The Scarborough Shooting Stars are the 2023 Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) Champions!  Scarborough opens its 2024 season on May 24 in Winnipeg at 8:30 p.m. ET. live on TSN. Don't miss the Shooting Stars home opener on June 1 at 7 p.m. ET and help the team celebrate their 2023 Championship.

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12 Mar, 2024
Three-round draft in April will select 30 eligible players from U SPORTS, CCAA programs
06 Mar, 2024
TSN coverage features 20 nationally televised games including CEBL playoffs and CW24, with every game of the 2024 CEBL season available on TSN+
By Maria Suriani 23 Jan, 2024
The reigning CEBL champions will begin their title defense May 24 in Winnipeg
By Zulfi Sheikh 15 Aug, 2023
Isiaha Mike’s near triple-double performance for the Scarborough Shooting Stars led the team to its first ever CEBL championship in an 82-70 win against the Calgary Surge. The Scarborough, Ontario, native showed out for his hometown as he put up 22 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, and five steals. Not only did his all-around performance bring a title to his hometown, but it also earned Mike the honour of final’s Most Valuable Player. “It’s been a rollercoaster ride,” said Mike after the game. “We’ve been resilient through it all, be it roster changes or injuries…whatever it took for us to get to this point, and I’m thankful.” His supporting cast in this one unsurprisingly included Cat Barber, the team’s leading scorer all season. The guard led the game with 23 points to go along with his two rebounds and five assists, which were huge considering Barber and Mike combined to score over 50 per cent of the team’s points on the night. They were joined by Kyree Walker who stepped up with his 17 points and four rebounds, and Gedi Juozapaitis who added 11 points off the bench. “There are so many people connected to this win,” said Shooting Stars head coach Chris Exilus. “That’s what makes it so special. We were prepared…we didn’t care who scored and who made plays, we just knew we had to make plays.” On the other side, Jordy Tshimanga led the way for Calgary by way of a 15-point, 15-rebound, double-double. Stef Smith also did what he could with his 14 points and five assists, but the guard, like the rest of his team struggled holding onto the ball as he committed a game-high five turnovers. Meanwhile Terry Henderson Jr. notched a season-high 11 points in the loss, scoring six of those points in the fourth quarter. “It’s been a family,” Tshimanga said on his team as he reflected on the season post-game. “We went through ups and downs, and eventually we got better, and it led us here todays. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get it done but I’m proud of the core.” The Surge threw the first punch in tonight’s heavy weight showdown as they took an early 15-5 lead thanks to the strong play of Tshimanga. Coming into the contest, there were questions surrounding the forward and if he could fill the role of the absent Simi Shittu. Tshimanga had to make up for the loss of the team’s leader and CEBL’s best rebounder, and it was safe to say the forward erased any uncertainty with his 10 points and five rebounds in the first. Fortunately for Scarborough fans, the team found a response and it was through the play of their own big man. Mike scored seven points in the frame, which led an 11-4 run to end the quarter and cut Calgary’s margin to 19-16 headed into the second. Momentum for the Shooting Stars didn’t end there as they opened the next frame by scoring 10 unanswered points thanks to the Surge’s carelessness with the ball. Calgary struggled with turning the ball over all season, ranked second in the CEBL with 15.8 giveaways a night, and their lack of ball security caused them problems throughout that Scarborough run. The Surge finished the half with eight turnovers, which led to 15 points for the Shooting Stars and a 41-32 lead at halftime.  After a strong first quarter Tshimanga was held scoreless in the second while Mike continued to do a bit of everything for Scarborough with his game-high 12 points, six rebounds, and four assists at the break. After letting Mike do most of the damage offensively through the first two quarters, Barber got into the mix in the third. He scored seven points in the frame, which matched Mike’s 17 points through three and helped the Shooting Stars maintain a nine-point lead, up 60-51 headed into the fourth. Despite being up, Scarborough struggled shooting the ball from beyond the arch all night, as they made just four of their 16 attempts through three quarters. Fortunately for Shooting Stars fans, the team found their stroke in the fourth as they knocked down three consecutive triples to put the squad up by 15 points at the 5:24 mark of the frame. One of those threes was knocked down by Juozapaitis, putting him up to 11 points and made