Basketball – Winnipeg Free Press

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
Kyu Fust has joined the University of Manitoba Bisons women’s basketball team after transferring from the University of Regina Cougars program.

Homecoming for Fust

Joshua Frey-Sam 5 minute read Thursday, Sep. 18, 2025

It was Christmas break of 2024 when Kyu Fust found herself in a familiar setting, wrestling with an unfamiliar feeling.

Fust, who was Manitoba’s top-ranked high school women’s basketball recruit in 2023, had returned home to play in the annual Wesmen Classic at the University of Winnipeg’s Duckworth Centre. While sitting in the stands, it fully sank in that she no longer loved the game.

The feeling had been percolating for a while during her second year at the University of Regina, as she grew unhappy with her fit within the Cougars program, and her enjoyment on the court began to fade.

Fust tried working with mental performance coach Jon Giesbrecht in the second semester, but that didn’t move the needle. After the season, she distanced herself from coaches and several teammates and hardly touched a basketball or stepped on the court.

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Wesmen’s Raimbault named new Sea Bears head coach

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Wesmen’s Raimbault named new Sea Bears head coach

Free Press staff 4 minute read Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025

The Winnipeg Sea Bears announced Thursday they are bidding farewell to the franchise’s first head coach and general manager Mike Taylor.

Taylor will be replaced by the Winnipeg Wesmen men’s basketball head coach Mike Raimbault.

Raimbault — who is set to take up the mantle as the franchise’s new head coach and general manager — is a familiar face for Sea Bears fans, as he served as an assistant coach under Taylor for the past three seasons.

“We made a strategic decision to build the next steps of our organization with a team leader who is in our market on a year round basis, and to join other teams in the league who are developing Canadians coaching at the pro level,” the team’s owner David Asper said Thursday.

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Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
Mike Raimbault was announced as the Winnipeg Sea Bears new head coach and general manager on Thursday. Raimbault has spent three seasons with the team as an assistant coach.

Energetic leader pumps up River Lions on way to title

Joshua Frey-Sam 6 minute read Preview

Energetic leader pumps up River Lions on way to title

Joshua Frey-Sam 6 minute read Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025

It was late in the first quarter of the Niagara River Lions’ Canadian Elite Basketball League championship win when Kimbal Mackenzie hit a mid-range jumper to retake an early lead.

The River Lions’ captain shook his head, as if to say “game on,” then shouted “Let’s go!” at his opponent on the Calgary Surge while backpedalling back to defence.

In a moment that otherwise went overlooked by anyone who wasn’t sitting court side, the heartbeat of the River Lions had a pulse.

Being the energy source of the River Lions is a staple for Mackenzie, a product of Oakville, Ont., who carries his captaincy proudly. His overall impact on the club supersedes the final numbers in the box score, and that was once again the case on Sunday night at Canada Life Centre.

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Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025

CEBL / INSTAGRAM
Niagara River Lions guard Kimbal Mackenzie (1) looks to pass the ball over Calgary Surge guard Evan Gilyard II (30) during the first half of the CEBL Championship final on Sunday night at Canada Life Centre.

Ahmad rises to the occasion as River Lions oust Shooting Stars

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Ahmad rises to the occasion as River Lions oust Shooting Stars

Taylor Allen 4 minute read Friday, Aug. 22, 2025

Target Score Time is Khalil Ahmad time.

The Niagara River Lions star guard again showed why he’s one of the most clutch players in CEBL history as he drilled a contested game-winning three-pointer to outlast the Scarborough Shooting Stars 93-91 in Friday night’s Eastern Conference championship at Canada Life Centre.

“That was an absolute grind. Khalil makes me happy, mad, upset, want to kill him, all of the above throughout the course of a game, but my God, that guy has something inside of him that is just built for Target Time,” said River Lions head coach Victor Raso.

“He has the physical tools and the mental confidence to be able to want it in those moments.”

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Friday, Aug. 22, 2025

BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS
Niagara guard Khalil Ahmed (right) sealed the deal for the River Lions on Friday as they eliminated the Scarborough Shooting Stars.

