River Lions Alberta-bound and looking to rebound
Niagara tips off CEBL season with road loss to Montreal
The Niagara River Lions are heading west with hopes of moving north in the standings after tipping off the 2023 Canadian Elite Basketball season with a loss.
Niagara trailed by two points heading into the final quarter Friday night but was outscored 30-17 the rest of the way in an 84-69 loss to the Montreal Alliance.
Montreal outscored Niagara 4224 in points in the paint, 17-5 in points off turnovers and 15-9 in second-chance points.
The Alliance also won the battle of the boards in the season opener for both teams, out-rebounding their visitors 47-43 before an announced crowd of 3,500 at Verdun Auditorium.
Niagara turned the ball over 19 times compared to nine for Montreal as it opened a three-game road trip ahead of its home opener versus the Saskatchewan Rattlers on Saturday, June 3, at Meridian Centre in St. Catharines.
Patrick Whelan, who is new to the Niagara lineup and filling the international spot on the roster after
Niagara turned the ball over 19 times compared to nine for Montreal as it opened a three-game road trip
playing a fall-winter schedule in his native England, paced the River Lions in points with 13 off the bench. Lloyd Pandi, with 12, was the only starter to score in double digits.
Pandi, Edward Ekiyor and onetime Brock University standout T.J. Lall each had a team-high six rebounds for Niagara.
The River Lions, one of six founding franchises in a spring-summer pro league now in its fifth season, visit the Calgary Surge on Tuesday and the Edmonton Stingers on the following night.
During the off-season, the Guelph Nighthawks relocated to Calgary after four seasons in southern Ontario.
Victor Raso, River Lions general manager-head coach since the team moved to the CEBL after three seasons playing a fall-winter schedule in the National Basketball League of Canada, travelled to Montreal for the opener not knowing what to expect.
“It’s always tough to tell because we haven’t played against other people,” he said. “But I really like this team, and I’m very cautiously optimistic.
“There are some things we need to do as a group to get there, but so far I think it might be the best team that I’ve put together.”
Raso suggested starting the season with three road games can’t help but contribute to “team bonding.”
“It’s great, it’s almost like a built-in team bonding,” he said. “You spend 10 days in training camp, then all of a sudden we’re with each other for the next seven days.
“It’s like an extended version of training camp, except it actually counts.”
Niagara has yet to miss the playoffs under Raso. His inaugural team was upset in the semifinals as was last year’s. They advanced from pool play at a championship tournament that was played without fans in St. Catharines in 2020 and lost to Edmonton in the final the next year.
Next Saturday’s game against Saskatchewan begins a four-game home stand for the River Lions. They also host the Scarborough Shooting Stars, Thursday, June 8; Vancouver Bandits, Saturday, June 10; and Montreal, Tuesday, June 13; before renewing their rivalry with the Ottawa BlackJacks in the nation’s capital on Saturday, June 17.
CEBL teams once again will be playing a 20-game regular season. For the first time, the league will be split into two divisions: East, Brampton Honey Badgers, Montreal, Niagara, Scarborough; West, Winnipeg Sea Bears, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatchewan, Vancouver.