CEBL reverts to 1-game final after cancellation of Winnipeg-Brampton series opener

Well, it's back to a single-game championship in the Canadian Elite Basketball League.

The decision was made Wednesday evening by the league, in consultation with the Winnipeg Sea Bears and hometown Brampton Honey Badgers, less than one hour after their best-of-three final began at CAA Centre, was quickly halted and subsequently cancelled.

The game was called off "due to condensation on the court, which left the playing surface unsafe for competition. … The safety of our players, officials and fans is the league's first priority," read a CEBL statement on X.

Brampton jumped out to a 6-0 lead, only to watch Winnipeg draw even. Shortly thereafter, the Sea Bears' Xavier Moon, a three-time CEBL MVP, slipped in the middle of the court while defending and play was stopped with 8:14 remaining in the 10-minute first quarter.

The one-game final will be played Saturday in Winnipeg at 3:30 p.m. ET — available at CBC-TV, CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem — after it was supposed to be the first multi-game championship series in league history.

"With the best-of-three series unable to be completed within the scheduled window, a one-game championship was determined to be the fairest and most practical path to crowning a champion," the CEBL said.

"It also returns the Finals to the format used from 2019 through 2025."

Brampton took the first two meetings between the teams this season, prevailing 96-92 at home on May 25 and, most recently 88-86, on July 25 at Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg.

Honey Badgers won a CEBL title in 2022 when they were based in Hamilton. Winnipeg entered the post-season on a hope and a prayer, but an impressive playoff run now leaves the franchise one win away from earning its first championship.

Sea Bears opened the post-season with a 99-88 home victory over the Saskatoon Mamba, who had won six of their previous seven games heading into the Western Conference semifinal.

The No. 2-seeded Sea Bears followed that up by stunning the top-ranked Vancouver Bandits, 107-96, in the West final. Vancouver had clinched first place in the conference by beating Winnipeg on the final weekend of the regular season and entered the game as a heavy favourite.

Brampton finished second in the Eastern Conference with an 11-13 record.

The Honey Badgers defeated the Ottawa BlackJacks in the East semifinal, before edging the Niagara River Lions in the conference final. Niagara had done a lot of the heavy lifting earlier in the post-season by knocking off reigning back-to-back CEBL champion Scarborough Shooting Stars, who finished with a league-best 20-4 record.

The final will also feature a notable story off the court, with the two clubs owned by siblings. David Asper runs the Sea Bears, while brother Leonard Asper leads the Honey Badgers.