The 24th Annual Saints’ Invitational High School Basketball Tournament will tip off Friday morning with a total of 32 Senior Boys teams from across Ontario competing. It is one of the largest senior tournaments in Ontario with teams competing for one overall champion. Action will continue all day Friday (Jan 13) and throughout Saturday (Jan 14) at St. Benedict CSS, Monsignor Doyle CSS and Jacob Hespeler gyms.

The tournament concludes with “Championship Night” on Saturday at St. Benedict with game times as follows:

Consolation Championship - 6:00pm
Championship Game - 8:00pm

Both these games will be broadcasted on Rogers Cable 20.

At the conclusion of the tournament championship game, an awards ceremony will feature the recognition of the championship and finalist teams and the selection of the tournament all-star teams and tournament MVP. Tournament passes are good for all games over the weekend including championship night. They can be purchased at the door for $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for students. They are good at all three sites. Tournament organizers are predicting another great weekend of basketball this year. The teams competing come are from all over Ontario and are some of the best in their areas. The Saints’ Invitational 24 will feature some great hoop action and is one the premier tournaments in the province.

Tournament Overview

Any team wanting to lay claim to this year’s tournament championship will have their work cut out for them. Not only will they have to win five games over two days, the tournament committee has assembled a thirtytwo- team field, which is strong from top to bottom. Tough squads from Burlington, North Bay, Guelph, Sault Ste. Marie, Lindsay, Toronto, Windsor, Hamilton, Waterloo, Kitchener, and Sudbury make-up the draw and will be battling to become tournament champions. As a result, fans should expect to see quality, competitive games from the opening rounds through to the finals. An overview of the host school and some of the tournament favourites are below.

St. Benedict, Cambridge (Host School):

Even though the Saints have only three players back from last year’s squad, they have jumped out to a solid start to the season. They have made it to the consolation finals in all three tournaments they have competed in, winning the last one at the Westminster Wildcat Classic in London. The Saints have only lost one game by more than 8 points all season and are working on finishing games intelligently down the stretch. A continued focus on defense and effort will be key for the Saints in the second half of their season. This will hopefully lead to some upsets at their own tournament this weekend. Look for Santo Dak, Kueth Geng and Josh Edwards to lead the perimeter attack for the Saints while the athletic Tyler Moulton cleans-up the area around the glass. The outside shooting of Shakur Tag El Din and Brendan Flannigan enables balanced scoring and a team-orientated offensive attack. One player doesn’t do it all for the Saints as all players contribute on the score sheet. The Saints just finished competing in the Stratford St. Mikes Tournament over Christmas and are now focusing their sites on a strong second half to their season.

Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School, Burlington:

Notre Dame comes into the weekend looking to be the tournament favourite. They are currently ranked #6 on Hooptown’s GTA Super 16 Senior Boys Rankings. This guard dominated team may lack height but has a great ability to move the ball and shoot well. Their up tempo style is led by stand out point guard Grant Mullins who is regarded by many as one of the best point guards in the country. He has already committed to play for Columbia (NCAA Division 1) next season and has gained valuable experience playing for REDA the last two seasons and *A* Game Hoops. This, by no means, is a one man show as at least five other players on the roster have the talent to play at the next level. Notre Dame has had big wins against some of the best teams in the province and will be hard to stop. The Irish are determined to take home this year’s title and won’t let anyone stand in their way!

Resurrection Catholic Secondary School, Kitchener:

The Phoenix return to the Saints Invitational as the reigning Champs, and believe it or not, have added more depth to last year’s already strong roster. Last year, Resurrection captured the District 8 Championship, however, fell short in the CWOSSA playoffs, losing in a close semi-final game. This year’s team returns 10 players led by last year’s District 8 and tournament all-stars Tyler Schneider and Mike Pereira. The Phoenix are extremely deep off the bench and are capable of playing any brand of basketball. Look for centre Cory Kenning and forward Cam Gibbs to light up the score sheet and rookie guard Adam Schneider to contribute to the balanced attack. The Phoenix are certainly poised to make another serious run at this year’s title!

