Cup final defeat for Warriors

Garvey’s Tralee Warriors were beaten in the Men’s National Cup final.

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Domino's Men's Super League National Cup Final, National Basketball Arena, Dublin 17/1/2026
Ballincollig vs Garvey's Tralee Warriors
Both teams during the national anthem ahead of the game
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Domino's Men's Super League National Cup Final, National Basketball Arena, Dublin 17/1/2026
Ballincollig vs Garvey's Tralee Warriors
Ballincollig's Latavious Mitchell
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Domino's Men's Super League National Cup Final, National Basketball Arena, Dublin 17/1/2026
Ballincollig vs Garvey's Tralee Warriors
Garvey's Tralee Warriors' Irshaad Hunte congratulates the Ballincollig players on their victory after the game
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Domino's Men's Super League National Cup Final, National Basketball Arena, Dublin 17/1/2026
Ballincollig vs Garvey's Tralee Warriors
Kate Sullivan, sister of Garvey's Tralee Warriors' Cian Sullivan, shows her support ahead of the game
Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Tom Maher

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Domino's Men's Super League National Cup Final, National Basketball Arena, Dublin 17/1/2026
Ballincollig vs Garvey's Tralee Warriors
Kieran Donaghy and a young Garvey's Tralee Warriors supporter celebrate a score
Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Tom Maher

Latrell Jossell picked up the game MVP after exhilarating performance, scoring 31 points.

Ballincollig raced out the blocks, Garvey’s Tralee Warriors simply had no answer to Jossell, who converted six of his seven three-point attempts in a remarkable opening quarter from the American. The Cork side would lead 34-20 at the end of it.

Garvey’s Tralee Warriors, who were chasing their second Cup title and first since 2021/22, kept themselves in the hunt, the sides exchanged threes, Jordan Perkins and Olaf Michalczuk landing either side of Keelan Cairns’ effort, to see the Kerry club trail 55-37 with just under two minutes to go. Meanwhile their defence managed to contain Jossell a little better, limiting him to four points in the quarter. But Ballincollig’s offence was still finding space and player/coach Ciaran O’Sullivan’s three in the final seconds of the quarter put Ballincollig 60-39 up, before a pair of free throws from Warriors captain Eoin Quigley reduced the deficit slightly.

Garvey’s Tralee Warriors needed a big third quarter and started off well, baskets from Irshaad Hunt and Cian Sullivan reducing the deficit to 60-45. Ballincollig responded emphatically, captain Adrian O’Sullivan’s three was followed swiftly afterwards by Latavious Mitchell’s dunk, to put them 69-51 up three minutes in. Mitchell was proving an menace in the paint, his offensive rebound had Ballincollig 75-53 up with three minutes left in the quarter. It was followed not long afterwards by a fastbreak and layup from the pacy Jossell. Ballincollig didn’t relent, Cairns’ deep three in the final minute was followed by another three by Josh Steel, the only respite was Padraig Fleming's three for Tralee Warriors at the finish, but they trailed 83-58.

Garvey’s Tralee Warriors again began the fourth quarter with a four-point run, Hunte’s jump shot brought his tally to 20 in the game at that stage. Ballincollig responded in kind, Dylan Corkery’s layup was followed by another two points from Mitchell and they led by 25 points once more, 87-62. Ballincollig still had seven minutes to negotiate, but they had Jossell, his eighth three of the contest brought their tally to 100 and they would finish as 104-77 victors.

Speaking afterwards Jossell said: “I feel great. My teammates did an amazing job instilling confidence in me, both throughout the season and before the game. That’s all I can ask for from my team and the coaching staff.

Asked about the the first quarter being what dreams are made, the American added: “Yeah it is. There has been times in my career where I have felt that and luckily tonight it was nice and I felt like I was shooting the ball in the ocean so, I feel great”.

Quarter Scores:
Q1: 34-20, Q2: 26-21, Q3: 23-17, Q4: 21-19
Game Scores:
Q1: 34-20, Q2: 60-41, Q3: 83-58, Q4: 104-77
Ballincollig:
Adrian O’Sullivan (10), Josh Steel (19), Latrell Jossell (31), Diego O’Herlihy (0), Alberto Rodriguez (0), Ciaran O’Sullivan (6), Ronan O’Sullivan (2), Colm Blount (2), Luke O’Sullivan (0), Dylan Corkery (2), Latavious Mitchell (20), Keelan Cairns (12).
Garvey’s Tralee Warriors:
Irshaad Hunte (22), Jordan Perkins (14), Olaf Michalczuk (6), James Friel (0), James Fernane (0), Daniel Bowler (0), Keelan Crowe (0), Padraig Fleming (14), Daniel Jocubaitis (9), Steven Bowler (0), Cian Sullivan (6), Eoin Quigley (6).

