Throughout the history of the Canadian Football League the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and four versions of teams in Ottawa have had a fierce rivalry. In the Ontario Hockey League, the Ottawa 67s and Hamilton Bulldogs have a much younger but every bit as lively rivalry as the franchises have met in the postseason the past two seasons. In only its second season, the Canadian Elite Basketball League is too new to have rivalries, but if history tells us anything today could be the start of another one between Ottawa and Hamilton.

Ottawa (1-2) hops into today’s game after handing the previously unbeaten Fraser Valley Bandits a 78-76 setback Thursday. Johnny Berhanemeskel scored 19 points and Olivier Hanlon added 17 to pace the BlackJacks scoring on a night when the team shot only .394 from the floor. Ottawa outmuscled Fraser Valley on the boards with a 46-37 rebounding margin and turned the ball over only 16 times against the high-pressure Bandits defense. The BlackJacks opened the Summer Series with losses to Guelph, 89-71, and Edmonton, 89-82—the two teams atop the Series standings.

Hamilton knocked off Fraser Valley, 102-96, in a nationally televised game yesterday to improve to 2-2 in the Series. The Honey Badgers won the transition battles and moved the ball well, leading to a .507 accuracy rate from the floor with 24 assists on 51 field goals. Hamilton scored 38 fastbreak points to the Bandits 14. The Honey Badgers led 76-59 late in the third quarter, 82-65 early in the fourth, and were never threatened after that. Manny Diressa led a balanced scoring attack with 18 points, while Caleb Agada, who joined the team yesterday to replace the injured Duane Notice, added 16 points and four rebounds in 19 minutes.

Today’s game is available on the CBC Gem app, on cbcsports.ca, and on Twitch.tv (CEBLeague). Tip-off is slated for 1:30 p.m. ET. It will be followed by Fraser Valley and Niagara in the 4 p.m. nightcap of today’s doubleheader.

Today’s opponents take very different approaches in their efforts to win games. Hamilton relies on ball pressure, sharing the ball on offense, and winning the transition battles to fuel its output. Hamilton is scoring 91.5 points, including 28.5 off the fastbreak, and allowing 88.0 points per game through four tilts. Contrast that with Ottawa, which presents a structured ball control offensive system. The BlackJacks are scoring 77.0 points a game, and only 14.0 fastbreak points. They’re giving up 84.7 points through three games, however. Both of today’s teams outrebound their opponents by about 3.5 boards a game.

Today’s opponents are both in the midst of making key adjustments as each has lost a premier producer in recent days. Ottawa’s Phil Scrubb, one of the most high-profile Canadian players in the CEBL Summer Series and a leader for the BlackJacks on and off the court, left the team Wednesday after signing a contract with a team in France. He is Ottawa’s leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 16.0 points and 5.5 rebounds in his two appearances. Ottawa filled the roster vacancy with guard Lloyd Pandi, who wasn’t with them during training camp and has only one year of university basketball experience. Pandi debuted against Fraser Valley and contributed eight points, six rebounds, three assists, and two steals in 20 minutes.

Hamilton lost its spiritual leader and most all-around productive player in the CEBL Summer Series Duane Notice to a torn Achilles late in Wednesday’s loss to Edmonton. Guard Caleb Agada replaced Notice on the roster and made an immediate impact against Fraser Valley scoring a team-high 16 points in 19 minutes despite not having a chance to experience a practice with his new teammates. Agada returned to Canada after playing eight games in the Israel-Winner League where he averaged 15.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 29.3 minutes. He appeared in two games with the Honey Badgers last season. Hamilton is still working Derek Cooke, Jr. into its rotation after he missed the team’s first two games and saw only six minutes of action in his debut against the Stingers on Wednesday. He has recorded five points and a rebound in 14 total minutes of court time.

Hamilton spreads the wealth on offense with only Brianté Weber averaging in double figure scoring (14.5) in the absence of Notice. Agada debuted with 16 points in yesterday’s triumph over Fraser Valley. Veteran big man Owen Klassen protects the middle on defense, while posting 9.8 points and 7.0 rebounds per contest. Six Hamilton players average 20 or more minutes of playing time, and Agada played 19 in his debut.

Ottawa’s Shaquille Keith averaged 5.3 points, 1.7 assists and 13.3 minutes in three games with the Honey Badgers during last year’s inaugural season. He finished the season as a member of Saskatchewan’s championship team, where he contributed 15.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 30.1 minutes in eight games with the Rattlers. In the CEBL Summer Series, the 6-foot-5 guard is averaging 11.7 points, a team-high 6.7 rebounds and 19.3 minutes with the BlackJacks.

Olivier Hanlan enters today’s game as Ottawa’s pacesetter in scoring with a 12.7 per game average. Along with Keith, Johny Berhanemeskel is the third BlackJack dealing in double digits with an 11.0 scoring average. 

Hamilton wraps up its round robin play Tuesday in a rematch of the 2019 CEBL Championship game against the Saskatchewan Rattlers. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET (3 p.m. CT). The BlackJacks and Rattlers play the final round robin game of the CEBL Summer Series at 7:30 p.m. ET (5:30 p.m. CT) Wednesday.