After finishing the regular season with an impressive 13-7 record, the Edmonton Stingers head into the Canadian Elite Basketball League playoffs this weekend well-positioned to take a crack at winning their third league championship in team history.
The CEBL playoffs get underway with a “play-in round” on Friday that sees the Ottawa BlackJacks take on the defending CEBL champion Scarborough Shooting Stars in the Eastern Conference while the Calgary Surge will play the Winnipeg Sea Bears in the Western Conference. The winner of the tilt between Calgary and Winnipeg will head to Alberta’s capital to take on the Stingers in the Western Conference Semifinal on Sunday.
“We love playing in front of our home crowd, and we will be both physically and mentally prepared for whoever we face on Sunday,” Stingers head coach and general manager Jordan Baker was quoted as saying in a post on the team’s website.
“Being able to host a playoff game with an opportunity to get to Championship Weekend is very exciting for our team.”
Get daily Edmonton news
The Stingers are the only CEBL club to have won more than one championship since the league’s first-ever tip-off in 2019. Edmonton captured consecutive league titles in 2020 and 2021.
Stingers guard Trey McGowens led the basketball club in scoring this season with 15.7 points per game. Forward Nick Hornsby led Edmonton in rebounds and assists.
The Stingers also had success at the gate in the 2024 regular season, selling out four home games at the Edmonton EXPO Centre, including the team’s regular-season finale — an 89-86 victory over the Sea Bears.
This season’s championship weekend will take place in Montreal. It will begin with a Conference Finals doubleheader on Friday, Aug. 9, and the Championship Final will be played on Sunday, Aug. 11.
The CEBL has revealed its musical lineup for the championship game’s halftime show: Fefe Dobson, FouKi and Shreez.