Bobcats sign combo guard Carvajal

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This article was published 08/07/2025 (392 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Last time Gil Cheung recruited a player out of École Lucien-Pagé, it worked out pretty well.

That was Sultan Bhatti, who was named a second-team all-Canadian following one of the best statistical seasons in Brandon University men’s basketball history a few months ago.

Cheung has added a new Pagé alum as the first signing in his 2025-26 Canada West rookie class in Pablo Carvajal.

“I’m excited to be honest. It’s a new experience for me. I’ve never played far from home like that,” said the Montreal native.

“It wasn’t a hard decision.”

Carvajal played soccer growing up until a friend suggested he try basketball around age 11. It didn’t take him long to get hooked and drop soccer.

At first, it was simply because of how easily he made friends on the court.

“I started loving the game more, so I’d play more, worked out more, I fell in love with the grind,” Carvajal said.

The six-foot-two guard played a year of prep ball, then went to Collège Montmorency of the CEGEP Division 1 ranks last year.

He started for a team that finished second in the regular season at 11-5, averaging 5.6 points per game on 44.4 per cent three-point shooting.

Carvajal put up 3.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.7 steals per game.

“I’m a playmaker at first. I find my teammates,” he said. “I can shoot the ball, too, if I need to shoot the ball.”

Carvajal put up 11 points and six assists against Vanier College, catching the attention of coach Mikee Dosado, a former Bobcat and regional scout for BU.

Dosado connected him with Cheung, who likes what he sees.

“He’s kind of a combo guard but he can really defend,” Cheung said.

“Physically, a house of a kid that will probably be one of our best on-ball defenders. He reminds me a lot (of) Eli (Ampofo) when he came in, a little bigger than Eli, stronger, but that type of defender, able to handle the ball.

“He’s a tough guard that will compete for minutes right away.”

Last year, another CEGEP transfer saw big minutes in his rookie year with the Bobcats for the same reason. Youri Cange proved BU’s top perimeter defender and led it to a few big wins it needed to sneak into the playoffs at 7-13.

“That’s the thing with Lucien-Pagé players, we learn how to play basketball with defence,” Carvajal said.

“Every time I see a guy on the court bringing the ball up, I want to guard him. I want to do what it takes to stop him. I love playing defence.”

While he’s moving two provinces over into a totally new environment — including studying business administration in English instead of French — he feels Brandon is a great fit.

“If you want to focus, it’s good because it’s far, there’s not really distractions,” Carvajal said. “You’re just here to ball and there’s a lot of coaches there for you.”

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