BY HARP PANDHER

THE Vancouver Bandits head into the 2026 CEBL Playoffs as the top seed in the Western Conference after finishing the regular season with a 15-9 record. Vancouver secured first place with a dominant 114-90 victory over the Winnipeg Sea Bears on Fan Appreciation Day at Langley Events Centre, earning home-court advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs.

The Bandits were led by Mychal Mulder’s 29 points and Mitch Creek’s 28 points in the regular-season finale, while Shamar Givance set a new CEBL single game record with 18 assists. Vancouver closed the regular season having won three of its last four games and recorded six sellout crowds at Envision Financial Court this season.

Vancouver will host the Edmonton Stingers in the single elimination Western Conference Semifinal on Thursday, August 6 at 7 p.m. at Langley Events Centre. The Bandits split their four regular-season meetings with Edmonton. A victory would send Vancouver to the Western Conference Final on Saturday, August 8, where they would host either the Winnipeg Sea Bears or Saskatoon Rattlers.

The 2026 postseason features a new format, with single-elimination conference semifinals and finals followed by the first best of three CEBL Finals series in league history, scheduled for August 12-16. All playoff games will be available on CBC Gem, CBC Sports platforms, and the CEBL YouTube channel, with the Conference Finals and CEBL Finals also airing nationally on CBC TV.

This was also the last Punjabi broadcast of the season on Connect FM. A big thank you to Jagraj Lalli for his outstanding play-by-play and Jarman Chahal for his insightful colour commentary throughout the season. The duo did an excellent job bringing the action to Punjabi speaking fans.

One of the season’s biggest highlights came during the club’s third annual South Asian Heritage Game on Saturday, June 20, when internationally renowned Punjabi singer-songwriter and music producer Sukshinder Shinda delivered a memorable performance. The celebration was a tremendous success, creating an electric atmosphere and making it a truly unforgettable event for fans in attendance.

If you haven’t had a chance to tune in yet, be sure to catch their next broadcast.