it back-to-back games hitting double-digit scoring, his first time doing so all season. The import out of Lithuania had averaged just 3.3 points per game this year and played just 10 minutes through Scarborough’s first two playoff games. Despite that, he showed out for the Shooting Stars, going nearly 60 per cent from distance over the team’s final two games. Juozapaitis scored all but one of Scarborough’s points off the bench as he helped the team mount a 12-0 run that gave the Shooting Stars a 72-57 lead headed into Target Score Time. As daunting as a 15-point deficit may have felt for the Surge, it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility for the squad. Calgary set a CEBL record earlier this season when they completed a 16-point comeback in target time against the Edmonton Stingers, a feat they hoped to accomplish once again. Calgary’s odds looked even better when the team knocked down three straight shots from beyond the arch – two by Henderson Jr. – and cut Scarborough’s lead down to single digits. Like the Shooting Stars, the Surge struggled mightily from distance all night, making just three triples on 11.5 per cent shooting to that point, but found their rhythm when the team needed it most. Unfortunately for fans of the Surge that was as close as their team got as the duo of Barber and Walker took over and led an 8-2 run that secured the Shooting Stars their first championship in franchise history. Fittingly, the team’s leading scorer all season, Barber, put an end to the contest with a strong drive down the left side, finished with a layup, 82-70 the final. Scarborough won the game by 12 points despite making just two more shots from the field and one more three-pointer, and it was thanks to their stingy defence. They held Calgary to 38 per cent shooting from the field and 20 per cent from beyond the arch while limiting them to just 70 points. No team this post-season scored more than 74 points against the Shooting Stars as they held opponents to just 71.8 points per game. After the game coach Exilus had one final message for fans back in Scarborough. “I want to thank everyone back home,” Exilus said. “This is Scarborough…and I think I want more.” All games are available on TSN+ and CEBL + powered by BetVictor . Recap written by Zulfi Sheikh (@zulfi_sheikh). A league created by Canadians for Canadians, the CEBL has the highest percentage of Canadian players of any professional league in the country, with 71 percent of its current rosters being Canadians. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. The only First Division Professional League Partner of Canada Basketball. The CEBL season runs from May through August. Head to CEBL.ca for more information or follow us (@cebleague) on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.
By Zulfi Sheikh 13 Aug, 2023
In what’ll be the final game of the 2023 CEBL season, the Scarborough Shooting Stars (-167) and Calgary Surge (+120) go head-to-head for the championship. The contest will tip-off at 4:00 pm local/7:00 pm ET from the Langley Events Centre on Sunday night. The game will be nationally televised on TSN 3 and also available for streaming live on TSN+, CEBL+ powered by BetVictor , and on the CEBL Mobile app available for iOS and Android devices. Scarborough make it back to the final for the second consecutive season, this time looking to come out victorious, after losing to the Brampton (then Hamilton) Honey Badgers in the championship game a year ago. Meanwhile, the Surge (formerly the Guelph Nighthawks) will be playing in the final for the first time in franchise history, as both teams try to win their first CEBL title. It will be the second contest between the Eastern and Western Conference champions this season, and first since Scarborough picked up a 79-65 win. It was a convincing victory for the Shooting Stars in a contest where they never trailed after the six-minute mark of the second quarter. Despite Scarborough missing 11 free throws on the night, they were still able to manage a 14-point win thanks to their dominance on the interior. Scarborough shot 60 per cent from inside the arch compared to Calgary’s 42 per cent, earning the team a +12 edge on points inside the paint as a result. The Shooting Stars didn’t just make their presence felt inside by scoring the ball, they also managed to outwork the Surge on the glass, as they ended the game with a +9 advantage on rebounds. However, if Scarborough hope to replicate that performance and be crowned champions of the CEBL, they’ll need new players to step up. The likes of David Walker who put up 15 points while going a perfect 6-6 from two-point range, or Thomas Kennedy, who notched an 18-point, 13-rebound, double-double won’t be with the team this time around. Fortunately for Shooting Stars’ fans, their current role players have stepped up one-by-one during their post-season run. In their play-in