Vancouver Bandits come out on top in stellar home opener

JEN FIELD/GATG

The Vancouver Bandits faced the Niagara River Lions for the first time this season in their 2024 Home Opener on May 22, 2025. 

The last time these two teams faced each other, Niagara shut down Vancouver’s come back hopes, defeating the Bandits in an electrifying CEBL Championship Game last August. 

This time, the Bandits changed the narrative and ran away with a 109-72 victory over the 2024 champs.

Niagara got the first point of the night and the court appeared to be tilted slightly in their favour for the first quarter.

Head Coach Kyle Julius didn’t love the Bandits' start; “I was on everybody’s butt. I thought we were kind of soft, I thought we were kind of lazy. It wasn’t just me, everybody kind of challenged each other.” 

That messaging from within the team seemed to do the trick. By the end of the quarter the team started to amp up the energy and enthusiasm, keeping their opponents on their toes, shrinking Niagara’s lead to just three points. 

The second quarter saw more cohesion in Vancouver’s plays. Which led to some big momentum shifting moments; the first of which happened when Shamar Givance swiped the ball from a Niagara player before swiftly passing it to Tyrese Samuel who immediately put it in the net. 

Not long after, Kyle Mangas tied the game with a beautiful two point shot from just within the three point line, followed immediately with a killer dunk to pull ahead of the River Lions. 

Mangas and Samuel both stayed hot for the rest of night, each contributing at least 20 points towards the Bandits 109 point win over the River Lions 72 point total.

The crowd got into it right off the bat and kept the energy up throughout the night, rallying behind the team anytime they were in their defensive zone. 

The cheers were deafening for each basket as fans voiced their passion for a team they’ve developed such a strong connection with - something the coach himself has appreciated. 

“They were really connected to our players. I started to notice it last year that there was a genuine connection. Not just fans cheering, but like a connection, and it felt awesome tonight”.

Kyle Mangas commented on the energy after the game last night as well, “It was fun, like this is a really fun group to play in front of. I can tell they really enjoy basketball…just the overall atmosphere, loved being out there, can't wait to have another home game” 

His message to the fans? “keep coming back. We need you guys, like we love putting on a show for you guys, playing the right way, playing unselfishly….we appreciate you so much.”

Including their two preseason games, the Bandits have yet to be defeated and currently sit at the top of the Western Conference to start the regular season. 

With players like Tyrese Samuel, Kyle Mangas, Curtis Hollis and Tristan Jass - who sat out tonight due to a lower body injury. This team seems to be continuing to build on the progress they made last season when they had their best record yet.