Stingers and Shooting Stars Showdown For Playoff Position

The Edmonton Stingers are seeking to continue their winning streak when they visit the Scarborough Shooting Stars on July 19 at 8 pm ET.

The Stingers (9-7) are fourth having won three games in a row. They cliched a playoff berth after beating the league-leading Hamilton Honey Badgers on July 17. The Shooting Stars (8-7) have lost two games in a row and are in fifth place. If the Shooting Stars win, they will pass Edmonton for fourth place.

Edmonton is strong on the glass (37.3 rebounds on average) and sharing the basketball (first with 21.2 average assists) They did well against Hamilton with more rebounds (48-35) and assists (25-16) than Hamilton. They also shot the ball better from three and from the field.

The Stingers strength comes from their depth. Five players scored double digit points against Hamilton and five players had at least four rebounds. Jordan Baker is one of Edmonton’s top players, a post player who leads the league in average rebounds (9.9) and is fourth in average assists (4.9).

He is joined in the frontcourt by forwards Marlon Johnson and Brody Clarke. Demarco Dickerson, Mathieu Kamba and Aher Uguak can score from the outside and help with rebounding. Adika Peter-McNeilly and Jahmal Jones help run the offence and provide scoring from the guard position.

The Stingers and Shooting Stars are ninth and tenth in three-point shooting so look for post play to be a key factor in this game. Edmonton outscored Hamilton in the paint 40-30.

One key for the Stingers will be to start the game better. They fell behind 26-15 after one quarter to Hamilton and trailed 27-22 against the Ottawa BlackJacks in the previous game.

The Shooting Stars will also be focused on starting better after trailing after the first quarter in their recent defeats to the Niagara River Lions and Hamilton Honey Badgers.

Against Niagara, they were without guard Jalen Harris as they were outscored 43-33 in the second half. They were also missing big man Kyle Alexander, who was playing in the NBA Summer League. Kameron Chatman (16 points, five rebounds), Isaiah Mike (17 points, 13 rebounds) and Rashad James (18 points, four rebounds) led the team offensively.

Their three-point shooting is an area for improvement (26 per cent against Niagara) as well as taking care of the ball (23 turnovers). Mike, Kalif Young, Jean-Victor Mukama and their other forwards will also have to contend with Edmonton’s front line.

The Shooting Stars won their previous game against Edmonton, 78-69 on the road. After a close game through three quarters, Scarborough pulled away by winning the fourth quarter and Elam time 20-12. Scarborough shot better than Edmonton in that game and had more rebounds (49-38). That will be a key factor this time. An area of encouragement Edmonton can take from that game is that their bench outscored Scarborough 41-16, including 14 points from Uguak.

CEBL Standings

Seed Team GP Wins Losses Win % +/-

1 Hamilton 17 13 4 0.76 137

2 Niagara 16 12 4 0.75 139

3 Fraser Valley 17 10 7 0.59 -18

4 Edmonton 16 9 7 0.56 41

5 Scarborough 15 8 7 0.53 10

6 Guelph 16 8 8 0.50 -32

7 Saskatchewan 16 8 8 0.50 -81

8 Ottawa 16 5 11 0.31 -4

9 Montréal 15 4 11 0.27 -72

10 Newfoundland 14 2 12 0.14 -120

All games will be streamed live internationally on the CEBL’s OTT platform, CEBL+ and on CEBL Mobile the official app of the CEBL for iOS and Android devices. Games are also available to stream live in Canada via cbcsports.ca, the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices, and the free CBC Gem streaming service.

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 run from May through August. Head to CEBL.ca for more information or follow us (@cebleague) on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.