MONTRÉAL, QC – The Montréal Alliance announced Thursday that veterans Kemy Ossé and Hernst Laroche have been named team captains for the 2022 Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) season. 

A 29-year-old point guard, Ossé is one of three players on the team who have previous experience in the CEBL and is the only one to have played more than one season in the league. The Montréal native played the last two seasons in Saskatchewan with the Rattlers, where he averaged 11.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 27.1 minutes per game. 

“I am honoured to be named team captain,” said Ossé. “It is an honour to have been chosen by Vincent Lavandier, with who I’ll have to constantly communicate throughout the season. With the help of Vincent and Hernst, I look forward to guiding the younger players and doing whatever it takes to lead the team to a championship.”

Meanwhile, although Hernst Laroche will play his first season in the CEBL this year, the Montrealer brings a wealth of experience to the team. The 33-year-old veteran has played more than nine seasons in Hungary, Czech Republic, Ukraine, France, Tunisia and Switzerland. Laroche also played with the Haitian national team in the 2018 FIA AmeriCup pre-qualifiers. 

“I am extremely proud, happy and honoured to have been selected as team captain,” expressed Laroche. “I look forward to using the experience I have gained over time to guide the younger players, motivate the team and make sure everyone is on the same page.”

For Head Coach Vincent Lavandier, the choice of Laroche and Ossé as team captains was a natural one. “I like to work with two captains,” said the French coach. It’s important for me to have a player who knows the league well and who is a vocal leader, Kemy, as well as a player with a lot of professional experience like Hernst. Kemy and Hernst are the two ideal players for this role.”

Both Ossé and Laroche will play in Montréal as professionals for the first time on May 29th when the team welcomes the Scarborough Shooting Stars. Ossé left Montréal while he was still in high school and has played his college basketball at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. For his part, Laroche spent four collegiate seasons with New Mexico State, where he graduated as the school’s record holder for the most games played (135), minutes played (4,417) and steals (216). 

The Alliance will begin its fourth day of training camp at 9:30 a.m. this Thursday at the Verdun Auditorium. The team will train until May 24th before heading to Hamilton where the team will play its first game in franchise history against the Honey Badgers. Fans will have the opportunity to see the team play 10 times this summer at the new Verdun Auditorium. Visit https://www.alliancemontreal.ca/en-ca/tickets to get your tickets and for more information. 

About the Montréal Alliance

The Montréal Alliance is a professional basketball team competing in the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL). The team will play all their home games at the newly renovated Verdun Auditorium. The Alliance opens their inaugural season May 25 against the Honey Badgers in Hamilton. The season, comprised of 10 home games and 10 road games, ends August 1 when the team faces the BlackJacks in Ottawa. All Alliance home games will be broadcast live on 91.9 Sports. Get your season membership and find more information about the team at www.alliancemontreal.ca and on our social media platforms, on Instagram (@alliancemontreal), Twitter (@mtl_alliance), LinkedIn and Facebook (Montréal Alliance). 

About the CEBL

The CEBL begins its fourth season in May. A league created by Canadians for Canadians, more than 75 percent of its players during the past three seasons were Canadian, the highest percentage of any professional league in the country. CEBL players bring experience from the NBA, the NBA G League, top NCAA programs, the Canadian National team program, top international leagues as well as U SPORTS. All CEBL regular season games will be broadcast live on the free CBC Gem streaming service, cbcsports.ca, the CBC Sports mobile app and CEBL+. Additional information about the league is available at www.cebl.ca. 

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Media Contact:

Zachary Favreau
Manager, Communications & Community Relations
[email protected]