Tournament Wrap: Good Weekend for SJAM Fans

It was a good weekend if you are a fan of the SJAM Highlanders basketball program.

Both the Junior & Senior 'Landers had impressive results at their respective high-profile tournaments over the weekend.

On the Junior Side, SJAM went 5-0 to take the title at their annual home tournament, the SJAM CWOSSA Hoopla.  The tournament, which features 16 CWOSSA-based teams, is usually a strong indication of future success.  In fact, most of the previous champions have gone on to win their league and/or CWOSSA titles.

Dragan Stajic led SJAM with 18 points in the tournament final, a 51-37 victory over Forest Heights, who were backed by a 14-point performance by Branko Damjanovic.

SJAM actually won all of their games by 14 or more points -- 58-43 over Brantford CI (Semifinal), 62-30 over Resurrection (Quarterfinal), 53-37 over Centre Wellington (2nd Round) and 52-34 over St. David in their opener.

With a strong returning core from last year's CWOSSA championship team, we knew that SJAM would be the #1 team in the region entering play, but it looks like they are #1 by a bit of a margin.  We'll see how teams can close the gap -- if at all -- over the next few months.

Seniors in Brampton @ Campion Showdown
The SJAM Highlanders certainly made themselves some fans in the GTA over the weekend.

While I was in the stands for the tournament finale, a 56-53 loss to Bishop Reding of Milton (16-0 on the season and a top-ranked GTA team), many in my vicinity -- some of whom had no idea where SJAM was located -- had nothing but praise for the way the 'Landers played and were coached.

The 'Landers went 2-0 in their pool, with wins over Philip Pocock (Mississauga), 64-57, and Brampton Centennial (72-63).  They then defeated hosts Campion in the semifinal, 72-57, to advance to the tournament final.

Star forward for SJAM, Nedim Hodzic, posted a double-double in each game:  25+10, 43+14, 33+10, and 21+14, for tournament averages of 30.5 points and 12.0 rebounds.

The other "big three" members, Simon Petrov and Justin Hardy, also had impressive tournaments.  Petrov was named as a tournament all-star alongside Hodzic.