French
DeutschCwench All Canadian Games
The Cwench All Canadian Games are a pair of annual all-star basketball games, each featuring rosters composed of Canada's top senior high school players for that school year.[1] Both games are played as a doubleheader; the first game featuring the top senior girls, followed by the second game featuring the top senior boys.
History
[edit]The All Canadian basketball game was founded in 2015 by CEO of "Bounce Elite" (a premier boys basketball program) Tom McIntyre, Athlete Institute CEO Jesse Tipping, & BioSteel Sports Nutrition CEO & co-founder John Celenza.[2] The first four editions of the game only featured a boys game, but the event was later expanded to include a girls game in 2019.[3] The games feature the top 24 senior male and female high school basketball players either born in Canada or playing in the country.[4][5] The Canadian game has drawn comparisons to America's McDonald's All-American Game.[6][7] The first boys game was attended by upwards of 60 executives and scouts from the National Basketball Association (NBA).[8]
Title sponsorship
[edit]The game was initially branded as the BioSteel All Canadian Game when BioSteel was its title sponsor until 2023, when the company filed for bankruptcy late that year.[9] The Games' co-founder John Celenza who was also the CEO and co-founder of BioSteel had left the company earlier in the year.
In 2024, the games were played without a title sponsor & were branded as the All Canadian Basketball Games.
On March 20, 2025, Celenza's new company that he co-founded as its new CEO, Cizzle Brands, signed a 5-year title sponsorship deal for its flagship brand Cwench Hydration to rebrand the game as the Cwench All Canadian Games.[10]
Broadcasts
[edit]Between 2015–23, the games were carried on The Sports Network (TSN); the inaugural event was broadcast on tape delay before they were subsequently presented live the following year.[11][12][13] In 2024, after the game lost Biosteel as its title sponsor, the event was livestreamed via their official YouTube channel.[14] In 2025, Cizzle Brands' newly signed branding deal also included a new partnership with TSN that restored the network's broadcast rights after a one year absence.[15]
Locations
[edit]The inaugural game in 2015 was held at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in downtown Toronto.
Between 2016–23, the games were held annually at the Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport on the campus of the University of Toronto[16] with the exception of 2020–21 when the games were not played due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2024, the games were held at the Athlete Institute in Mono, Ontario.[17]
In 2025, the games were held at Humber Polytechnic's north campus in northwest Toronto.[18]
Game MVPs
[edit]Following are the most valuable players (MVP) from each year:[19]
| Year | Boy's | Girl's |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Jamal Murray, Jalen Poyser[20] | N/A |
| 2016 | Jahvon Blair, Kalif Young[16] | N/A |
| 2017 | Luguentz Dort, Matur Maker[5] | N/A |
| 2018 | Luguentz Dort, Quincy Guerrier[21] | N/A |
| 2019 | Jahcobi Neath, Addison Patterson[22] | Brynn Masikewich, Merissah Russell[23] |
| 2020 | ||
| 2021 | ||
| 2022 | Elijah Fisher, Vasean Allette[26] | Toby Fournier, Delaney Gibb[27] |
| 2023 | Michael Evbagharu, Chris Tadjo | Toby Fournier, Ajok Madol |
| 2024 | Jalik Dunkley-Distant, Chris Tadjo | Jasmine Bascoe, Toby Fournier |
| 2025 | Tristan Beckford | Aliya Moses |
Basketball Player of the Year
[edit]Following are the basketball player of the year (BPOY) from each year:[28]
| Year | Boy's | Girl's |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | N/A | N/A |
| 2016 | Thon Maker | N/A |
| 2017 | Oshae Brissett | N/A |
| 2018 | RJ Barrett | N/A |
| 2019 | Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe | Micah Dennis |
| 2020 | Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe | Aaliyah Edwards |
| 2021 | N/A | N/A |
| 2022 | Leonard Miller | Cassandre Prosper |
| 2023 | David Simon | Toby Fournier |
| 2024 | Ishan Sharma | Toby Fournier |
| 2025 | Tristan Beckford | Nyadieng Yiech |
References
[edit]- ^ Naccion, Chicco (April 18, 2017). "Canadian basketball swagger on display at high school showcase". CBC Sports. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
- ^ Dichter, Myles (April 3, 2025). "10 years in, All Canadian Games thriving as a high school basketball showcase". CBC.ca. Retrieved April 5, 2025.
