BlackJacks to Host Potential Playoff Game In Gatineau, Que.
The Ottawa BlackJacks of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL), Canada’s largest professional sports league, announced Wednesday that should the club clinch the second seed in the CEBL’s Eastern Conference, they will host the Eastern Conference Semifinal at Centre Slush Puppie in Gatineau, Quebec, on Saturday, Aug, 16, at 1 p.m. ET.
The move comes as The City of Ottawa hosts The Masters Indigenous Games 2025 (MIG) from Aug. 14-17, and the BlackJacks home court - The Arena at TD Place - is serving as a primary venue for the event. The CEBL’s Eastern Conference Play-In and Semifinal are scheduled for Aug. 14 and 16, respectively.
“The Indigenous Games are incredibly important because they create space for Indigenous athletes to share their strength, their stories, and their cultures in powerful and visible ways,” said Mark Wacyk, President of the BlackJacks. “We recognize that, and hosting a game at a state-of-the-art venue like Centre Slush Puppie offers a unique opportunity to share our exciting brand of basketball with our fans in Gatineau and the Outaouais region. We will look for this opportunity that has been presented to us as a gateway of development beyond the borders of Ottawa.”
Following their win over the Montreal Alliance on Wednesday night, the BlackJacks have secured at least third place in the CEBL’s Eastern Conference and remain in contention with the Scarborough Shooting Stars for second. The Alliance are locked into fourth place.
If the club finishes second, they will face the winner of Scarborough-Montreal on Aug. 16 in Gatineau. All BlackJacks season-seat members will receive a complimentary ticket to an equivalent seat at Centre Slush Puppie for the playoff game on Aug. 16, while members previously settled playoff tickets for 2025 can be added as a credit to all 2026 season-seat member packages. Tickets to the game will be available later this week and communicated to all fans in a timely manner.
If the BlackJacks finish third, they will face the Alliance in a Play-In game on Aug. 14 at Verdun Auditorium in Montreal. In that case, the BlackJacks will host a watch party for all fans at Jack Astor’s Bar & Grill in Lansdowne (425 Marché Way #101) ahead of the game at 7 p.m. at no additional cost. All 2025 season-seat members can receive a credit for previously settled playoff tickets this season which can be added as a credit towards all 2026 season-seat member packages. Fans can sign up for priority access to tickets for the potential playoff game at
alliancemontreal.ca/en-ca/priority-access.
The Centre Slush Puppie is the home of the QMJHL’s Gatineau Olympiques and previously housed the OHL’s Ottawa 67s in the 2003 playoffs when they were displaced from The Arena at TD Place due to the World Men’s Curling Championships.
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