LANGLEY, B.C. – The Vancouver Bandits announced Thursday that the club has selected UBC Thunderbirds forward
Nikola Guzina with its BLANK round pick in the seventh annual Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) draft, selecting him 10th overall.
Guzina is the fifth Thunderbird to be taken in the CEBL draft in the last five years, following his teammate
Adam Olsen as well as program alumni
Brian Wallack, Sukhman Sandhu and Grant Audu. Triston Matthews also signed with the Bandits as an undrafted free agent in the spring of 2023.
Guzina will retain his U SPORTS eligibility for the 2025-26 season, giving him valuable developmental experience ahead of a final season with the blue and gold in the fall.
"The CEBL is a tremendous asset to the growth of basketball in our country," said Thunderbirds head coach
Kevin Hanson. "For the U SPORTS players to be able to play in there against professional-level athletes, to see the intensity, the speed of the game, the athleticism of the game, and being coached by different people gives you a little different perspective."
"You look at the U SPORTS Final 8 this year, there was a lot of players that had been playing and some had even been starting on CEBL teams. It's only beneficial for our guys so I'm thrilled he's getting this opportunity."
A 6'10" forward from Vancouver, Guzina is coming off a terrific bounce-back season after he missed nearly the entire 2023-24 campaign due to injury.
He started 26 of his 29 games played and was named a Canada West Third Team All-Star this year, averaging 12.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per game in conference play with a 56.5% field goal percentage (fifth in Canada West). He was a force in the Canada West playoffs, upping his averages to 16.3 points and seven rebounds on 55% shooting as UBC made it to the conference championship game.
Guzina's biggest performance of the season came against the eventual national silver medallist Calgary Dinos on November 22nd, when he recorded a career-high 27 points along with nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks on 11-19 shooting.
"He's certainly dedicated to the game of basketball, and it's so nice to see him with the journey that he's gone on, to be drafted into the CEBL," added Hanson. "It's a tremendous accomplishment for him, and it's nice to see him be rewarded for the work ethic that he's got and the determination that he's got to come back and be a great basketball player."
Prior to his time at UBC, Guzina starred at King George Secondary where he averaged 30.7 points, 14.1 rebounds and 6.5 assists over his Grade 11 and 12 seasons, leading his team to a second-place finish at the 2020 Double A provincial championship in his senior year.
The Vancouver Bandits open their seventh season on the road with a game against the Saskatchewan Rattlers on May 15th at 6:30 p.m. (PT). Their home opener at the Langley Events Centre is at 7:00 p.m. (PT) on May 22nd against the Niagara River Lions.
The Bandits will play a total of 12 regular season home games in 2025 between Thursday, May 22nd and Sunday, August 3rd.
All CEBL games including playoffs will be live-streamed on TSN+, as well as the CEBL's OTT platform CEBL+, and on CEBL Mobile.
