Xavier Moon had scored the Winnipeg Sea Bears’ previous five points, putting them within two of the franchise’s first CEBL championship.
As he brought the ball up the court in Target Score Time, none of the 12,519 in attendance at the Canada Life Centre would have blamed the three-time MVP for holding it and attempting the winning shot on his own.
Instead, he dumped the ball into the post to DJ Burns, who quickly tossed it out to Simon Hildebrandt beyond the three-point arc.
“As soon as that shot went up and it went in, my mind kind of went blank, kind of feeling a little bit of everything. It kind of took definitely a couple hours to kind of realize, you know, that it all actually happened,” Hildebrandt said Tuesday, three days after the ball went through the hoop.
For Hildebrandt, all that actually happened didn’t just begin with Moon’s entry pass. Instead, it started over three years earlier, when he was the first overall pick in the Canadian Elite Basketball League’s inaugural U Sports draft out of the University of Manitoba.
Winnipeg Sea Bears defeat Brampton Honey Badgers to claim 1st CEBL championship title
The 23-year-old Winnipeg native’s journey through the CEBL since has seen him win Developmental Player of the Year twice and parlay that success into a two-year NCAA career at High Point and Washington State.
He’ll play professionally overseas for the first time this coming season in Germany with BBC Bayreuth.
Call that title-winning shot, then, the climax. For now.
“It's been a long journey. I've had lots of different stops, played for lots of different teams and lots of different coaches. I think that I've learned little things in each program that I've been with that have helped me become the player that I am today,” Hildebrandt said.
Hildebrandt’s is the type of story the CEBL should continue pursuing as it heads into its ninth season in 2027 — emphasizing Canadian talent, especially of the homegrown and undiscovered type, is critical as the league has also increased the number of imports allowed on each roster from three to five.
The draft that allowed Hildebrandt to enter the league has also been replaced by “CEBL Signing Day,” in which each team signs two players from Canada’s university and college systems. Hildebrandt said the focus should remain on those pathways.
“Just keep showcasing and highlighting the talent in U Sports and the young talented Canadian kids,” Hildebrandt said. “Keep showing that U Sports is a super high level, and that you can go so many places from playing U Sports. I think having that next stepping stone from U Sports to CEBL before you end up playing professional full time is a huge step.”
Hildebrandt’s basketball journey could also lead to the national team, for which he has yet to play at the senior level. Still, CBC analyst and ex-national teamer Jevon Shepherd speculated during the broadcast of the championship game that Hildebrandt would be a good fit.
Sea Bears show 'you can do it from Winnipeg' in first CEBL championship win
