honey Badgers

One of the original franchises of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL), the Brampton Honey Badgers are the defending league champions. Having recently relocated the team to Brampton from Hamilton, the team now proudly calls the CAA Centre home. The Brampton front office and basketball operations department bring NBA, NBA G League, national team, NCAA and major international pro league experience to the franchise. With a vision of promoting Brampton grassroots basketball and local businesses through community and corporate engagement, the Honey Badgers will leverage the explosion of basketball as a vehicle for innovation and change. For more information visit www.honeybadgers.ca.

About the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL)
A league created by Canadians for Canadians with a mission to develop Canadian players, coaches, sports executives, and referees, the CEBL boasts the highest percentage of Canadian players of any pro league in the country with 71 per cent of its 2022 rosters being Canadian. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international pro leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. Nine players have moved from the CEBL into the NBA following a CEBL season, and 28 CEBL players attended NBA G League training camps during October. The CEBL season runs from May through August.  More information about the CEBL is available at CEBL.ca and @cebleague on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.

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Media Contact:
Kyle Warrener

Brampton Honey Badgers

kwarrener@honeybadgers.ca