St Catharines, Ontario/Fraser Valley – The Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) and CBC Sports announced Friday the full schedule of games for the CEBL Summer Series, which tips off July 25 and will be the first live professional sports action in Canada since the COVID-19 outbreak in March. The league’s seven teams will convene in St. Catharines, Ontario for a 26-game competition that ends August 9 with the CEBL Championship game. The dates are subject to the status of the province of Ontario’s phased-in reopening process.
CBC will broadcast seven games on television starting with the CEBL Summer Series opening-day doubleheader featuring the Hamilton Honey Badgers versus the Niagara River Lions at 1:30 p.m. ET (10:30 a.m. PT) on Saturday, July 25, followed by the expansion Ottawa BlackJacks making their league debut against the Guelph Nighthawks at 3:50 p.m. ET (12:50 p.m. PT).
CBC Sports will live stream all games of the Summer Series on the free CBC Gem streaming service, cbcsports.ca, and the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices. The CEBL and CBC Sports announced a three-year partnership on November 26, 2019 that includes broadcast and streaming coverage each season.
In addition to the aforementioned games, CBC will broadcast a double-header Saturday, August 1 that will see Hamilton meet the Fraser Valley Bandits at 1:30 p.m. ET (10:30 a.m. PT), followed by the defending CEBL Champion Saskatchewan Rattlers taking on the Edmonton Stingers at 3:50 p.m. ET (12:50 p.m. PT). CBC will also televise both semifinal games the afternoon of Saturday, August 8, as well as the championship game at 12 p.m. ET (9 a.m. PT) on Sunday, August 9.
While staying in St. Catharines the teams will be separated from the general public, and strict screening and COVID-19 protocols will be adhered to under the supervision of medical officials. Extensive health and safety measures will be maintained for the participants, including social distancing and other specialized practices designed to limit interactions amongst participants.
The 2020 CEBL season has been on delay since mid-April with its originally scheduled tipoff date of May 7. Each club had been scheduled to play a 20-game schedule leading to a final four CEBL Championship Weekend in Edmonton, August 14-16.
