CEBL, CBC Announce 2021 Broadcast Schedule, On-Air Talent
June 18, 2021 - Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) News Release
With only six days to tipoff for its third season, the CEBL along with CBC Sports announced Friday that eight of its 2021 season games will be broadcast nationally on CBC TV.
This will include four regular season games as well as games from the playoff rounds. The first game will feature the Hamilton Honey Badgers facing off against the 2020 CEBL champion, Edmonton Stingers in Edmonton at 4 p.m. ET (1 p.m. PT) on Saturday, June 26. Other games include the Guelph Nighthawks taking on Hamilton at 2 p.m. ET (11 a.m. PT) on July 3, Edmonton versus the Saskatchewan Rattlers at 4 p.m. ET on July 10, and Edmonton visiting the Ottawa BlackJacks at 4 p.m. ET (1 p.m. PT) on July 17. The CEBL will announce the playoff format and schedule shortly.
The CEBL and CBC Sports also announced the league-wide on-air talent who will deliver all the excitement of Canada's national professional basketball league to viewers across the country.
Peter Ruttgaizer will handle the play-by-play, alongside Joe Raso who will provide the in-game analysis for all CBC TV national games. Joining them will be Toronto Raptors host and Raptors 905 analyst Amy Audibert as sideline reporter. CBC Sports' ROAD TO THE OLYMPIC GAMES hosts Scott Russell and Andi Petrillo will split hosting duties for the live broadcasts on alternate weeks with Russell taking the reins for the June 26 opening weekend.
Fans will also be able to live stream all 49 regular season games on CEBL's new OTT streaming service CEBL+, cbcsports.ca, the free CBC Gem streaming service, the CBC Sports App for iOS and android devices, and Twitch. Broadcast teams for the live streams and television coverage are listed with bios below.
The 2021 CEBL season begins Thursday, June 24 at 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT) in the nation's capital as the Ottawa BlackJacks host the Niagara River Lions at TD Place. The Hamilton Honey Badgers take on the defending CEBL champion Stingers in Edmonton on June 26 at 4 p.m. ET (1 p.m. PT), while Fraser Valley hosts Saskatchewan that evening to complete the season's opening weekend of action.
A league created by Canadians for Canadians, the CEBL has the highest percentage of Canadian players of any professional league in the country, with 75 percent of its current rosters being Canadians. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. The only First Division Professional League Partner of Canada Basketball, the CEBL season typically runs from May through August. Head to CEBL.ca for more information or follow us on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.
MEET THE BROADCAST TEAM
CBC SPORTS
ANDI PETRILLO - A CEBL host for the second season in a row . . . CBC Olympic Games host since Sochi 2014 and co-host of CBC Sports' Road to the Olympic Games . . . host of Leafs Lunch with Andi Petrillo on TSN Radio . . . the first-ever female to serve as a full-time member of the Hockey Night in Canada team . . . covered the Toronto Raptors for NBA TV Canada from 2008-11 . . . won the 2016 Canadian Screen Award for Best Sports Host in a Sports Program or Series, becoming the first woman honoured by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television with an award as a host in a sports program or series.
SCOTT RUSSELL - Canadian Screen Award and Gemini Award-winning broadcaster . . . CBC Sports veteran of more than 25 years . . . covered 14 Olympic Games . . . co-host of CBC Sports' Road to the Olympic Games . . . spent 14 years as host and rink-side reporter for CBC's Hockey Night in Canada . . . hosted CBC's prime time coverage of the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games . . . host of six Commonwealth Games for CBC . . . host of CBC's primetime coverage of 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil©, the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa and the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup Germany . . . acclaimed author . . . writer for cbcsports.ca.
PETER RUTTGAIZER - Entering his second year as a CEBL play-by play announcer. . . Sideline reporter with CFL ON CBC, and play by play for World Championships of Badminton and Table Tennis . . . host and sideline reporter for Colorado Avalanche and Colorado Rapids . . . host reporter for New York Islanders on MSG . . . news and sports reporter for CBC Charlottetown.
JOE RASO - Entering his third year with the CEBL as a broadcast analyst . . . Director of Basketball Operations for the CEBL, where he directs team and player compliance issues, supervises officiating, and plays a lead role in the league's relationships with FIBA, Canada Basketball, and other basketball bodies . . . head coach and general manager of the Niagara River Lions in 2017-18 . . . scout with the Canadian Men's National team, and with the NBA's Atlanta, Brooklyn, and Denver franchises.
AMY AUDIBERT - Entering her second year broadcasting with the CEBL as a sideline reporter. . . Co-host of The CEBL Show Podcast . . . part of the first-ever Toronto Raptors all-female TV broadcast team covering the Toronto Raptors vs. Denver Nuggets game on March 24, 2021 . . . Television colour analyst for Raptors 905 (NBA G League), Atlanta Dream (WNBA), and University of Buffalo men's and women's broadcasts . . . spent three years as sideline reporter for Spectrum Sports covering a variety of sports/leagues across Western New York . . . Analyst/reporter during 2018 Men's U18 FIBA Americas championship held at the Meridian Centre . . . Team Captain and All-ACC Academic Women's Basketball Team during her senior season at the University of Miami.