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Domino's Men's Super League National Cup Final, National Basketball Arena, Dublin 17/1/2026
Ballincollig vs Garvey's Tralee Warriors
Garvey's Tralee Warriors' Cian Sullivan
Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Tom Maher

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Domino's Men's Super League National Cup Final, National Basketball Arena, Dublin 17/1/2026
Ballincollig vs Garvey's Tralee Warriors
A young Garvey's Tralee Warriors supporter during the game
Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Tom Maher

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Domino's Men's Super League National Cup Final, National Basketball Arena, Dublin 17/1/2026
Ballincollig vs Garvey's Tralee Warriors
Garvey's Tralee Warriors' Steven Bowler challenges Adrian O'Sullivan of Ballincollig
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Domino's Men's Super League National Cup Final, National Basketball Arena, Dublin 17/1/2026
Ballincollig vs Garvey's Tralee Warriors
Ballincollig's Latavious Mitchell is challenged by Jordan Perkins and Eoin Quigley of Garvey's Tralee Warriors
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Domino's Men's Super League National Cup Final, National Basketball Arena, Dublin 17/1/2026
Ballincollig vs Garvey's Tralee Warriors
Garvey's Tralee Warriors' Irshaad Hunte
Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Tom Maher

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Domino's Men's Super League National Cup Final, National Basketball Arena, Dublin 17/1/2026
Ballincollig vs Garvey's Tralee Warriors
Ballincollig's Joshua Steel and Jordan Perkins of Garvey's Tralee Warriors
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Domino's Men's Super League National Cup Final, National Basketball Arena, Dublin 17/1/2026
Ballincollig vs Garvey's Tralee Warriors
Garvey's Tralee Warriors' Padraig Fleming challenges Ronan O'Sullivan of Ballincollig
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Domino's Men's Super League National Cup Final, National Basketball Arena, Dublin 17/1/2026
Ballincollig vs Garvey's Tralee Warriors
Ballincollig's Joshua Steel challenges Jordan Perkins of Garvey's Tralee Warriors
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Domino's Men's Super League National Cup Final, National Basketball Arena, Dublin 17/1/2026
Ballincollig vs Garvey's Tralee Warriors
Ballincollig's Latrell Jossell challenges Daniel Jokubaitis of Garvey's Tralee Warriors
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Domino's Men's Super League National Cup Final, National Basketball Arena, Dublin 17/1/2026
Ballincollig vs Garvey's Tralee Warriors
Kieran Donaghy and young Garvey's Tralee Warriors supporters cheer on the team
Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Tom Maher

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Domino's Men's Super League National Cup Final, National Basketball Arena, Dublin 17/1/2026
Ballincollig vs Garvey's Tralee Warriors
Ballincollig's Joshua Steel is challenged by Irshaad Hunte and Eoin Quigley of Garvey's Tralee Warriors
Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Tom Maher

The Warriors next game is away to UCC Demons on Sunday next in the Mardyke Arena, Cork with tip off at 3.30.

The game originally scheduled for next Saturday against Limerick Celtics will be rescheduled for later in the season.

Limerick Celtics win U18 Women's National Cup, Dublin Lions take U18 Men's title, Titans claim U20 Men's and Fr. Mathews NICC Women's National Cup winners

Game MVP Fortune Igbokwe (left), Declan Gbinigie (centre) and Nathan Gbinigie (right) of Titans BC celebrate after their 73-69 win against Neptune in the U20 Men's National Cup final at the National Basketball Arena.

Dwyer inspires Fr. Mathews comeback to claim NICC Women’s National Cup

Fr. Mathews mounted a third quarter comeback to stun Liffey Celtics and claim their first NICC Women’s National Cup, following a 59-52 win over Liffey Celtics at the National Basketball Arena on Saturday. 43-year-old Niamh Dwyer rolled back the years, racking up an 18-point second half, to inspire her side the victory and claim the MVP in the process.

