The Fraser Valley Bandits were the big winners in the first-ever Canadian Elite Basketball League Draft Lottery.
The Abbotsford-based professional basketball club earned the right to select first overall at the CEBL’s inaugural entry draft, which will be revealed on March 23.
The actual entry draft is a closed door event, which occurs on March 16.
Big news! We’ll have first choice at the inaugural #CEBLEntryDraft2019, which follows a snake format. 💯 @CEBLeague #StealTheShow
— Fraser Valley Bandits (@FV_Bandits) March 7, 2019
Details: https://t.co/ht8mqHVPAw #HoldCourt pic.twitter.com/4VyJPXZuOU
“I’m honoured to make the first-ever draft selection in CEBL history. This is a special moment in the development of Canadian basketball and an amazing opportunity to shine an important light on how strong our pool of domestic talent truly is,” said Peter Guarasci, the head coach and general manager of the Bandits.
“I look forward to selecting an exciting crop of players that will reflect the basketball talent base that has been developing in British Columbia and Canada at large with regards to the national and U Sports levels.”
The draft will follow a snake format, meaning teams will select one through six, then in inverse order through each subsequent round. The first four rounds of the draft will have a regional focus as CEBL teams will select only players from their respective territories, allowing each team to have a nucleus of players from its own region.
In those first four rounds, the Bandits will only be able to select players from Manitoba, Alberta, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Nunavut, the Yukon Territory and the Northwest Territories.
Rounds five to 11 will allow teams to select players from any region in the world.
Following the 11th round, a two-round U Sports Draft including both graduating and returning university players will be held.
In other Bandits news, auditions for the team’s senior dance team occur at Xtreme Talent Dance Company in Abbotsford on Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
The dance team will be led by locals Jessica MacMillan and Jessica Stewart, and all dancers over the age of 19 are invited to try out.
For more information on the audition, click here.