HONEY BADGERS SET TO FACE WINNIPEG SEA BEARS IN 2026 CEBL FINALS
After two home court victories this past weekend, the Brampton Honey Badgers have punched their spot in the 2026 Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) Finals, the first time they have reached the finals since 2022 back in Hamilton.
The Honey Badgers finished second in the Eastern Conference, which solidified the first-round matchup against the Ottawa BlackJacks to be at the CAA Centre. But with the fourth-seed Niagara River Lions upsetting the first-seed Scarborough Shooting Stars, this allowed for Brampton to host the Eastern Conference Finals.
The home fans showed out more than ever during this playoff season, as the booming noise around the arena gave the Honey Badgers a second wind of energy to go out and earn two huge victories against their Eastern Conference rivals (95-91 Thursday vs. Ottawa, 91-81 Saturday vs. Niagara).
“It means a lot,” said Head Coach
Alex Cerda, when talking about having the fans rally behind the team. “I think it shows a testament to the city supporting a team that’s tough, that works hard. This arena was as loud as I’ve ever heard it, and I really feel like our players fed off of that energy.”
The fourth quarter on Saturday felt like the turning point of the season for the Honey Badgers, as a 10-3 run gave the team an 81-72 lead going into Target Score Time with
Trentyn Flowers and
Sean East II scoring 10 straight points and sending the fans into a frenzy. However, Niagara came out of the break hot and went on a 6-0 run and held Brampton scoreless for nearly four minutes to bring the game back within three. In response, the Honey Badgers and Flowers knew how to attack back the way a Honey Badger does.
“They’re a good team, they’ve got great players,” Flowers explained. “When they’re going to punch, we have to weave, dodge, take the blows and then fight back. I think that’s just a testament to our team, who we are as people and basketball players. I mean, [Coach Cerda] keeps talking about that Honey Badger, so the Honey Badger’s real fierce.”
‘That Honey Badger’ serves as the model for Cerda’s hard-working philosophy for the team this season in order to be the toughest and grittiest team in the CEBL. Since Flowers joined the team, he’s taken the embodiment of the Honey Badger to come out aligned with his team and remain ferocious.
“When it comes to this team, Coach loves to talk about the Honey Badger, it’s the fiercest creature. When we’re coming, get out of our way. We’re going to get what we deserve,” Flowers added.
The jolting response resulted in another 10-3 run to close out the win, capped off by
Tyrese Hunter knocking down back-to-back three pointers for the win. Showing his confidence on the court, Hunter solidified himself as one of the elite backcourt stars alongside East II and
Roddy Peters.
“I knew the last shot, I was confident it was going to go in,” said Hunter, who finished with 17 points and nailed five triples on the day. “But overall, it was a team win. We played some defense, just trying to shut down their players and keep going.”
Hunter, who celebrates his 23rd birthday on Tuesday, rejoined the team ahead of the first round matchup against the BlackJacks after an ankle injury kept him out of the lineup while he was rehabbing back home. Since returning, he has averaged 14 points per game in the playoffs and filled the playmaking void next to East II while Peters has been serving a two-game suspension. Picking up right where he left off a month ago, Hunter has used this whole year, his first as a professional player, to reflect and find out where he can immediately insert himself into a winning roster.
“It’s honestly just being myself,” Hunter elaborated. “I’ve been a professional now for some time. Not too long, but I’ve gotten the gig of it. You just got to have professional habits, come in and follow the coaching steps and follow your teammates.”
By the time Saturday evening came around, the Honey Badgers found out that they would be playing the Winnipeg Sea Bears in the CEBL Finals. The 14-10 Sea Bears may have had a lot of success this season, but none of it came against Brampton. The Honey Badgers pulled off a clean sweep of the season series, winning one home and road game apiece against Winnipeg. Both teams have made a long-awaited trip to the finals become a reality, but the last piece to the puzzle is beating out the other in a best-of-three championship series, the first time a CEBL title will be won outside of single elimination.
Winnipeg have been without their franchise star Teddy Allen for the entirety of the playoffs due to injury, but have fared just fine in the Western Conference. They have maintained momentum throughout the entirety of each of their respective matchups, only being outscored in one of the combined eight quarters between the Saskatoon Mamba and Vancouver Bandits. A large part of the success has been from the addition of Xavier Moon into the lineup, who has reminded everyone how dominant he is by averaging 22 points and seven assists per game in the playoffs, in pursuit of his third CEBL title. The Honey Badgers got a full taste of how the three-time CEBL MVP can create chaos against them on July 25, when he dropped 28 points and six assists, 26 of those points coming in the second half, and almost singlehandedly took down Brampton at the Canada Life Centre.
Thankfully for the Honey Badgers, the first game of the finals will be on home soil where they get a chance to build some momentum ahead of the road trip and conclusion of the series in Winnipeg. Brampton have won three of their last four home contests, and all of those wins have included a Sean East II masterclass where he has put up 20 or more points. The team has performed substantially better when East II reaches the 20-point threshold, currently at a 10-3 record when he does so compared to 1-4 when he falls short.
East II has never been a player that looks too far ahead of schedule and has remained composed over the course of the season by getting through every step in the journey as it comes. And now as he enters his first CEBL Finals, adding Hunter, Flowers, and Peters into the rotation all at once seems like the light to a path towards the title.
“When we got [Hunter and Flowers] back, and we got Roddy, and we started playing together,” East II answered after Saturday’s game when asked when the idea of a championship team became a reality. And in order to come out on top, he’s made it a staple to not change that day-to-day mindset. “We just got to stay together, take it one game at a time, one possession at a time,” he continued. “We’re trying to win the whole thing.”
The CEBL Finals kick off with Game 1 Wednesday night in Brampton at the CAA Centre, where the Honey Badgers look to put that home court advantage to use and get the upper hand over the Sea Bears ahead of Games 2 and 3 at the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg. Fans can get your tickets for Game 1 now
here to catch the action as tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM EST.
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About the Brampton Honey Badgers
One of the original franchises of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL), the 2022 CEBL Champion Brampton Honey Badgers proudly call the CAA Centre home. The Brampton front office and basketball operations department bring NBA, NBA G League, national team, NCAA and major international pro league experience to the franchise. With a vision of promoting Brampton grassroots basketball and local businesses through community and corporate engagement, the Honey Badgers will leverage the explosion of basketball as a vehicle for innovation and change. For more information visit honeybadgers.ca.
About the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL)
The Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) is Canada’s professional basketball league, featuring 10 member clubs across six provinces. Powered by elite talent, a fast-paced game format, and deep community connections, the CEBL delivers high-level basketball and unforgettable summer experiences for fans nationwide.
The league boasts the youngest fan base in Canadian professional sport, half under age 34, and one of the fastest-growing audiences in the country, now reaching nearly 4.1 million Canadians. This momentum reflects the CEBL’s ability to deliver dynamic, thrilling gameplay while connecting deeply with a new generation of fans and expanding basketball’s cultural footprint across Canada.
The CEBL is where elite performance meets homegrown talent. In 2025, 17 players with NBA experience hit the court, while nearly 70% of the league’s roster was Canadian, the highest concentration of domestic talent in any professional sports league in the country. Running from May through August, the CEBL’s season is a showcase of top basketball talent and a summer hub for fast-paced, high-energy fan excitement.
Media Contact:
Elias Eldridge - Account Executive & Communications Coordinator
Brampton Honey Badgers