Liffey Celtics, who were looking to claim a third title in four years, held a 16-9 lead after the opening quarter, helped by back-to-back three’s from Karen Mealy at the end of it.

Mealy continued where she left off at the start of the second quarter with another three. Dwyer’s put-back basket with four minutes to go made it a six point game, 21-15. Caoimhe Masterson’s layup had Liffey up by nine points, 26-17, with two and a half minutes to go. The Kildare side would be 32-21 up by half time, Megan O’Sullivan’s jump shot the final score of the quarter.

Liffey Celtics kicked on in the third quarter and appeared to be coasting as they stretched their advantage to 15 points, 40-25, following Rebecca Keating’s mid-range jump shot with four minutes to go. Fr. Mathews responded impressively rattling off a 12 point run, completed by a Dwyer layup, to put the game back in the balance, 40-37.

The game was level at 40 apiece a minute into the fourth quarter, following a Niamh Braham layup and a free throw from Amy Corkery. It was still level with six minutes to go, 45-45, following a three from Ciara Bracken. In the closing stretch Dwyer proved inspirational, she unloaded a three with two minutes remaining to give Fr. Mathews a 54-49 lead. She landed another three with 32.9 seconds left on the clock, to make it 59-51 and it was to be the Cork club’s day.

MVP Dwyer said: “I walked in here today and you know, I don’t know if I’ll ever be here again on a cup final weekend. I was like a kid again all week with the excitement. I told my own two, they’re seven and they woke up every morning telling me - four days to Dublin, three days to Dublin - that was like a Christmas countdown for me. This was my Christmas Day. I’ve had a whole month of Christmas, thanks to basketball and cup and Ireland.”

Quarter Scores:
Q1: 9-16, Q2: 12-16, Q3: 16-8, Q4: 22-12
Game Scores:
Q1: 9-16, Q2: 21-32, Q3: 37-40, Q4: 59-52
Fr. Mathews:
Natasha Bowdren (0), Niamh Braham (6), Alannah Brahm (4), Mila Pichet (2), Amy Corkery (11), Heather Lynch (2), Amanda O’Regan (3), Meabhdh Humphries (7), Niamh Dwyer (21), Amy Fitzgerald (2), Katie Kilbride (1), Chloe Ferris (0).
Liffey Celtics:
Rebecca Keating (2), Ciara Bracken (14), Caoimhe Masterson (4), Kayla McGonagle (DNP), Karen O’Shea (4), Ciara Mulleady (4), Aoife Tienan (3), Rachel Mulleady (DNP), Karen Mealy (9), Megan O’Sullivan (12), Beatrice Olaru (DNP).

Titans lift U20 Men's National Cup with 73-69 win over Neptune

Titans came from 11 points down in the fourth quarter to secure a dramatic 73-69 win over Neptune to claim the U20 Men’s National Cup at the National Basketball Arena. Fortune Igbokwe had a massive performance, racking up 25 points and 20 rebounds, five turnovers and a pair of steals and assists for the victors, as he picked up the MVP.

Neptune opened up an early 10 point lead in this contest, following a Wesley Delany corner three, to make it 15-5 to Neptune with four and a half minutes to go in the first. Titans closed the gap, a shotclock beating three at the finish from Igbokwe saw them trail 22-20 at the end of the first quarter.

Titans were level at 24-24, following a floater by Stephan Owede a little over three minutes into the second quarter. Neptune had a narrow lead at half-time, 35-34, Sean Noonan’s layup was the final points of the quarter.

The third quarter was tight, Luke Mitchell’s basket for Titans saw the Galway side trail 42-41 at the midpoint. Neptune kept their noses in front, a pair of O’Rourke baskets in the final seconds had Neptune 51-47 ahead.

The Cork side raced out of the blocks in the fourth quarter, with three 3’s. it began with a lovely corner three from Dylan O’Rourke, before Delany converted and O’Rouke completed the sequence, to prompt a Titans timeout as they trailed 60-51 two minutes in. Neptune were ahead by 11 three and a half minutes into the quarter, 66-55 following Ben O’Connell’s basket and appeared to be in the driving seat.

