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Ottawa Citizen
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Ottawa Citizen
Ottawa BlackJacks: Everything you should know about Ottawa's pro basketball club
Article content More than 20 CEBL players have gone on to sign contracts with NBA teams. That list includes former BlackJacks player Jackson Rowe (Golden State Warriors) and former Guelph Nighthawk A.J. Lawson (Toronto Raptors). Article content Article content 'I bet you didn't know how great the quality of play here is. Those two examples are a reflection of that,' BlackJacks president Mark Wacyk says. Article content They're playing where? Article content It's a road game, not a home contest, but the BlackJacks will help make history when they take on the host Montreal Alliance in the country's first five-on-five outdoor pro basketball game on May 23 at IGA Stadium. Article content It's billed as Éclipse: Match Sous les Étoiles, which translates to 'Eclipse: Match under the Stars.' Article content Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. in the first of four regular-season matches between the BlackJacks and Alliance. It will be televised nationally on TSN and RDS. Article content Article content Who is the star player? Article content Isaih Moore, the BlackJacks' leading scorer and rebounder last season, re-signed with Ottawa for the 2025 campaign. Article content A 6'10' forward from Columbia, S.C., Moore averaged 15.7 points per game and 8.3 rebounds per game during the 2024 regular season, and his .581 field goal percentage equaled the third highest in team history, according to the BlackJacks. Article content 'Isaih was a big part of our late-season success last season and we felt it was important to get him signed early this offseason to continue building on the progress both Isaih, and the team as a whole, made in 2024,' BlackJacks general manager James Derouin said in announcing the signing. Article content During the 2024-25 winter season, Moore played two games with the Manchester Giants of the British SLB before being acquired by the NBA G League's Greensboro Swarm in mid-January. In two seasons of G League play overall, the 24-year-old has averaged 5.6 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. Article content Article content As with all teams based at TD Place, the BlackJacks' main food service provider is Levy Restaurants, so the primary menu options will be similar to what you'd get at Redblacks, Atlético, Rapid FC and 67's games. Article content New for this year, according to BlackJacks president Mark Wacyk, is an enhanced pre-game option in the Lansdowne lounge 'for businesses to invite people for a pre-game meal that would be a higher-end meal offered by Levy, and it's an intimate gathering of individuals that businesses can mix with… It's an asset that we're featuring this year that really hasn't been featured in the past.' Article content There's a wide mix of outlets for all CEBL games, and the BlackJacks' contests are included, with the options including telecasts on TSN, RDS, CBC and Radio-Canada, plus online streaming on the league's CEBL+ website (it's free), CBC Gem, TSN+, Courtside 1891, Game+ and Next Level Sports & Entertainment. Article content 'The one thing I'll add about RDS is that RDS games between Ottawa and Montreal, that rivalry, are by far the most-watched games of any of our games,' BlackJacks president Mark Wacyk says. 'We get three or four times the audience for the Ottawa-Montreal games on RDS than we do on most others.'
CTV News
13-05-2025
- Sport
- CTV News
Professional basketball in the Capital
Ottawa Watch The Ottawa Blackjacks season tips off this weekend. President Mark Wacyk sets the scene.