win versus the Honey Badgers, Kyree Walker led the way with a season-high 25 points, only to be followed-up by Isiaha Mike who tallied a season-high 24-points of his own in the conference semi-finals victory against the Ottawa BlackJacks. In their latest 74-71 win against the Niagara River Lions, it was Gedi Juozapaitis that put his stamp on the team’s run to the final with a season-high 13 points off the bench. The guard knocked down four of Scarborough’s six triples on the night in his 15 minutes of action, helping the team clinch the East in the process. Other contributors included Kalif Young who had a double-double by way of 11 points and 11 rebounds, and Cat Barber who led the way with 15 points, six rebounds, and two steals. Barber continues to be the team’s top scorer (20.1 PPG) and is someone fans should keep an eye on as he found success the last time the Shooting Stars and Surge faced off. In that previous victory for his team, the guard put up a game-high 27 points, four assists, and four steals, and if Scarborough is going to make up for last year’s final loss, a big performance from Barber could go a long way. Scarborough aren’t the only team with a dynamic guard leading the way for them however, as Calgary’s Stef Smith has been doing the same for his team. The Ajax, Ontario, native has picked up his game this post-season, averaging 20 points per game, most recently notching a season-high 25 points and eight rebounds in the Surge’s 77-75 win over the Vancouver Bandits. Smith also found success against Scarborough as he was the team’s second-best scorer in that lone matchup earlier this year. Despite the loss, the guard put up 17 points and six assists and was one of just two players to post a plus-minus rating of 10 or higher for Calgary. The other Surge player to do so was Simi Shittu, who led the team that night with team-high 21 points and 12 rebounds. He won’t be available this time around so fans should hope for a big game from Jordy Tshimanga, who’s taken over the starting spot. Calgary will surely miss the presence of the league’s best rebounder, but Tshimanga has been filling in admirably. His offensive production may not jump out like Shittu’s, but the forward has averaged nine boards these playoffs, and is coming off a 10-rebound game in the team’s conference clinching victory. Tshimanga’s double-digit rebounds led a Surge unit that outrebounded the league’s best rebounding team in Vancouver, on both the offensive and defensive glass. The Western Conference champions will hope he can help them to one more victory and end the team’s inaugural season in Calgary with a title. Full list of betting props available on BetVictor . Preview written by Zulfi Sheikh (@zulfi_sheikh). A league created by Canadians for Canadians, the CEBL has the highest percentage of Canadian players of any professional league in the country, with 71 percent of its current rosters being Canadians. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. The only First Division Professional League Partner of Canada Basketball. The CEBL season runs from May through August. Head to CEBL.ca for more information or follow us (@cebleague) on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.
By Dillon White 12 Aug, 2023
The Scarborough Shooting Stars are headed to back-to-back CEBL Championship games after knocking off the top-ranked Niagara River Lions 74-71 at Langley Events Centre on Friday. Cat Barber powered the Shooting Stars to victory with a team-high 15 points on 5-16 shooting to go along with six rebounds, three assists and two steals. Scarborough locked down defensively, holding the highest scoring offence in the CEBL to 71 points – their third consecutive game with a points against in the 70s. Niagara shot 39 per cent from the field while tallying 19 turnovers that led to 28 points. The Shooting Stars also dominated the paint, outscoring the River Lions 44-16 and snagging 20 offensive rebounds. “It’s effort. Those are all effort plays. Those are plays that show how much the team wants to win,” Scarborough head coach Chris Exilus said. “Plays that are not always on the stat sheet…what you saw was was a resilient group that played together. On this team, nobody cares who makes the play.” The Shooting Stars had four players reach double-digits in the win. Gedi Juozapaitis was scorching hot from the corners throughout the game, hitting four threes on his way to 13 points. Isiaha Mike chipped in 12 points, including six in target score time despite going 4-11 from the field. Big man Kalif Young was also a dominant force in the paint for Scarborough. He secured a double-double with 11 points, 11 rebounds, four steals and one block. “I just think we’ve really bought into our system,” Young said. “You don’t win in those big moments and win championships without locking down on defence and focusing in on players. I think our biggest thing was focusing