Canadian Elite Basketball League
professional men's basketball league
The Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL; French: Ligue élite canadienne de basketball—LÉCB) is the premier men's professional basketball league in Canada, as recognized by Canada Basketball. The CEBL was founded in 2017 and began play in 2019 with six teams all owned and operated by ownership group Canadian Basketball Ventures.
The league currently consists of 10 teams from six provinces, with four from Ontario, two from Alberta, and one each from British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Quebec, the largest number of teams of any professional sports league operating entirely in Canada.
CEBL teams play 24 regular-season games from May to August. The season culminates with the top four teams in each conference making the playoffs. The first two rounds are single elimination format, with the finals being best-of-three.
History
The CEBL was first announced in October 2017. Niagara River Lions owner Richard Petko had been dissatisfied with the operations of the National Basketball League of Canada, which he deemed to be a "shoestring business" with no vision. He attempted to persuade the league to hire Mike Morreale, a former Canadian Football League player who, Petko felt, could do better at marketing the league and attracting sponsorship. However, after the NBL declined, Petko and Morreale decided to organize their own league, with Morreale as CEO. The six charter teams were officially unveiled in May 2018, with the River Lions joining five newly created franchises in Edmonton, AB, Guelph, ON, Hamilton, ON, Saskatoon, SK, and Abbotsford, BC (moved to Langley in 2021).
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