Titans reeled in Neptune, a big three from Luka Mitchell was followed by layup under the basket from Ikbokwe, which prompted a big response from the Titans bench, Titans trailed 68-66 with 2’11 to go. They were level at 68-68 after offensive rebound by Victor Tashev. Back-to-back layups from Declan Gbinigie and Titans were 72-69 up with a little over a minute to go and that was to prove enough.

Quarter Scores:
Q1: 22-20, Q2: 13-14, Q3: 16-13, Q4: 18-26
Game Scores:
Q1: 22-20, Q2: 35-34, Q3: 51-47, Q4: 69-73
Neptune:
Dylan O’Rourke (23), Kian O’Rourke (0), Oisin Tobin (4), Ben O’Connell (6), Akitoye Coker (3), Will Carmody (DNP), Noah Vaicekonis (0), Sean Noonan (11), Stephen Emukperuo (DNP), Wesley Delany (16), Luke Walsh (DNP), Pharrell Osagie (6).
Titans:
Michael Smyth (0), William Poland (DNP), Stephan Owede (4), Noah Webb (DNP), Luka Mitchell (15), Luke Herrick (3), Filip Rogowicz (DNP), Declan Gbinigie (13), Viktor Tashev (8), Fortune Igbokwe (25), Richard Grebstels (DNP), Nathan Gbinigie (5).

Dublin Lions defeat St. Brendan's Tralee 99-54 to secure Billy Coffey U18 Men's National Cup

Dublin Lions defeated St. Brendan’s Tralee 99-54 to secure the Billy Coffey U18 Men’s National Cup at the National Basketball Arena on Saturday. Mykyta Hunte had 26 points and 12 rebounds on his way to picking up the MVP, while Dublin Lions had five players in double figures, including Markas Mikalickas (24) and Majust Raziunas (23). Shareef Elmahi had a big game on the boards with 19 points, to go along with his 13 points.

Both sides started well with St. Brendan's gaining an early 7-6 advantage following Brooklyn Conway's three. Hural responded immediately with a three of his own - he'd finish the quarter with 11 points. It remained close, a big three from Daniel Spring saw St. Brendan's trail 19-16 with a little under three minutes to go. Hural had the final say in the quarter to give Dublin Lions a 24-18 lead.

The second quarter started off in similar ilk as the first, with both sides running the ball end-to-end in a very fast-paced matchup. As the quarter wore on, St. Brendan's slowly started to force themselves back into the game - Daniel Spring, Conor McGibney and Conway all put down scores to cut the lead to as little as one point midway through the second at 33-32. In the final four minutes, Lions went on a 17-2 run to end the quarter with Elmahi and Raziunas key to it, as Lions went in at the half-time break up 51-34.

Dublin Lions, losing finalists in 2024, really turned up the heat in the third quarter with six different players adding points...Six unanswered points to start the quarter put Dublin Lions well on their way to building a commanding 35-point lead at the end of the quarter, while their defence kept St. Brendan's scoreless in the final three minutes, Dublin Lions 81-46 in front.

St. Brendan's kept plugging away in the final quarter with scores from Paddy Lucid, Kevin O'Shea, a pair of Lucid free throws saw them trail 87-52 with six minutes to go. It was a margin that was never going to be reeled in as Lions sealed a 99-54 win, the final score coming from Hural.

Quarter Scores:
Q1- 18-24, Q2- 16-27, Q3- 12-30, Q4- 8-18
Game Scores:
Q1- 18-24, Q2- 34-51, Q3- 46-81, Q4- 54-99
St. Brendan’s Tralee:
Samson Abubakar (0), Liam O’Rahilly(0), Kevin O’Shea (6), Fionan Brosnan (2), Rory Bowler (0), Brooklyn Conway (9), Ryan Sheehy (21), Daniel Spring (6), Conor McGibney (4), Paddy Lucid (4), Daniel Roche (0), Timmy Kennelly (2).
Dublin Lions:
Shareef Elmahi (13), Majus Raziunas (23), Bentoy Monshengwo (11), Nicholas Dinca (0), Alex Field (2), David Ajavon (0), Markas Mikalickas (24), Tiarnan Diffily (0), Robert Dremakovs (0), Mykyta Hural (26).

Limerick Celtics secure U18 Women's National Cup with triumph over Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell

Limerick Celtics won the U18 Women's National Cup edging Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell 51-49 in a closely-fought contest. Ireland U18 international Laura Buckley scored 23 points, while four players hit double digits for rebounding for Celtics, Maebh Purtill led the way on the boards, with 18 for Celtics.