on a really good player in Khalil Ahmad today.” Ahmad was named 2023 CEBL Clutch Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and received an All-CEBL First Team nod on Wednesday. However, he was held to eight points on 2-8 shooting from the field on Friday night. “I don't think [Ahmad] was aggressive enough and I think there was a little bit of time where he got frustrated with the wrong things and how physical they were being,” Niagara head coach Victor Raso said. Meanwhile, Jahvon Blair netted a game-high 20 points for the River Lions on 7-17 shooting and four threes. Edward Ekiyor produced inside with 15 points and six rebounds. It’s now the second consecutive year the Shooting Stars eliminate the River Lions during Championship Weekend. “We were just fighting ourselves offensively and not really sticking to the plan. But even with that being said, we had a chance down the stretch,” Raso said. “I didn't think we were aggressive enough, early enough. Offensively, that was probably the biggest thing.” After almost two weeks of rest, the River Lions were cold to start the game. Niagara didn’t connect on a field goal for the opening five minutes of action but got to the free throw line. The River Lions sent multiple defenders at Barber, but he was able to get out in transition with a steal and score before slicing through the defence for a layup. Niagara came out of the TV timeout hot. Blair dialed long distance twice and Antonio Davis Jr. finished through contact to complete the hoop and the harm. However, Scarborough was active on the offensive glass with putbacks from Kyree Walker and Young. Patrick Whelan came off the bench towards the end of the quarter to drill a three and give the River Lions a 20-14 lead after 10 minutes. At the start of the second quarter, the River Lions climbed to their largest lead of the night at 12 points with a 6-0 run. However, Juozapaitis buried back-to-back corner threes for Scarborough to end the run and force a Raso timeout. Out of the team talk, Young made an impact in the paint with an outstanding sequence of plays. He blocked Ekiyor at the rim to force a shot clock violation, completed an and-one, grabbed a rebound and finished a reverse layup to cap off an 11-0 Scarborough run. The Shooting Stars stayed hot and achieved their first lead of the quarter with a two-handed slam from Mike. After a 21-3 run from Scarborough, Kimbal Mackenzie hit a timely three to take the River Lions into halftime down 35-32. In the first two quarters, turnovers held back the Niagara offence. They gave the ball up 12 times, leading to 15 points for the Shooting Stars. However, Scarborough struggled from long range going 3-19 for 15 per cent in the first half. Blair led all scorers with 11 points at halftime while Juozapaitis scored 10. To start the second half, Scarborough and Niagara traded blows. Blair continued to have the hot hand and helped keep the River Lions close as the Shooting Stars maintained the lead. Juozapaitis buried another corner three to cap off a 7-0 run for Scarborough but TJ Lall beat the buzzer with a corner triple of his own to cut the deficit to 53-47 after three. After a scoreless third quarter, Barber got going in the final frame. He scored six points early in the fourth to extend Scarborough’s lead to 10 points. However, Niagara went on a timely run before target score time. Ahmad got his first hoop of the game with a clutch and-one. Ekiyor feasted in the paint before Lall drilled a three from the corner to cap off a 14-2 run and give Niagara a 65-63 lead with a target of 74. The Shooting Stars quickly clapped back at the start of target time. Walker spun and finished a tough layup while draped by a defender before Mike found mesh from the right wing. Another contact layup from Walker pushed Scarborough four points away from victory. However, Ahmad hit a clutch three to narrow the gap. The River Lions trapped full court and forced a turnover that led to a game-tying Davis layup. But another bucket from Mike put the Shooting Stars two points away from a win. An unsportsmanlike foul in transition by Lall was reviewed and confirmed by officials. Mike went to the line for Scarborough with a chance to send them to the championship but missed the first. After Mike made the second, Lall came up with a steal and went to the line himself, hitting one and intentionally missing the second. An offensive rebound on ensuing possession for Scarborough helped put Barber on the free throw line. He rattled in the game-winning free throw to book the Shooting Stars a trip to the CEBL Championship game on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET. All games are available for streaming on TSN, TSN+, CEBL+ powered by BetVictor and on the CEBL Mobile app available on iOS and Android devices. 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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