CEBL+ LIVE STREAM ON-AIR TALENT
GUELPH/HAMILTON/NIAGARA:
JASON THOM - Entering his third season broadcasting the CEBL as both play by play and analyst . . . radio voice of Raptors 905 . . . handled NBA interviews and feature production at The Score Television Network and Sportsnet . . . voice of the FIBA U18 Americas Championship . . . Commissioner of National Preparatory Association, the only national prep high school basketball league in Canada.
MATT CULLEN - Joins the CEBL as a play-by-play commentator . . . Raptors 905 radio play-by-play on NewsTalk Sauga 960AM for the past two seasons. . . covered the Toronto Raptors championship run as a reporter for CBC/Radio-Canada in the spring of 2019 . . . multi-platform reporter and commentator for CBC Sports . . . Part of CBC/Radio-Canada's Olympic broadcast team.
DHANUNG BULSARA - Enters his first year broadcasting with the CEBL as a sideline reporter . . . Commonly known as 'D' . . . host of The Nighthawks Nation Podcast and NightVision series . . . Spent two years at the University of Guelph as a producer, director and play-by-play host covering Men's and Women's basketball . . . digital host for blogTO.
OTTAWA:
AJ JAKUBEC - 24-year sports broadcasting veteran . . . reporter with TSN 1200 Ottawa for 15 years after stops throughout British Columbia and his native Edmonton . . . first basketball call as the voice of the Alberta Golden Bears and Pandas from 2001-03 . . . Called several Carleton Ravens and Ottawa Gee-Gees games, including the annual Capital Hoops Classic and multiple U SPORTS Championships . . .Play-by-play work with the Ottawa REDBLACKS, Ottawa 67's, Ottawa Senators, Edmonton Oil Kings, Atlético Ottawa, and Ottawa Fury FC . . . covered the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup.
HANNAH SUNLEY-PAISLEY - Played basketball for the University of Ottawa . . . won bronze medal at nationals in her final year . . . played professional basketball in Germany and France. . . author of Magic Required.
ELIAS EL-ZEIN - CEBL side-line reporter for Ottawa. . . Play-by-Play commentator for the Carleton Ravens Men's and Women's basketball teams . . . Host and co-founder of the basketball podcast 3-In-The-Key on TSN Radio 1200.
EDMONTON:
DOUG MCCLEAN - CEBL broadcaster for Edmonton . . . called University of Alberta Pandas and Golden Bears games . . . a voice of Golden Bears football . . . called Golden Bears hockey . . . worked overseas at nine World University Games as the voice of multiple opening and closing ceremonies, basketball, men's and women's hockey, and even bandy at the 2019 winter games . . . voices of the Edmonton Stingers in their inaugural 2019 CEBL season. . . TV broadcaster for USports football . . . called the 2019 FIBA Women's Olympic Pre-Qualifying tournament in Edmonton.
PAUL SIR - CEBL analyst based out of Edmonton . . . played basketball at university and pro levels. . . coached at all levels for over 25 years. . . Executive Director at the Alberta Basketball Association . . . 3x3 Managing Director at Canada Basketball. . . hosted The Basketball Show on TSN Radio 1260 . . . creator and host of The Basketball Show Podcast Network . . . analyst for the FIBA 3x3 events including the 2019 World Championships and the 2019 FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
MARC MAJEAU - Graduated from the Radio & Television program at NAIT . . . producer and occasional host for TSN Radio 1260 . . . podcast and live events host for the Edmonton Elks football team. . . play-by-play voice of the University of Alberta Golden Bears and Pandas basketball teams.
SASKATCHEWAN:
SIMON HIATT - Second season as the play-by-play announcer for Saskatchewan. . . long-time voice of University of Saskatchewan Huskies men's and women's basketball . . . called hundreds of games at the professional, university and high school levels.
ROB LOVELACE - Former University of Saskatchewan Huskie Men's basketball player (2002-2007) . . . sits in the top 20 for career points and top 10 for minutes played . . . Huskies assistant coach from 2011-2013 alongside current Huskies Coach and Rattlers GM Barry Rawlyk . . . University of Saskatchewan Alumni Relations Officer in the College of Education.
HEATHER MORRISON - Award-winning theatre artist, radio host, associate producer, fitness instructor, and public speaking coach . . . Artistic Producer of Sum Theatre.
FRASER VALLEY:
ROB FAI - Award-winning broadcast veteran . . . 14 seasons as a play-by-play announcer for the Vancouver Canadians, a minor-league affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays . . . Recipient of the Baseball BC Meritorious Award in 2014 and inducted into the club's Hall of Fame in 2015.
RANSFORD BRAMPONG - Broadcast analyst for the Bandits . . . retired from professional play August 2019 following Fraser Valley's inaugural season . . . eight years with Canada's national team as part of the senior men's program . . . graduated from Western Carolina University . . . played professionally in Germany and Holland . . . named the Dutch Basketball League's defensive player of the year following the 2006-07 season.
SHANTELLE CHAND - began her broadcasting career as a traffic anchor on AM730 . . . covered the BC Lions, Vancouver Whitecaps and NCAA March Madness Tournament for sister station 980 CKNW. . . made her national television debut on NBA TV Canada's The Hangout during the 2014 NBA Finals . . . joined TSN Radio 1040 as a host and producer . . . As host and creator of The Home Stretch, Chand became the first-ever woman to host her own sports radio talk show on the platform. . . sideline reporter for the National Lacrosse League's Vancouver Warriors since 2018
• Discuss this story on the Canadian Elite Basketball League message board...
Canadian Elite Basketball League Stories from June 18, 2021
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
