Above: The Athabasca Angels and St. Albert Slam play in the second last game of the fun tournament.
photos by Stephen Dafoe
Morinville Community High School hosted the MCHS Spring Jamboree basketball tournament over the weekend, a for fun, skill-building competition between four area teams: The St. Albert Slam, Athabasca Angels, Edmonton Blackcats, and the Morinville Orijen Sabretooths.
The Sabretooth started out Friday night with a 62-42 win over the Slam and followed it Saturday morning with a 65-38 win over the Athabasca Angels.
Although the tournament did not have a championship game, the final game between the Sabretooths and Black Cats served as one as both teams had won their first two games of the tournament.
In that contest, the Sabretooths lead throughout, building from an 11-10 first quarter lead to 29-17 at the half. On the other side of the court, they built their lead from a 50-35 third tally to finish with a 77-35 win.
“It was an extra special weekend in the sense that we slapped a team together pretty quick and had a couple of practices,” said Sabretooths Coach Jay Misener of the success. “I think they overachieved in one sense because I thought it’d be a lot closer. The kids came together really well. They shared the ball and had a lot of fun.”
Misener said their final game’s margin came down to the Sabretooths playing hard and a general lack of pressure that tournaments normally bring.
The coach said even fun tournaments like the jamboree are important for players.
“I think coaches like myself are always trying to get extra games in for these kids,” he said. “It’s going to benefit them no matter what. I am able to attract some kids from different areas and they get to play together. The talent pool what it is, it definitely makes them better.”
Misener also sees the assistance of older players on teams as a beneficial mentoring tool for the younger players.
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