Lloyd Pandi will return to RASTA Vechta for the 2026-27 season. The 26-year-old Canadian, who has been a key contributor and fan favorite over the past two seasons, has agreed to rejoin head coach Christian Held’s team just weeks before the Basketball Champions League qualification tournament.
Pandi arrives in Vechta after spending the summer in Canada with the Vancouver Bandits, helping the team reach the Canadian Elite Basketball League semifinals and remaining in good shape ahead of the new season.
Lloyd Pandi returns to RASTA Vechta
“RASTA is a great club where I can continue to develop. I am looking forward to seeing many of my teammates and coaches from last season again,” Pandi said.
The Canadian made his Vechta debut in September 2024. During the 2025-26 easyCredit Basketball Bundesliga season, he appeared in 31 games, averaging 7.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 0.9 steals in 24:09 minutes per game.
After wearing No. 41 during his first two seasons with RASTA, Pandi will now wear No. 2.
Christian Held welcomes Lloyd Pandi back to Vechta
Head coach Christian Held believes Pandi is an ideal fit for the team, particularly because of his versatility and ability to provide additional depth.
“Lloyd fits this team perfectly from a human standpoint. We want to give the roster a little more depth, especially considering the additional workload created by European competition. We don’t want to overload our players,” Held said.
RASTA Vechta will play its first official game of the season on September 15 at the Basketball Champions League qualifying tournament in Bulgaria.
Pandi is confident about his current fitness after playing in Canada until early August.
“I played until the beginning of August, so I am in shape. That will make the transition into preseason easier. Then, in mid-September, we want to qualify for the Basketball Champions League and go as far as possible in every competition,” Pandi said.
Lloyd Pandi returns as Lamin Sabally faces injury
Pandi’s return also comes after the injury suffered by Lamin Sabally. The power forward has been sidelined with an ankle injury and will miss several weeks following a procedure.
“I feel very sorry for him. Lamin is not only a great basketball player, but also a top person and brings a lot to the team. His absence is obviously not good news,” Held said.
The RASTA head coach believes, however, that the team’s roster construction provides enough flexibility to compensate for Sabally’s absence. Pandi’s ability to play multiple positions should be particularly valuable in that regard.
RASTA Vechta adds Pandi ahead of BCL qualification
Pandi played 15 games for the Vancouver Bandits between mid-June and early August, averaging 7.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 0.6 steals as Vancouver reached the CEBL semifinals.
“We deliberately kept one roster spot open and monitored the market all along,” sporting director Gerrit Kersten-Thiele explained. “Lloyd is someone we already wanted to re-sign in the spring. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out at that time. He is a character and a type of player that we value very highly.”
Pandi will be RASTA Vechta’s sixth foreign player and returns to an environment he already knows well. That familiarity was another key factor behind the club’s decision to bring him back ahead of the BCL qualifying tournament.
Lloyd Pandi brings experience and versatility to Vechta
“Lloyd will need a little bit of time to get going because the current team is different from last season’s team. But our rules are very similar in many areas, so I’m sure he will fit in very quickly,” Held added.
Born in Ottawa in 1999, Pandi stands 1.93 meters tall and has experience in Germany, Turkey and Canada, as well as with the Canadian national team.
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