CEBL·CEBL ROUNDUP

Semifinal-bound BlackJacks dispatch Alliance in season finale for 3rd straight win

The Ottawa BlackJacks wrapped up the 2022 Canadian Elite Basketball League season with an 81-62 victory over the Montreal Alliance on Monday, entering the playoffs on a roll.

Ottawa will take on 1st place Hamilton on Championship Weekend

Rory Sumner · CBC Sports · Posted: Aug 01, 2022 10:24 PM EDT | Last Updated: August 2, 2022

Ottawa BlackJacks guard Johnny Berhanemeskel (12) dribbles the ball during an 81-62 win over the Montreal Alliance on Monday night in Ottawa. (@CEBLeague/Twitter)

The Ottawa BlackJacks wrapped up the 2022 Canadian Elite Basketball League season with an 81-62 victory over the Montreal Alliance on Monday, entering the playoffs on a roll.

The home game acted as a tune-up for the 8-12 BlackJacks, who were locked into eighth place entering the affair and will be off for 10 days before taking on the first place Hamilton Honey Badgers in the semifinals on August 12.

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Ottawa was granted an automatic spot at the CEBL Championship Weekend by virtue of being the host team.

The BlackJacks dominated the second half of the game, outscoring the Alliance 41-26 in the final two frames, and entered the Elam Ending up by 14.

Ottawa native Johnny Berhanemeskel exploded for 25 points to lead all scorers on an extremely efficient 9-for-12 shooting.

The guard also potted 22 points in last Sunday's 104-95 victory over the Honey Badgers, the start of the BlackJacks' three-game winning streak - the longest active run in the CEBL.

Fake it, then make it <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LetsBall?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LetsBall</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OBJvsMTA?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OBJvsMTA</a> <a href="https://t.co/qGuCThO7jj">pic.twitter.com/qGuCThO7jj</a>
—@CEBLeague

Alliance end inaugural season on losing streak

The match operated as a point of pride for the 4-16 Alliance, who entered the final game of their inaugural season guaranteed to remain in last place, one spot behind another fellow first-year team, the Newfoundland Growlers.

Forward Elijah Ifejeh was the only Alliance player to crack double digits for points, finishing with 15 to go along with seven rebounds.

Montreal closed out their season losing their last six games, as well as going 0-10 on the road.

The Alliance's performance in Montreal offered more in terms of silver linings as fan engagement stayed strong through the year. The 3,467 fans that showed up for their final game at Verdun Auditorium on Friday marked the highest attendance at the venue since their home-opener in May.

The third place Scarborough Shooting Stars - the third CEBL team that was introduced in the 2022 season - fared better than their contemporaries this year and received a bye through to Sunday's quarter-finals, alongside the second-seed Niagara River Lions.

IT IS SET 🔥. 8️⃣ Teams. 7️⃣ Single Elimination Games. 1️⃣ CEBL Champion.🏆 Who will it be?<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CEBLPlayoffs?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CEBLPlayoffs</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LetsBall?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LetsBall</a> <a href="https://t.co/W97Wm9EliS">pic.twitter.com/W97Wm9EliS</a>
—@CEBLeague

Niagara will host the lower-seeded winner of Thursday's play-in games, which will feature the fourth place Fraser Valley Bandits against the seventh place Guelph Nighthawks at 7:30 p.m. PT, and the fifth place Saskatchewan Rattlers taking on the sixth place Edmonton Stingers at 7:00 p.m. CT.

All games will be streamed live on CBCSports.ca, CBC Gem and the free CBC Sports app.

WATCH | Ottawa BlackJacks take on the Montreal Alliance in regular season finale: