CEBL Championship Weekend 2022 marks celebration of Canadian basketball and pursuit of global recognition, says commissioner Mike Morreale

Abraham Smith

Concluding Season 4 of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL), the Niagara River Lions, Scarborough Shooting Stars, Ottawa BlackJacks and Hamilton Honey Badgers meet in Ottawa as part of the league’s championship weekend, with games ending on Friday, December 8th.

With plenty of high-level action set to take place in the nation’s capital, The Sporting News caught up with CEBL Commissioner and CEO Mike Morreale, who gave an insight into what’s to come for a big weekend in the league.

“Much more exciting basketball, but also the entertainment that basketball provides on a regular basis,” Morreale told SN.

“It’s a cultural event, it’s music and food, fashion, art, lifestyle,” he added. “It’s all about the games – our semifinals on Friday and our championship on Sunday.”

A quick look through the CEBL social media channels shows what Morreale is talking about and emphasizes that the championship weekend is literally more than just a weekend.

With events starting as early as Wednesday, the CEBL Championship Weekend also includes community clinics and art workshops, as well as a series of concerts on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

With the COVID-19 pandemic impacting the 2020 CEBL season, 2022 marks the third time in four years that the CEBL season has culminated with a true championship weekend.

According to Morreale, this series of events is a celebration of much more than CEBL basketball.

“The championship weekend was created because we really wanted to create a Canadian basketball identity,” Morreale said.

“It’s not just the CEBL event, it’s a Canadian basketball event. It’s a cultural event. It’s a chance to bring people together – especially in the summer in Canada – it’s always a great time to get together and it’s built over the years.”

A new champion will be crowned this time around as the Edmonton Stingers’ hunt for a three-peat came to an end during the play-in round of the CEBL Playoffs.

Regarding the four remaining teams, Morreale addressed how fitting it is that they will play for the title in Ottawa.

“There’s going to be a new champion, and he’s going to come from one of our Ontario teams, and we happen to be playing in Ontario. So it’s the fight for Canada, but also the fight for Ontario.”

In addition to being crowned champions, the last team standing will represent the CEBL in the Basketball Champions League of Americas, a FIBA ​​competition that pits the top national champions from FIBA-recognized leagues in their region of America.

For Morreale, having the CEBL champion represent the nation on the global stage means “everything” as it enables the organization to pursue one of its highest goals:

“We certainly have a goal to be hands down the best league in this country – but honestly, one of the top five FIBA ​​leagues in the world, that’s our goal.”

CEBL Championship Weekend Schedule

date Game Match time
Friday 12 August Semifinal #1 Niagara River Lions vs. Scarborough Shooting Stars 4 p.m
Friday 12 August Semifinal #2 Ottawa BlackJacks vs. Hamilton Honey Badgers 19 o’clock
Sunday 14 August championship open 3:30 p.m

Here’s how to watch the CEBL championship weekend

  • Events: 12-14 August
  • TV channel: CBC sport
  • Stream: CEBL+, CEBL App, cbcsports.ca, CBC Gem, CBC Sports App
  • Streaming (US): NXT level sport

In Canada, fans have several options to get in the mood for the final games of the 2022 CEBL season.

Each game will be televised on CBC Sports, while viewers in Canada can stream the championship weekend on CEBL+, the CEBL app, cbcsports.ca, the CBC Gem streaming service or the CBC Sports App.

The CEBL Championship Weekend is available to stream in the US via the NXT Level Sports App.

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