R-Lions pick three in draft
The Niagara River Lions continued to build their roster for the 2025 Canadian Elite Basketball League season with three selections in the league’s annual draft.
Niagara took Gatluak James ninth overall from St. Francis Xavier University, Charles Robert 12th overall from Bishop’s University and Thierry Tshibola 29th overall from Brock University.
James, a 6-foot-6 guard from Windsor, has averaged 7.1 points and 5.0 rebounds in 15.5 minutes per game over three seasons at St. FX. Last season, he played five games in the CEBL with the Calgary Surge and averaged 2.8 points and 2.8 rebounds per game.
“He is a four man who is an excellent rebounder. He’s very strong and he does a lot of winning things. He has good feel and he can take advantage of matchups in the post,” River Lions head coach/GM Victor Raso said. “He will play the role Jordan Tchuente has played for us the last few years and the added bonus is he played in the Final Four last year and played meaningful minutes.”
Robert, a 6-foot-8 forward from Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., is coming off a season at Bishop’s where he was a U SPORTS First-Team All-Canadian, Bishop’s male athlete of the year and his team’s MVP. He averaged 15.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game while shooting at a 50 per cent clip.
“He is a very talented offensive player and was with us in training camp last year. I actually tried to keep him around a little bit longer but it just didn’t work out,” Raso said. “I have quite high expectations for him. He will be with Eddie (Ekiyor) and Elijah (Lufile) right from Day 1 of training camp and he is a good basketball player. He was the MVP of the Quebec league this year and took his team to nationals so I hold him in pretty high regard.”
Tshibola, a 6-foot-3 guard from Quebec City, Que., has averaged 5.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 19 minutes per game over the past two seasons with the Badgers.
“He battled some injuries this year but he is very talented. He has a few years left at Brock and he has some upside,” Raso said. “He has good size and he can play. It will be interesting to see how well he does in training camp because I think he has the potential to play at this level and actually contribute.”
All three of the players could stick around for awhile and will come in handy earlier in the season. With the season starting earlier in 2025, the River Lions will be short-handed until all of their players return to Niagara from their overseas squads.
“Gatluak being our first-round pick has the most clear path to playing all year long. I will keep one U SPORTS developmental for the entirety of the season and in the past it has been a backup four man in Jordan Tchuente. He has to go to training camp and earn it and that is the plan there,” Raso said. “I would like to keep Charles and Thierry around for as long as I can and at some point if I can’t keep them around, then I will let them go.”
Training camp will open May 8 with the home opener scheduled for May 16 versus the Calgary Surge. Ticket information can be found at www.riverlions.ca/tickets or by calling 289-273-5905.
