Bandits re-brand, become first CEBL original six team to land independent ownership

The Fraser Valley Bandits are re-branding as the Vancouver Bandits and have been sold to a local ownership group, the Canadian Elite Basketball League announced on Tuesday.

The Bandits become the first of the league's original six teams to secure independent ownership.

The Scarborough Shooting Stars, who joined the league as an expansion franchise prior to the 2022 season, are the only other club owned by outside investors.

The Newfoundland Growlers, Montreal Alliance, Ottawa BlackJacks, Hamilton Honey Badgers, Niagara River Lions, Saskatchewan Rattlers, Edmonton Stingers and a yet-to-be named Calgary franchise round out the 10-team league and remain under ownership of the CEBL, which began play in 2019.

Bryan Slusarchuk – co-founder of K92 Mining Inc. and principal of SluzCap – and Kevin Dhaliwal – founder and president of Essence Properties – have formed Bandits Sports & Entertainment and will continue to operate the team at Langley Events Centre in Langley, British Columbia.

Slusarchuk and Dhaliwal already had involvement with the Bandits as sponsors and season-ticket holders and initially reached out to the CEBL separately to express interest in purchasing the team.

However, all parties involved quickly saw the benefit of Slusarchuk and Dhaliwal joining forces to carry forward the vision of a team that values making an impact in the community just as much as winning on the court.

"I really came at this from a community-first perspective," Slusarchuk told TSN ahead of the announcement. "I got involved with the Bandits originally as a season-ticket holder and then I got more involved as a sponsor.

"The sponsorship stuff that I was involved with had a lot to do with youth basketball, youth sports in the community. By