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Bandits dunk Shooting Stars 104-90, clinch berth in CEBL’s Championship Weekend

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TORONTO – The Vancouver Bandits have punched their ticket to next month’s Canadian Elite Basketball League’s Championship Weekend in Montreal.

The Bandits (14-5), led by Marcus Carr’s 22 points, knocked off the Scarborough Shooting Stars 104-90 at Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre to ensure they’ll finish first in the five-team Western Conference.

“It was definitely a goal of ours to come here this weekend and get that done,” said Carr, who shot an efficient 8-for-13 from the field coming off the bench. “We’re happy we executed, but the job’s not done, so now we’re just gonna go back to the drawing board at practice and get better.”

The Bandits entered Friday’s game looking like the best team in the league — boasting the highest points per game average, lowest points against per game average and the best point differential in the league — and looked every bit of that moniker, halting the hottest team in the CEBL’s win streak at four games.

Bandits coach Kyle Julius is well aware of the team that he has but has belief there’s still another gear for this team to hit as they try to win it all in Montreal.

“You have to (keep improving),” Julius said. “It starts with our leadership. The leaders set the tone every day — it starts with those guys — and this was Phase 1 for us and now we’ve got to go into Phase 2.

“These guys have nothing to do with last year, but I was thoroughly embarrassed with the way we played last year and we’ve really worked hard this year to bring a different group in with a different approach and when we started doing it that was Phase 1. Now it’s playoff basketball and everybody’s gotta be better. The coaching staff, the water guys, the trainers, the last guy’s gotta be better and it starts right now.”

Vancouver now owns the longest active win streak in the league at four straight and with the chemistry and togetherness that they play with, the Bandits could see that streak extend all the way to a title.

Mitch Creek scored 18 minutes in 36 minutes for the Bandits and added six rebounds. Zach Copeland and Taze Moore each chipped in with 15 points.

Donovan Williams led the Shooting Stars (11-8) with 25 points and six rebounds. Jalen Adaway chipped in with 17 points and Cat Barber added 13.

The Bandits led 54-48 at halftime and outscored the Shooting Stars 24-10 in the fourth quarter.

ALLIANCE 89 RATTLERS 72

The host team of next month’s Championship Weekend, the Montreal Alliance, improved to 5-14 with an 89-72 victory over the visiting Saskatchewan Rattlers.

Guillaume Payen-Boucard led the Alliance with 21 points and five rebounds, while Curtis Hollis had 17 points and Ahmed Hill added 16.

Emmanuel Bandoumel led the Rattlers (6-14) with 21 points, while Teddy Allen had 13 and James Montgomery added 11.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 26, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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CP NewsAlert: Two people confirmed killed when Vancouver Island road washed out

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PORT ALBERNI, B.C. – RCMP say the body of a second person has been found inside their vehicle after a road washed away amid pouring rain on the west coast of Vancouver Island.

Police say two vehicles went into the Sarita River when Bamfield Road washed out on Saturday as an atmospheric river hammered southern B.C.

The body of the other driver was found Sunday.

More coming.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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Sonia Furstenau staying on as B.C. Greens leader in wake of indecisive election

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The B.C. Greens say Sonia Furstenau will be staying on as party leader, despite losing her seat in the legislature in Saturday’s provincial election.

The party says in a statement that its two newly elected MLAs, Jeremy Valeriote and Rob Botterell, support Furstenau’s leadership as they “navigate the prospect of having the balance of power in the legislature.”

Neither the NDP led by Premier David Eby nor the B.C. Conservatives led by John Rustad secured a majority in the election, with two recounts set to take place from Oct. 26 to 28.

Eby says in a news conference that while the election outcome is uncertain, it’s “very likely” that the NDP would need the support of others to pass legislation.

He says he reached out to Furstenau on election night to congratulate her on the Greens’ showing.

But he says the Green party has told the NDP they are “not ready yet” for a conversation about a minority government deal.

The Conservatives went from taking less than two per cent of the vote in 2020 to being elected or leading in 45 ridings, two short of a majority and only one behind the NDP.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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Toronto FC captain Jonathan Osorio making a difference off the pitch as well as on it

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Toronto FC captain Jonathan Osorio is making a difference, 4,175 kilometres away from home.

The 32-year-old Canadian international midfielder, whose parents hail from Colombia, has been working with the Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization, a charity whose goal is to help disadvantaged youth in the South American country.

Osorio has worked behind the scenes, with no fanfare.

Until now, with his benevolence resulting in becoming Toronto FC’s nominee for the Audi Goals Drive Progress Impact Award, which honours an MLS player “who showed outstanding dedication to charitable efforts and serving the community” during the 2024 season.”

Other nominees include Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Sebastian Berhalter and CF Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.

The winner will be announced in late November.

The Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization (CCCO) is run entirely by volunteers like Monica Figueredo and Claudia Soler. Founded in 1991, it received charitable status in 2005.

The charity currently has four projects on the go: two in Medellin and one each in Armenia and Barranquilla.

They include a school, a home for young girls whose parents are addicted to drugs, after-school and weekend programs for children in a disadvantaged neighbourhood, and nutrition and education help for underprivileged youth.

The organization heard about Osorio and was put in contact with him via an intermediary, which led to a lunch meeting. Osorio did his due diligence and soon got back to the charity with his decision.

“It was something that I wanted to be a part of right away,” said Osorio, whose lone regret is that he didn’t get involved sooner.

“I’m fortunate now that to help more now that I could have back then,” he added. “The timing actually worked out for everybody. For the last three years I have donated to their cause and we’ve built a couple of (football) fields in different cities over there in the schools.”

His father visited one of the sites in Armenia close to his hometown.

“He said it was amazing, the kids, how grateful they are to be able to play on any pitch, really,” said Osorio. “But to be playing on a new pitch, they’re just so grateful and so humble.

“It really makes it worth it being part of this organization.”

The collaboration has also made Osorio take stock.

“We’re very fortunate here in Canada, I think, for the most part. Kids get to go to school and have a roof over their head and things like that. In Colombia, it’s not really the same case. My father and his family grew up in tough conditions, so giving back is like giving back to my father.”

Osorio’s help has been a godsend to the charity.

“We were so surprised with how willing he was,” said Soler.

The TFC skipper has helped pay for a football field in Armenia as well as an ambitious sports complex under construction in Barranquilla.

“It’s been great for them,” Figueredo said of the pitch in Armenia. “Because when they go to school, now they have a proper place to train.”

Osorio has also sent videos encouraging the kids to stay active — as well as shipping soccer balls and signed jerseys their way.

“They know more about Jonathan than the other players in Colombia,” Figueredo said. “That’s the funny part. Even though he’s far away, they’ve connected with him.”

“They feel that they have a future, that they can do more,” she added. “Seeing that was really, really great.”

The kids also followed Osorio through the 2022 World Cup and this summer’s Copa America.

Back home, Osorio has also attended the charity’s annual golf tournament, helping raise funds.

A Toronto native, he has long donated four tickets for every TFC home game to the Hospital for Sick Children.

Vancouver’s Berhalter was nominated for his involvement in the Whitecaps’ partnership with B.C. Children’s Hospital while Montreal’s Sirois was chosen for his work with the Montreal Impact Foundation.

Follow @NeilMDavidson on X platform, formerly known as Twitter

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.



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