Rosters Under Construction
It’s construction time for the Eastern Canadian Basketball League and time is ticking.
The league’s inaugural season begins in a little more than two months, which means rosters for all seven teams are being built with players dedicated to a high-level of play and working diligently in their communities.
The league has held two successful combines in Los Angeles and one in Truro in search of the right players. Hundreds of other players have sent the league video resumes as individuals or through their agents.
Ravi Verma, the league’s founder and executive officer, is encouraged by the response.
“There are new players, older players, guys with experience in other leagues and others who are looking to get their professional careers started,” he says.
The Eastern Canadian Basketball League is comprised of seven teams – the Moncton Motion, Bathurst Bears, Saint John Union, Summerside Slam, Charlottetown Power, Truro Tide and the Annapolis Valley Vipers.
Most of the rosters are completed and the first player announcements will be made by the end of January.
“We know the fans are looking forward to hearing the names of their players and welcoming them to their home cities,” Verma says. “I know fans are going to be excited by the caliber of players we are bringing to the Maritimes.”
At least two of the Canadians will have to be from the Maritimes or have played in Atlantic University Sport or the Atlantic Colleges Athletic Association.
All players will sign season-long contracts so they can build relationships with fans in their cities. Players with strong character who want to build the league are going to fill all of the rosters. “The only way we will release a player is if they violate the code of conduct – we want good players who are also good people,” Verma says.
“We are building through community-centric players, who share our goals.”
Papa Johns
In 1984, Papa Johns Pizza started in the small town of Jeffersonville, Indiana, and its popularity has spread all the way to Atlantic Canada. Today, Papa Johns boasts over 3,600 restaurants and can be found in more than 35 international markets outside of the USA.
In Atlantic Canada, we opened our first Papa Johns franchise in Moncton, operating under the name of PJ Atlantic Restaurants Ltd. in 2009. This was the first of many Papa Johns restaurants to be opening over the next few years to serve the Maritime provinces. We now have a dozen restaurants in the following areas:
639 Mountain Rd., Moncton
555 Dieppe Blvd., Dieppe
20 Plaza Ave., Saint John
528 Smythe St., Fredericton
133 McAllister Dr. Saint John
19 Babineau Ave., Charlottetown
1909 Mountain Rd., Moncton
269 Main St., Fredericton
94 Hampton Rd., Rothesay
540 Pinewood Rd., Riverview
961 Bedford Highway, Bedford
644 Portland St., Dartmouth
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