St. Basil Secondary, Sault Ste. Marie:

The St. Basil Saints are coming off a very successful 2010-2011 campaign as they won the Antique Bronze at OFSAA “AA”. They return seven of nine players from last year’s squad with aspirations of once again being among Ontario’s elite “AA” schools. So far this season, the Saints have won The Sault Tip Off Tournament and the Laurentian Tournament in Sudbury. Led by Nick Palazzi, Mario Bruni, Mitch Mazzuca and Cole Bertolissi the Saints have been victorious against top teams including Notre Dame (Burlington), St. Joseph (Barrie), J. L. Forester (Windsor). The Saints are counting on a balanced attack in order to make a run at this weekend’s tournament title and avenge last year’s two point quarter-final loss to Resurrection, the eventual tournament champions.

John F. Ross Collegiate Vocational Institute, Guelph:

The Royals return a senior team with a great deal of experience. The Royals have been crowned District 10 champions the last two seasons, CWOSSA AAAA finalists and OFSAA AAAA participants those same two years. This year’s team is led by Jack Cornett, Shamlo Saeed, Evan Karl, and Mike Friesen who bring intensity at both ends of the floor. Grade 11 rookies Kristian Vandekemp and Nolan Ireland will be counted on to be key contributors as the weekend moves forward. Last year’s consolation champions are coming to Cambridge for one reason only and that is to win five games and the Championship Title! Look for the Royals to be a force to contend with as they set their eyes on a trip to their first ever Saints Invitational Final.

St. Mary’s High School, Kitchener:

This year is the first time the Eagles have participated in the Saints Invitational. They return seven players from last year’s squad, three of which are starters. Combine this group with six players from last year’s CWOSSA silver medal junior team and expectations run high this season. By participating in the Court Heinbuch (Silver Division Champions), SOSI and University of Windsor Invitational, this squad will be prepared to avenge their District 8 championship loss last year and make a serious push for a CWOSSA and OFSSA “AAAA” berth. The Eagles are led by three dynamic players, all of whom are gaining interest from NCAA and CIS schools. The inside play, rebounding and fly-swatting of centre Adam Voll, the slashing and shooting ability of guard Alex Thompson and the exceptional passing and composed leadership of Isaac Lance will surely make the Eagles a tough opponent in this year’s tournament. The Eagles are determined to win gold on their first visit to the tournament.

North Park Collegiate, Brantford:

This year’s North Park Collegiate Trojans come into the season as two-time CWOSSA “AAA” & BCSSAA champions. Looking to make their third straight OFSSA “AAA” appearance, the Trojans have a good mix of speed, size and athleticism. They are off to an outstanding start this season as they were crowned champions of the Brantford Expositor Tip-Off Tournament, semi-finalist of the Sarnia Northern Tournament and have yet to taste defeat in league play. The Trojans are led by talented point guard Marcus Jones, shooting guard Marcus Hamilton, and high flying forward Logan Varga. If the Trojan’s are firing on all cylinders, look for last season’s tournament semi-finalist to challenge again for the championship.

Ursuline College Catholic Secondary School, Chatham:

Ursuline College returns to the Saints Invitational with some early season momentum. The Lancers have reached the finals in three of team’s tournaments this year, winning the last one at Westminster in London. The Lancers are on a mission to win their respective City Championship for the sixth time in eight years and finally sneak by the Windsor “AAAA” representative to get to OFSAA for the first time in school history. This successful program has reached the SWOSAA championship final eight of the last ten years. After suffering through the trials and tribulations of a young team last year, the Lancers are now a year older and tougher. Keep an eye on Luke Allin this weekend. The tall point guard has garnered a fair bit of CIS interest already and comes from an unbelievable basketball family. His high basketball IQ, sweet touch and size will make the Lancers a tough opponent throughout the weekend.

Waterloo Collegiate Institute, Waterloo:

The Vikings return three starters from last year’s squad which finished seventh in WCSSAA and lost a very close game to Forest Heights in the WCSSAA quarter-finals. Coach Nickel expects this year’s team to be highly competitive in both WCSSAA and CWOSSA. The Vikings will be counting on very good overall team size and basketball IQ to keep them competitive in most games. Up front, teams are going to be hard pressed to deal with the towering trio of fourth year forwards Jacob Ranton (6’7”), Dani Elgadi (6’6”) and Malcolm Piazza (6’6”) who are all drawing attention from CIS coaches. The Vikings size and toughness will be something to keep an eye on as the weekend progresses.

The rest of the teams in this weekend’s field cannot be overlooked. All are capable of making it to the finals. It will be a great weekend of basketball!

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