Babic returns to River Lions
Another Canadian has been signed by the Niagara River Lions for the 2022 Canadian Elite Basketball League season.
Joining previous Canadian signees Jaylen-Babb Harrison and Daniel Waldin-Mullings is 6-foot-5 shooting guard Jake Babic.
“I’m really excited to continue off our success we built last year here in Niagara,” Babic said. “Playing for coach Vic and being with a group of familiar guys is going to give us a great opportunity to do something special this summer.”
Last season in five games with Niagara, Babic averaged eight minutes of playing time, 1.0 point and 1.4 rebounds per game.
Raso, Niagara’s head coach and co-general manager, is delighted to have Babic return for his third season with the River Lions.
“In my time with the River Lions, I have not had a player who has been as consistently loved by his teammates as Jake has,” he said. “Jake is an underrated player who can do a little bit of everything, but his greatest skill is that he always makes his teammates better. Coming into his third season as a River Lion, we have high expectations of Jake, and I look forward to coaching him again this season.”
The former NCAA Division 1 scholarship player at Appalachian State and Texas A&M Corpus Christi is presently playing for KK Dubrava Zagreb of the Croatia Premier Liga where he is averaging 6.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 18 minutes of playing time per game.
The Oakville native was one of seven River Lions players to sign an option letter with the team, meaning they would be protected by the team from the start of free agency until March 2.
In addition to three Canadians, Niagara has signed import Tidjan Keita.
Training camp for the team will open May 15. The River Lions, who went 10-4 in the 2021 regular season and advanced to the championship game, open the 2022 season May 25 on the road in Saskatchewan. Their home opener will be June 3 at the Meridian Centre against the expansion Montreal Alliance.
Season tickets and voucher packs for the recently announced 2022 schedule are on sale now. Visit www.riverlions.ca/seasontickets for more information.
The voucher packs are available in both six-game and 10-game packages. Six-game packs start at $108 and 10-game packs start at $180. The vouchers can be used for any home game and the purchaser is able to use how many vouchers they want to use for each game.
