Wedged in between the shadows of Rogers Arena and BC Place, executives representing the Canadian Elite Basketball League made their case for a sports experience some 70 kilometres southeast.

The Fraser Valley Bandits, one of six teams across Canada, will tip off on May 9 at the Abbotsford Centre in a bid to draw crowds to professional basketball.

Today the Bandits’ top executives held court at the Shark Tank in downtown Vancouver to announce the hiring of their first general manager and coach.

Taking the helm will be Peter Guarasci, a former member of Team Canada’s national team, as well as an alumnus of Simon Fraser University.

Guarasci spent 12 years playing in professional leagues across Europe, including stints in Spain, Germany and Italy. He also represented Canada at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

As for the makeup of the team, the Bandits, along with the other CEBL franchises, are currently scouring the European circuit for Canadian pros. All CEBL teams must have 70 percent Canadian rosters, and the teams are hoping to entice players in leagues across the country (that typically play from October to April) to sign up with the CEBL from May till August.

“Canadian basketball players typically have no platform, no medium, to continue to develop after university,” said Guarasci at the press conference. “Basketball is a sport where you really start to develop in the mid-to-late-20s.”

Added Bandits president and former CFL and NLL executive Lee Genier: “Basketball is the sport of Canada’s current cultural moment, and I couldn’t be more excited to forge a bold new chapter in Canadian basketball history by welcoming a head coach and general manager of Guarasci’s culture.”

Steve Nash also tweeted a message of support for his former Canadian teammate.

https://twitter.com/SteveNash/status/1090398286794485760

Can the Bandits fill the 7,056-seat Abbotsford Centre on a night basis? That remains to be seen. Professional sports teams haven’t exactly enjoyed tremendous success in the Fraser Valley, as evidenced by the Vancouver Giants’ attendance struggles since moving to Langley, as well as the failure of teams like hockey’s Abbotsford Heat (for whom the Bandits’ stadium was developed) and lacrosse’s Vancouver Stealth.

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