Vancouver Bandits erupted for 61 second-half points en route to a 102-81 rout of Brampton Honey Badgers before a sold-out crowd at Envision Financial Court at Langley Events Centre on Saturday night, improving their record to 8-4.
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Going into the game, the team was coming off back-to-back losses, including a lopsided 33-point defeat two nights earlier in Winnipeg, which knocked them out of first place in the Canadian Elite Basketball League’s Western Conference.
“We just wanted to get back to our identity because we know we’re a better club than we’ve shown these last two games,” said Lloyd Pandi, a CEBL veteran making his Bandits debut after signing with the club this week.
Mitch Creek – playing his second game since returning to Vancouver last week – picked up where he left off from his 2025 CEBL MVP season, scoring 26 points while adding eight rebounds and eight assists.
Jarkel Joiner added 22 points and eight assists, Tyrese Samuel finished with a double-double (18 points, 10 rebounds), Miller Kopp had 15 points and Pandi had eight points and five rebounds.
“They get back with urgency and then when you drive to the paint, they make you earn it, they make it really challenging,” said Honey Badgers head coach Alex Cerda.
“I think collectively, they’re better as a team defending than as opposed to individual defenders, but they really cover for one another, and they defend with multiple efforts. It really presented a problem for us.”
It was the club’s third annual South Asian Heritage Night, featuring a performance by internationally acclaimed singer, songwriter, and music producer Sukshinder Shinda.
Next, Bandits are back in action on Saturday, June 27 at 6 p.m. as they host the Winnipeg Sea Bears at Envision Financial Court at Langley Events Centre for Filipino Heritage Night. Both teams enter with 8-4 records.