{hoto gallery: CEBL’s Championship Weekend festival takes over Winnipeg’s downtown

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{hoto gallery: CEBL’s Championship Weekend festival takes over Winnipeg’s downtown

Zoe Pierce 4 minute read Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025

It’s all about basketball in downtown Winnipeg this weekend.

The CEBL fandom is at an all-time high with 5.5 million Canadians engaging with the league annually, and Winnipeg fans showed up in full force to celebrate the 2025 Championship Weekend, filling Canada Life Centre for the conference finals and also enjoying the energy of a free, three-day, fan-friendly street festival that kicked off Friday at 3 p.m.

“The nice part was the opportunity to do something free in downtown,” said Jason Smith, president of the Winnipeg Sea Bears on the street festival. “We wanted to create an experience that had a little bit of something for everybody. Just to get people down and get them having a good time. The idea was to try and put on something that would be as fun and as accessible and appealing to as many people as possible.”

Walking in from Edmonton Street down Graham Avenue, spectators pass a variety of Third + Bird local vendors before reaching the main stage, where live music performances will take place throughout the weekend. Beyond that are food trucks and other stands offering basketball-themed activities spread across the blocked-off streets.

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Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025

BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS
Winnipegger Jaxon Wentoniw shows his enthusiasm for the Winnipeg Sea Bears while attending the Championship Weekend street festival at True North Square on Friday.

‘We’ve got so much great Canadian talent that’s coming up’

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‘We’ve got so much great Canadian talent that’s coming up’

Joshua Frey-Sam 8 minute read Friday, Aug. 22, 2025

As the Canadian Elite Basketball League drives through the final week of its seventh season, commissioner and co-founder Mike Morreale has been pulled in every direction and peppered with questions about the hot-button topics that surround the country’s largest professional sports league.

It’s all a part of the gig, and a testament to how far the CEBL has come in a short time and where it appears to be going.

“It’s important that — my belief anyway — is the commissioner needs to be seen. The players got to know that I got their back, so do the owners, so do the coaches, and so does the public,” Morreale told the Free Press following his annual commissioner’s luncheon at the RBC Convention Centre on Friday.

The boss is happy to talk shop as Championship Weekend festivities flood downtown Winnipeg, which hosts the biggest week in Canadian basketball in the third season since the Sea Bears joined the league.

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Friday, Aug. 22, 2025

BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS
CEBL commissioner and co-founder Mike Morreale said Friday Winnipeg has been a great market for the league.

Bandits steal the show at CEBL awards night

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Bandits steal the show at CEBL awards night

Zoe Pierce 6 minute read Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025

Mitch Creek may never play a CEBL game again, but the Vancouver Bandits forward’s season still finished on a high note, taking home MVP honours at the 2025 CEBL Awards, hosted in downtown Winnipeg on Thursday.

Creek ended his 2025 season with a touch of controversy last Saturday after his squad was knocked out in the semifinals against the Calgary Surge.

After the game, which the Bandits lost 105-103, Creek called out the league’s officiating, saying the CEBL had “taken an enormous step back in respect on the world stage” and declaring, “I’ll never play in this league again.”

A few days later, the Australian won the league’s top individual player award, representing what was nothing short of an impressive regular season.

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Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025

BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS
Winnipeg Sea Bears owner David Asper presents Tyrese Samuel (right) of the Vancouver Bandits with the Canadian Player of the Year Award.

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Akot back in the Sea Bears fold

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Akot back in the Sea Bears fold

Taylor Allen 4 minute read Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025

Emmanuel Akot is back with the Winnipeg Sea Bears.

The 6-8 starting forward left his hometown team high and dry three weeks before the CEBL’s Championship Weekend to suit up for South Sudan at FIBA’s AfroBasket tournament in Angola.

Akot was not expected to be available for Friday night’s Western Conference final against the Calgary Surge (7:30 p.m. tip-off) as AfroBasket rolls through the weekend, but when South Sudan’s run ended early on Monday after a loss to Senegal, the door opened to him returning.

Akot’s decision to leave was a controversial one with South Sudan not meeting the FIBA rule of giving club teams a minimum of 30 days notice, and the CEBL’s transaction window had closed so the Sea Bears were unable to pick up a replacement.

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Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025

Ruth Bonneville / Free Press
Emmanuel Akot: no regrets, seeking redemption

River Lions the team to beat

Taylor Allen 8 minute read Preview

River Lions the team to beat

Taylor Allen 8 minute read Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025

Get ready, Winnipeg, the CEBL Championship Weekend is finally here.

It starts Friday at Canada Life Centre at 5 p.m. with the Eastern Conference final between the Niagara River Lions and Scarborough Shooting Stars before the Winnipeg Sea Bears duke it out with the Calgary Surge for the Western Conference crown at 7:30 p.m.

The winners will meet at the downtown arena on Sunday at 6 p.m. for the championship game.

To get you ready for the biggest annual event in Canadian hoops, the Free Press spent Thursday chatting with players from all four teams.

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Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025

BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS files
The arrival of guard Jalen Harris was key to the Sea Bears roster rounding into form.

Surge coach says star Nelson Jr. is ready to play in NBA

Joshua Frey-Sam 7 minute read Preview

Surge coach says star Nelson Jr. is ready to play in NBA

Joshua Frey-Sam 7 minute read Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025

When the Canadian Elite Basketball League season culminates in Winnipeg this weekend, Jameer Nelson Jr. will be one player under the most watchful eyes of fans.

The Calgary Surge’s standout guard has two things going for him in that respect: he’s one of the finest young players — on both ends of the floor — of the four remaining teams. He’s also the namesake of someone who was once a household name among basketball enthusiasts.

His father, Jameer Nelson Sr., carved out a 14-year career in the NBA, being named to the All-rookie team in 2005 and a league all-star in 2009 — the same year he helped lead the Orlando Magic to an appearance in the NBA Finals.

While it’s almost a given the 24-year-old Junior is asked about his dad whenever the topic is basketball, he’s learned to be appreciative of the impact Nelson Sr. had on him and those who watched him.

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Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025

BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS
Calgary Surge guard Jameer Nelson Jr. learned a lot from his father, who was an NBA all-star.

CEBL head coaches talk season that was as Championship Weekend set to start

Taylor Allen 6 minute read Preview

CEBL head coaches talk season that was as Championship Weekend set to start

Taylor Allen 6 minute read Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025

The CEBL championship trophy has officially arrived in Winnipeg and is patiently waiting to see who will hoist it on Sunday.

Just a few feet away from the 27 pounds of gold — which fittingly resembles a peach basket, a nod to the ones Canadian James Naismith used when he invented the sport in 1891 — sat the remaining head coaches vying for the title, gathered for a press conference Wednesday morning at Canada Life Centre.

Unlike Kaleb Canales (Calgary Surge), Victor Raso (Niagara River Lions) and Mike De Giorgio (Scarborough Shooting Stars), Mike Taylor and the Winnipeg Sea Bears have known for over a year that they’d have a seat at the CEBL Championship Weekend table — thanks to the automatic berth granted to them as the host team.

That doesn’t mean the 24-game regular season was a cakewalk, though.

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Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025

BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS
The remaining CEBL head coaches in the post-season talked playoffs at Canada Life Centre on Wednesday beside the championship trophy. (From left) Winnipeg Sea Bears head coach Mike Taylor, Calgary Surge head coach Kaleb Canales, Niagara River Lions head coach Victor Raso and Scarborough Shooting Stars head coach Mike De Giorgio.

Blue Bombers back the Sea Bears

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Blue Bombers back the Sea Bears

Taylor Allen 6 minute read Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025

If you’ve been to a few Winnipeg Sea Bears games, chances are you’ve seen a Blue Bomber or two sitting near courtside taking in the action.

You can bet on seeing a few Friday night at the Canada Life Centre when the Sea Bears host the Calgary Surge in the CEBL Western Conference final.

“It’s just nice having that option to do something other than football. We have other sports teams here in the city, but the Sea Bears bring a lot of people out, especially downtown at the arena, and the atmosphere is electric,” said Bombers defensive end Willie Jefferson. “Basketball is a big sport in Manitoba, and I grew up playing basketball, loving basketball. It was my first sport, really, and I just love to see the game.”

Jefferson isn’t the only member of the Blue and Gold who took to the hardwood before stepping on the gridiron. The only reason right guard Patrick Neufeld strapped on a helmet for the first time in Grade 11 was because his high school football coach told him it would be a good way to get in shape for basketball season.

