Hometown hero hits CEBL championship clinching shot

On May 27, 2023, Chad Posthumus, a hometown hero and centre from River East Collegiate, scored a put-back basket to secure a 90-85 victory for the Winnipeg Sea Bears over the Vancouver Bandits in the city’s inaugural basketball game. On Saturday, May 26, 2026, another Winnipeg native, Simon Hildebrandt, hit the game-winning three-pointer to crown the Sea Bears as the 2026 CEBL champions, beating the Brampton Honey Badgers 98-84 in front of a record crowd of 12,519 at Canada Life Centre.

Hildebrandt, a 23-year-old who played nearly 38 minutes and finished second in scoring with 24 points and six rebounds, was compared to Posthumus by Sea Bears head coach Mike Raimbault. Posthumus, who died in November 2024 at the age of 33, had his No. 33 jersey retired by the Sea Bears in the 2025 season opener. Hildebrandt, who is also getting married this week, will soon play for BBC Bayreuth in Germany.