Darren Zary
Saskatoon StarPhoenix
Make way for the Saskatoon Mamba.
The Canadian Elite Basketball League club — previously known as the Saskatchewan Rattlers — officially unveiled its new team name and ownership, along with re-branding, during a media conference Wednesday at Merlis Belsher Place.
The Mamba will play seven games at Merlis Belsher Place and five at SaskTel Centre during the upcoming CEBL season.
It’ll be year No. 8 for the league.
Jason Ribeiro and Usman Tahir Jutt were introduced as the team’s ownership group, taking over from league founder Richard Petko.
The two business and community leaders also operate the CEBL’s Calgary Surge.
Their plan in Saskatoon, Ribeiro said, is to be “here to stay.”
“Operating two teams comes with responsibility — it’s not lost on us,” Mamba co-chair Ribeiro said Wednesday.
“This is an investment in the community. We want to make this work . . . We’re not doing anything to lose; we’re here to win.”
Ribeiro talked about being a part of “CEBL 2.0” in Saskatoon, where the league’s first-ever game was played and the first-ever league championship was played, and won, by the then-Saskatchewan Rattlers.
The new-look Mamba will play a heritage game, honouring the team’s Saskatchewan Rattlers past, on July 15 and wear those team colours and their old logo.
CEBL president Tyler Mazereeuw was also on hand Wednesday for the Mamba unveiling.
“This,” said Mazereeuw, “is a defining moment for basketball in Saskatchewan and for our league. The Canadian Elite Basketball League is national in reach, but community-driven at its core. Revitalizing the Saskatoon franchise reflects that commitment.
“The opportunity for basketball in this province is unlimited. For me, you can’t have a national league if you don’t have a team in this province.”
The CEBL was designed to help develop basketball in Canada and give Canadian pro players a chance to play at home.
“We built this league from the ground up, for Canadians and by Canadians,” Mazereeuw said. “We are a fan-first league. We love our fans; we love our community.”
Ribeiro said how “deeply grateful” he is to the Saskatoon community and the “club’s passionate fanbase for welcoming us.”
It’s the ownership group’s second investment in a CEBL community and “our next step in stewarding the game of basketball across Canada, from coast to coast to coast,” added Ribeiro. “We will work every day to reflect, entertain, and unite the city of Saskatoon.”
Olympian Paige Crozon revealed the team’s name and logo to the public for the first time. The Mamba brand “maintains the franchise’s identity as a venomous snake with a modern look, feel, and sound, and is a deliberate acknowledgement of the franchise’s origins as the ‘Rattlers,” a team release stated.
“The icon and typeface reflect the same curvature and bend present in the City of Saskatoon’s logo, a nod to the city’s place along the South Saskatchewan River. The team’s primary colour is a bold and vibrant purple, with more colour ways to be revealed soon.”
Merlis Belsher Place is a 120,000 square-foot multisport and live events facility on the University of Saskatchewan campus.
The Saskatoon-based CEBL team has been using it for training camp and as a practice facility since the league’s inception in 2019. The main spectator arena has a current capacity of 2,750 fans.
The 2026 Mamba season will tip off May 14.
Ribeiro said the team expects to make announcements regarding basketball operations and coaching staff in the next few weeks.
dzary@postmedia.com