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Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025

John Woods / THE CANADIAN PRESS files
Bombers DE Willie Jefferson hoops it up in the off season in a local men’s league.

Sea Bears’ Roberts grateful to be playing after tragic night last year in New York

Joshua Frey-Sam 6 minute read Preview

Sea Bears’ Roberts grateful to be playing after tragic night last year in New York

Joshua Frey-Sam 6 minute read Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025

Meet Terry Roberts: Ankle-breaker. Bucket getter. Walking miracle.

At least that’s what doctors called the Winnipeg Sea Bears’ point guard as he lay in a hospital bed, hooked up to a ventilator, 18 months ago.

That followed a night that began as one of the most memorable of his young basketball career and ended as the most horrifying of his life.

“It was a great night, actually, but it was a bad night,” Roberts recounted with the Free Press on Monday. “Had a game. Had my first (professional) double-double. Had a good game, and then something very tragic happened.”

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Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025

BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS
Winnipeg Sea Bears’ Terry Roberts (left) drives up the court against Calgary Surge guard Karim Mané back in May. The Sea Bears host the Surge in the Western Conference final on Friday at Canada Life Centre.

Harris clinches victory as Sea Bears take nail-biter over Rattlers

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Harris clinches victory as Sea Bears take nail-biter over Rattlers

Joshua Frey-Sam 5 minute read Friday, Aug. 1, 2025

The Winnipeg Sea Bears are learning to cope with their ever-changing world.

Stability has been tough to come by away from the court for the club, which has lost or released seven players from its opening night roster, and now it’s trying to find consistency on the court with the Canadian Elite Basketball League regular season fading and the playoff picture coming into focus.

The latest stop on their path to cohesion brought a nail-biting 98-89 victory over the Saskatchewan Rattlers before 5,871 in attendance at Canada Life Centre on Friday.

Jalen Harris was the hero in Target Score Time as he converted a pair of free throws.

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Friday, Aug. 1, 2025

BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS
Sea Bears guard Jalen Harris (middle) nailed a pair of free throws to clinch the win Friday night.

Stingers top Sea Bears in back-and-forth battle

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Stingers top Sea Bears in back-and-forth battle

Zoe Pierce 5 minute read Friday, Jul. 25, 2025

It’s heartbreaking being one point away from a win with possession and still losing, and it’s even worse when the winning basket comes at the hands of a former player at home.

The Winnipeg Sea Bears fell 95-92 to the Edmonton Stingers Friday night at Canada Life Centre, as former Sea Bear Scottie Lindsey stunned the crowd of 7,104 in a close target time with the winning basket.

Going into target time up 84-83, the Sea Bears looked like they would be the first to reach 93 points, leading the entire time until the Stingers tied things up 92-92.

In next-point-wins territory, some fans were on their feet as Jalen Harris drove the net for the victory for the Sea Bears, but a defensive play by another former player, Mason Bourcier, turned the ball the other way and the rest was history.

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Friday, Jul. 25, 2025

BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS
Sea Bears forward Trevon Scott drives to the hoop against the Stingers Scottie Lindsey on Friday night in Winnipeg.

Ogungbemi-Jackson knows what it takes to make it

Taylor Allen 6 minute read Preview

Ogungbemi-Jackson knows what it takes to make it

Taylor Allen 6 minute read Wednesday, Jul. 23, 2025

Despite it being his 10th year in pro basketball, this past season presented challenges that Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson has never faced before.

It started out in the Iranian Super League with a club called Tabiat, but with the country’s conflict with Israel rising, the Winnipegger made the decision to fly home after just 11 days.

“I just said, ‘Man, I don’t want to risk it.’ I knew my family wasn’t going to be comfortable if I’m here the whole time with these things going on, so, I decided to come back home,” said Ogungbemi-Jackson, who played his first nine seasons all over Europe.

“Once you become a father and a husband and you have a family, you have to make those types of decisions. I could’ve stayed, the team was ready for me to stay and wanted me to stay, but they understood why I wanted to go home.”

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Wednesday, Jul. 23, 2025

September 20, 2025

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