Edmonton, Niagara: The Top Two Teams Meet For CEBL Championship On Sunday

The Niagara River Lions, seeded second in this year’s playoffs, boast a stacked lineup looking to create a little history of their own. Niagara makes its first trip to the CEBL title game with arguably the most impressive roster in the league.

 

Watch live at 4:00 p.m. ET on CBC TV or stream on plus.CEBL.ca, CBCSports.ca or the CBC Gem App.

 

The week has been pretty special for the host Stingers. At the CEBL Awards on Wednesday, Edmonton’s Jermaine Small was named CEBL Coach of the Year, Stingers guard Xavier Moon was crowned three-time league MVP, and teammate Adika Peter-McNeilly was dubbed Sixth Man of the Year. On Friday, they won a thrilling semifinal game against Ottawa, 94-87, in front of thousands of satisfied fans. The final box to check is becoming the first CEBL repeat champion.

 

While so much of the Edmonton attention goes to Moon, who again led the league in scoring, averaging 22.9 points, along with 2020 Canadian of the Year Jordan Baker, who was one of two players to average a double-double this season - it’s the addition of forward Marlon Johnson Jr. who may have been the difference maker.

 

Johnson Jr., already knows what it feels like to hold the CEBL championship trophy, having helped the Saskatchewan Rattlers win the inaugural title in 2019, in addition to earning CEBL Defensive Player of the Year honours. This season with the Stingers, the Chicago native finished second on the team in scoring with 15.4 points per game, to go along with 6.1 rebounds (third on the team), while recording two double-doubles. With a scoring threat such as Johnson Jr. on the court, it has made it much more difficult for teams this season to double-team Moon.

 

The combination of Moon, Baker and Johnson Jr. might be the toughest trio in the CEBL to guard.

The Niagara River Lions have defended the ball extremely well. Opponents averaged just 80.5 points against Niagara in the regular season, thanks in large part to forward Javin Delaurier, who was not only a presence in the paint, grabbing a league-best 11.3 rebounds per game, but would also challenge shooters on the perimeter, finishing the season with 1.8 blocks per contest, second in the CEBL.

 

While Niagara lost two key contributors before the playoffs in Xavier Sneed and Guillaume Payen-Boucard, the addition of the Scrubb Brothers has filled the offensive void. Phil Scrubb willed his River Lions to victory in the 84-82 semifinal win over Fraser Valley on Friday night. He finished with 16 points, five rebounds and a game-high seven assists, including the game-winning triple in Elam Ending.

 

When you look at the CEBL team rankings, the Niagara River Lions don’t jump out at you as being the best in many statistical categories. However, Head Coach Victor Raso has put together a team that shows no weaknesses. They are good in every facet of the game. It’s that consistency that got the River Lions to their first final, and that level of play could see them ruining the party in Edmonton on Sunday.

A steal by Marlon Johnson Jr. led to a fast-break dunk by CEBL Sixth Man of the Year Adika Peter-McNeilly to seal the win, as the Edmonton Stingers defeated the Ottawa BlackJacks, 94-87, in the second CEBL semifinal and earned a chance to repeat as league champions. In front of a rowdy hometown crowd, three-time CEBL MVP Xavier Moon led all scorers with 22 points to go along with a team-high eight assists and two steals, as chants of “MVP” rang out throughout Expo Centre during the closing moments of the game. Teammate Marlon Johnson registered 18 points and a team-best five rebounds. The 16 steals by the Stingers set the CEBL playoff record. It was indicative of their play right from the opening tip. Edmonton scored 27 points from forcing a postseason record 25 Ottawa turnovers. Jordan Baker set the new playoff mark for steals by a player with six, surpassing teammate Xavier Moon, who made five steals in the first ever CEBL postseason game back in 2019. Baker finished with 11 points and seven assists before fouling out in Elam Ending time.

 

As the team with the best record in the regular season (13-1), the Stingers did not need to use their host team exemption for a direct berth into CEBL Championship Weekend.

 

He missed a layup and a game-winning three-pointer, but Niagara River Lions guard Phil Scrubb found redemption. The pride of Richmond, BC hit a wide open triple to give Niagara a 84-82 win over the Fraser Valley Bandits, and with the victory, the first CEBL championship appearance for the team. Fresh from the NBA Summer League, River Lions forward Javin Delaurier picked up right where he left his CEBL club, leading all scorers with 20 points and earning the double-double by also grabbing a team-high 10 rebounds. The Bandits had a chance to win the game but couldn’t convert, despite grinding out the final frame. They dominated the boards 55-41, including a CEBL playoff record 22 on the offensive glass. CEBL Defensive Player of the Year Brandon Gilbeck grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds to go along with nine points. Teammate Alex Campbell led all Bandits with 19 points. Niagara led, 75-71, heading into the Elam Ending, producing a target score of 84 points. A missed layup by Scrubb with Niagara leading 81-78 was rebounded by Shaquille Keith, which was followed by a thunderous dunk from Gilbeck who proceeded to give a two-handed block on Daniel Mullings on the next play. It was that type of aggressive play that got Fraser Valley within one shot rim going to the finals for a second straight year. However, Niagara, the favourites heading into the game, simply made one more shot than the Bandits. It was another triple from Scrubb, who finished with 16 points, including four-for-10 from beyond the arc.

 

Niagara won their final four games of the regular season to finish with a 10-4 record, giving them a second place seeding and a ticket straight to the semifinals.

 

Season Series

The schedule makers only brought these two teams together once during the regular season. It was July 2 when the Stingers defeated the River Lions, 82-75, at Expo Centre. Xavier Moon set a CEBL scoring record (since broken by himself) with 38 points and six rebounds, shooting 13-of-19 from the floor, including five triples. Edmonton doubled Niagara 34-17 in the first quarter and held on to the lead the rest of the way. The River Lions set the CEBL low for free throw percentage in a game (.310), shooting just six-for-19 from the charity stripe.

 

Championship Weekend Schedule

Semifinals: Friday, August 20, 2021

(2) Niagara River Lions 84, (4) Fraser Valley Bandits 82

(1) Edmonton Stingers 94, (6) Ottawa BlackJacks 87

 

Championship Game: Sunday, August 22, 2021

(2) Niagara River Lions vs. (1) Edmonton Stingers (4 p.m. ET, 2 p.m. MT)