July 25 GAME PREVIEW: Scarborough @ Brampton
After a tough road loss in Ottawa, The Brampton Honey Badgers look to recover at home against the Scarborough Shooting Stars July 25 @ 7:30pm.
Brampton currently sits last in the Eastern Conference with a 4-15 record. Despite the arduous season, the playoffs are still within reach for the Honey Badgers. They are only 3.5 games behind Montreal for the final playoff spot and will need to win their last five games, including a match against the Alliance. They also need Montreal to lose their remaining games of the season for them to take that coveted final playoff spot. Scarborough on the other hand, is 8-9 and third place in the Eastern Conference. After a loss to the Niagara River Lions which put them below .500, they look to rebound quickly and finish the season strong with a trip to the playoffs.
Prior to their matchup against Ottawa, the Honey Badgers signed Hamilton native and former Ottawa BlackJack Rudi Williams. In 10 games as a guard, Williams averaged 6.7 points, 1.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 15.5 minutes. In his first game against the Niagara River Lions on May 18, he scored a professional career-high 15 points and relentlessly attacked the basket, shooting a game-high 12 free throws and making 10 of them.
To keep the playoff dream alive, the Honey Badgers will have to recover quickly after a 91-77 loss to the Ottawa BlackJacks who swept the in-season series. At first, Brampton kept pace with the BlackJacks, entering the second quarter down 30-31. However, they struggled to get things going from there, being outscored 23-13 as Ottawa attacked the basket. The Honey Badgers recovered quickly in the third and drove to the rim to put pressure on the BlackJacks, but ran out of steam in the fourth quarter, being outscored 15-13 as both offenses struggled.
Brampton was led by the guard duo of Koby McEwen and Quinndary Weatherspoon, who both recorded 17 points. McEwen also helped the team in other facets of the game, grabbing six rebounds and dishing out six assists. David Muenkat continued to contribute on the offensive and defensive ends, logging 14 points, eight rebounds, three steals and one block.
Ottawa was led by the guard-big tandem of Javonte Smart and Isaih Moore. Smart shot lights out from the field, scoring 28 points on .620 from the field and .440 from three. Moore was a beast in the paint, logging 22 points and a game-high 18 rebounds with two blocks. Off the bench Keevan Veinot recorded 12 points and six rebounds, providing a spark.
In his Honey Badgers debut and against his former team, Rudi Williams grabbed four rebounds and dished out two assists. He also contributed on the defensive end, recording one steal.
After the game, Brampton’s Head Coach Sheldon Cassimy kept it concise on the Honey Badger’s problems on the glass.
“They have multiple guys that get on the glass. I feel like we were getting the initial stop and then just giving up those second-chance points,” said Coach Cassimy.
Scarborough is coming off a 15-point loss to the Niagara River Lions, losing their in-season series 2-1. Niagara’s win was largely thanks to great games from Khalil Ahmad, Ron Curry and Kimbal Mackenzie. Ahmad was the game’s highest scorer, finishing with 23 points on an effective 5-for-8 from the field and 11-12 at the charity stripe. Curry scored 22 points, shooting 8-for-13 in the game and Mackenzie showed his versatility, recording 16 points, six rebounds, six assists, two steals and one block.
Although Niagara got the best of them, Scarborough scored 21 points off 19 turnovers from Niagara and outscored the River Lions 34-30 in the paint as a team. Taking care of the ball and attacking the basket will be key for the Honey Badgers in their rematch. Looking back to their previous matchup, the Honey Badgers won the turnover battle 12-17. Brampton was able to force turnovers as well, recording a season-high 12 steals as a team. Despite recording 30 points in the paint, the Honey Badgers only shot .410 from two-point range. This was in large part due to a high volume of mid-range shots. Brampton has to be aggressive in their rematch with Scarborough if they want to get a win and sneak into the playoffs.
Brampton isn’t done making additions to the team for the playoff push, signing former Honey Badger Yaw Obeng-Mensah and former BlackJack Wheza Panzo. Obeng-Mensah was mostly a solid bench player in his lone season with the Brampton Honey Badgers, averaging 5.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 0.9 steals, and 16.0 minutes. He has shown the ability to take over games, such as when he exploded for 25 points and 13 rebounds in the final game last season against the Ottawa BlackJacks. He also recorded a solid 15 points on 7-for-8 shooting from the field against Montreal. He can be a terror on defense such as when he logged six steals in a nailbiting win against Scarborough.
In four games with the Ottawa BlackJacks, Wheza Panzo was mainly a bench player, averaging 1.2 points and 1.0 rebound in 8.2 minutes per game. At Iona and Stetson, he emerged as a solid three-point shooter off the bench; Including two seasons at Stetson where he shot .431 and .469 from three, respectively.
As the season reaches its zenith, this match looks to have playoff implications for both teams. A win for Brampton keeps them in the playoff hunt just a bit longer as they look to make the playoffs for the first time since 2022. For Scarborough, a win reinforces their lead in the Eastern Conference as they look to secure their fourth consecutive playoff berth and a chance to win their second championship. Both teams are going to be bringing their A-game, making it a fun game to watch on CEBL+ and TSN+.
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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)
A league created by Canadians for Canadians with a mission to develop Canadian players, coaches, sports executives, and referees, the CEBL boasts the highest percentage of Canadian players of any pro league in the country with 73% of its rosters being Canadian and more than 10 players with NBA game experience in 2025. Players also bring experience from the NBA G League, top international pro leagues, the Canadian National team program, NCAA programs, as well as U SPORTS and CCAA. More than 20 players have signed NBA contracts following a CEBL season, and numerous CEBL players attend NBA G League training camps every year. The CEBL season runs from May through August with games broadcast live on CEBL+ powered by Tonybet, TSN, TSN+, RDS, Game+ and Next Level Sports & Entertainment. More information about the CEBL is available at CEBL.ca and @cebleague on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.
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Brampton Honey Badgers