Report: Xavier Moon Of The Edmonton Stingers Reveals To The Newer Ottawa Blackjacks Why He Was Named The First CEBL MVP!

After losing to the Fraser Valley Bandits on July 26, 2020, the Edmonton Stingers faced the Ottawa Blackjacks in hopes of winning their first contest. With the Blackjacks suffering a significant loss by the Guelph Nighthawks, both these teams need to win this game to avoid being 0-2 in the league standings. However, only one team can be crowned victors, which made this game one of the most competitive and physical matches in CEBL history!

In the first quarter, Edmonton plays strong as Jordan Baker and Xavier Moon both score quick buckets. Ottawa does respond, however similarly to the previous game, stamina and athleticism are something that is almost absent about this team. With Edmonton having an elite set of athletic monsters like Mathieu Kamba and Travis Daniels, Ottawa was unable to match their athletism, which will be a problem for this team in the remainder of the Summer Series. With Edmonton acknowledging their visible weakness, the entire team takes action and reveals that this is their game to win! With Ottawa looking desperate, the Stingers played their best basketball in this game as they scored and defended well while playing at a great pace. Their production on the court led them always to maintain confidence that they will win this game as they exit the first quarter with an impressive score of 31-18.

Ottawa needed to play less sloppy and more as a team. Even though Olivier Hanlan started the game hot, the rest of the group was ice cold as they were not able to score anything. The former NBA player tried his best to make an impact for his team, but Edmonton was just a stronger physical and shooting force that Ottawa was unable to defend. As a result, the Blackjacks decided to change their point of view and only focused primarily on offence. With both Philip Scrubb and Thomas Scrubb being elite shooters, Ottawa was catching fire and started to reveal that they could win this game. Early in the quarter, Edmonton continued to play team basketball and scored the ball efficiently until Xavier Moon got a minor calf injury. This led him to sit out for the rest of the half, which was the perfect advantage for Ottawa to come back. With the former MVP sitting out, Edmonton looked vulnerable, and the Blackjacks started their attack! From Philip Scrubb hitting incredibly deep threes to Olivier Hanlan crossing up the Stingers with ease, Ottawa began to take control of this game. With Edmonton looking helpless, the Blackjacks brought their deficit to single digits and ended the half with a score of 43-39 with Edmonton still leading.

Philip Scrubb continues his dominance in the third quarter. With him virtually never missing, the Edmonton Stingers needed to change something if they wanted to keep their edge. Unfortunately, Edmonton failed to convert on their losses, and Ottawa takes the lead! In this quarter, both the Stingers and the Blackjacks bounced back and forth, playing very physical as bodies were flying everywhere. Both these teams needed to win this game, which entailed that they would do anything to win this game! The Scrubb brothers dominated this quarter while Edmonton had a balance of scorers. Edmonton's advantage was their elite rebounding by Jordan Baker, who ended this game with an impressive 14 rebounds! With this being a back and forth game, the Edmonton Stingers remain on top with the final score of 60-58!

A common theme about this game was, Edmonton was mostly on top despite Moon going down. This would carry on to the fourth quarter as Xavier Moon reveals to the newer Ottawa Blackjacks why he was the CEBL reigning MVP! From his quick first step to his deadly mid-range shot, Xavier Moon carried Edmonton as he was a part of every point in this quarter! The superstar would dish out the ball to an open man making him very dangerous on the court, which intimidated the Blackjacks. However, Shaquille Keith of the Blackjacks would be the impact player in this quarter. With him possessing a physique similar to Draymond Green, Keith would drive in the paint to draw fouls while playing some of the greatest defence in his career. Keith was the focal point of this quarter and brought Ottawa back into this game, making this quarter the most climactic ending in the summer series. Both teams had an opportunity to win it, but Edmonton had a slight advantage in scoring despite Ottawa making it a five-point game! The Blackjacks were inches away from winning this game, but Mathieu Kamba hit a dagger three to end the Blackjack's hopes and dreams! The final score at the end of the fourth quarter was 89-82, with Edmonton being crowned the winners after a hard-fought battle! With Ottawa going down 0-2, do they have a chance at making the playoffs?