Patriots advance to consolation final
Isaac Jordan has taken on a new role with the Saint Paul Patriots this season.
Always a prolific scorer, the Grade 12 forward has added a leadership component to his game and the results have been impressive.
Jordan netted a game-high 22 points to lead the Patriots past the Centennial Cougars 52-40 in a consolation round semifinal game Friday at the 67th Annual Welland Tribune Basketball Tournament.
“This year because I’m a senior, I have more of a leader role,” Jordan said. “I try and do as much as I can for the team scoring. I believe I’m a scorer more than anything else, but I try and be a leader and make sure the team is one and no one is arguing with each other.”
Jordan, who plays at the club level for the Pelham Panthers, believes being a good leader comes down to setting a good example.
“I believe it’s more of a mental thing. It’s having a good attitude and coming to the games positive. Last year we had a lot of leadership on our team and I learned from them and try to do the same this year,” he said.
Patriots coach Michael Doodeman is a big fan of Jordan.
“He is a true gentleman,” Doodeman said. “He’s a leader and he’s always positive with his teammates and he has great scoring abilities and even today we also saw good defence as well. We shut down Timi Ijaodola pretty well and that was Isaac largely.”
The Patriots will be looking for redemption after losing to the Holy Cross Raiders in last year’s consolation final.
“It’s great, it’s nice to back again,” Jordan said. “I’m ready for tomorrow. I’m fired up.”
Jordan loves participating in the Tribune Tournament.
“It’s my favourite tournament all year. Everything is great about the environment and there’s the fans, the shirts — everything. It’s just an awesome tournament.”
Doodeman is also looking forward to Saturday night.
“I kept telling that to the guys this week that getting to the Tribune consolation finals is always a big deal,” he said. “We’re really excited.”
Centennial coach Craig Maltais lamented his team’s offensive struggles.
“We were a little bit cold. A couple of shots at the rim just didn’t go down,” he said. “I think we got some good looks but even though we got some good looks, it was one of those days where we really couldn’t buy a bucket. We knew it was going to be a tough game and we were going to have to score and we had a tough afternoon.”
Patriots 52 Cougars 40
Mountainview Building Group Players of the Game: Saint Paul’s Isaac Jordan and Centennial’s Marco Reyes.
Saint Paul Patriots: Isaac Jordan 22; Dante DeBenedetti 13; Mark Cruz 10; Sail Ali 3; Charlie McCamley 2; Josh Firth 2.
Centennial Cougars: Timi Ijaodola 9; Marco Reyes 8; Nate Perna 6; Elliot Slack 6; Alex Bray 5; Colbey DesRoches 3; Tytan Worrall 3.
Up next: The Patriots advance to the consolation final Saturday at 5:30 p.m. versus the E.L. Crossley Cyclone.
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