- ^ "INAUGURAL NATIONAL BIOSTEEL ALL CANADIAN GIRLS BASKETBALL GAME TIPS OFF MARCH 31, IN TORONTO". Canada Basketball. January 14, 2019. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
- ^ "ABOUT THE BIOSTEEL ALL CANADIAN GAMES". BIOSTEEL ALL CANADIAN GAMES. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
- ^ a b Kent, Austin (April 11, 2017). "2017 BioSteel All Canadian Basketball Game Top Performers". Slam. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
- ^ Tucker, Kyle (March 16, 2016). "UK's Murray a big hit back home in Canada". USA Today. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
- ^ Fletcher, Michael A. (May 15, 2017). "Canada is now one of the world's top sources of elite prep basketball recruits". Andscape. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
- ^ Wolstat, Ryan (April 14, 2015). "Canadian high-schoolers put on a hoops show". Toronto Sun. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
- ^ Silva, Edilson J. "Will Riley, Jalik Dunkley-Distant, Chris Tadjo Lead Top 24 All-Canadian Games Selections". Basketball Buzz. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
- ^ "Cizzle Brands Lands Title Sponsorship for the CWENCH All Canadian Basketball Games" (Press release). Cizzle Brands. March 1, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
- ^ Ballingall, Alex (April 13, 2015). "BioSteel all-Canadian basketball game to showcase country's top high school talent". The Toronto Star. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
- ^ Milton, Steve (February 29, 2016). "Three local players selected to play in annual BioSteel All-Canadian Basketball Game". The Hamilton Spectator. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
- ^ "The Seventh Annual BIOSTEEL ALL CANADIAN BASKETBALL GAMES, Canada's Premier High School Hoops Showcase, Returns April 2, Exclusively on TSN". Bell Media. March 1, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/@allcanadiangames Official YouTube channel
- ^ "Cizzle Brands Lands Title Sponsorship for the CWENCH All Canadian Basketball Games" (Press release). Cizzle Brands. March 1, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
- ^ a b O'Leary, Chris (April 11, 2016). "Thon Maker plays role of spectator at BioSteel All-Canadian hoops game". The Star. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
- ^ Ngabo, Gilbert (March 29, 2024). "Olivier Rioux, the world's tallest teen, and Duke-bound Toby Fournier to star in All Canadian Games". Toronto Star. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
- ^ "Tickets", CwenchAllCanadian.com, retrieved April 5, 2025
- ^ https://www.cwenchallcanadian.com/awards
- ^ "Murray, Poyser MVPs of BioSteel All-Canadian game". Sportsnet.ca. Canadian Press. April 14, 2015. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
- ^ Barrocks, Sheldon (April 11, 2018). "WHY THE BIOSTEEL ALL CANADIAN GAME MATTERS". Shifter Sports. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
- ^ Howe, Joshua (April 1, 2019). "Team Red tops Team White in high-paced BioSteel All Canadian boys game". The Toronto Observer. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
- ^ Rebelo, Marcus (April 1, 2019). "Masikewich leads Team White to lopsided BioSteel All Canadian game". The Toronto Observer. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
- ^ "BioSteel All Canadian Basketball Games postponed". TSN.ca. 12 March 2020. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
- ^ Osman, Libaan (April 1, 2022). "Biosteel all-Canadian game returns after pandemic hiatus, a roadstop to the NBA for some players". Toronto Star. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
- ^ "2022 BioSteel All-Canadian Game Scores, Highlights And Awards". Stateline Sports Network. April 3, 2022. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
- ^ Judah, Dan (April 4, 2022). "Alberta's Gibb turns heads at high school women's basketball classic". The Toronto Observer. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
- ^ https://www.cwenchallcanadian.com/awards