The first quarter got off to a slow start, with both sides seemingly nervous of the occasion and it showed both sides shooting performances, ending the quarter at just 9-9. Buckley picked up where she left off from her Domino's Women's Division One performance against Cleveland Rockets, scoring the opening six points of the game. Brunell were making a difference on the fast-break, getting four steals in the first quarter, to bring the tie to the second quarter at level pegging at 9-9.

In the second quarter, the energy was slowly starting to pick up in the National Basketball Arena, with two raucous Limerick and Cork crowds roaring their sides on, Buckley and Madelyn Hartigan put Celtics ahead by four, 13-9. A three, plus two free throws, from Brunell’s Abbie Lyons helped keep Brunell in the game midway through the second quarter, as the game was again tied at 15-15.

The game continued to swing back and forth between the two sides. Celtics’ Emer Purtill finished the half the strongest, she scored Celtics’ next eight points to close out the second quarter, as they took a 23-19 lead into the half-time break.

In the third quarter, Hartigan, Buckley and Laura Gocek got Celtics off to a good start, building an 10-point lead by the midpoint of the quarter. Celtics managed to capitalise on the energy from the Celtics support and get to a 36-23 lead.
A big blow was dealt to Celtics, when Irish international Hartigan had to check out of the game due to injury. Brunell finished the quarter the stronger of the two sides, with two big threes from Lyons and McKenzie Lucey inside the final minute, to reduce Celtics lead to nine points at the end of the third quarter, 41-32.

Brunell managed to keep the momentum with them in the final quarter of play. With three minutes left on the clock, Francesca Kyamagero hit a huge three to bring Brunell back into a one score game, at 47-45, to get the Brunell crowd off their feet. Purtill instantly responded with a tough finish through contact to reinstate the four-point gap.

With just under one minute left in the game, Abbie Lyons brought Brunell back to within two points once more, at 51-49. Despite late efforts from Brunell, Celtics managed to close out the game with big rebounds from Purtill, who had 12 rebounds to go with her 15 points. Her sister Maebh Purtill made a huge difference inside with 18 boards of her own.

Quarter Scores:
Q1- 9-9, Q2- 10-14, Q3- 13-18, Q4- 17-10
Game Scores:
Q1- 9-9, Q2- 19-23, Q3- 32-41, Q4- 49-51
Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell:
Abbie Lyons (17), Jean Aherne (5), Sophie O’Keeffe (0), Meghan Cowhen (0), Millie Murphy (0), Francesca Kyamagero (17), McKenzie Lucey (7), Sarah Sheehan (0), Ava O’Mahony (3), Abbie Power (0), Saoirse O’Driscoll (0), Saoirse Lyons (0).
Limerick Celtics:
Anna Nealon (0), Meabh Purtill (4), Caoimhe Sweeney (0), Jade You (0), Laura Gocek (3), Eabha Hayes (0), Laura Buckley (23), Robyn Walsh (0), Holly Meagher (0), Madelyn Hartigan (6), Emer Purtill (15), Megan Hehir (0).
Fixtures/Results
Friday 16th January
IWA National Cup Final
Rebel Wheelers 62-47 South East Swifts WCB (Full game report here)
NICC Men’s National Cup Final
Phoenix Basketball 74-70 Killester (Full game report here)

Saturday 17th January
NICC Women’s National Cup Final
Fr. Mathews 59-52 Liffey Celtics (Full game report here)
U20 Men’s National Cup Final
Neptune 69-73 Titans (Full game report here)
Billy Coffey U18 Men’s National Cup Final
St. Brendan's Tralee 54-99 Dublin Lions (Full game report here)
U18 Women’s National Cup Final
Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell 49-51 Limerick Celtics (Full game report here)
Domino’s MSL National Cup Final
Ballincollig v Garvey’s Tralee Warriors, National Basketball Arena, 2000. (Live on TG4, on-air 1945)

Sunday 18th January
Ken Clarke U20 Women’s National Cup Final
Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell v Templeogue, 1000
Domino’s WD1 National Cup Final
Cleveland Rockets v Limerick Sport Huskies, 1215
Domino’s MD1 National Cup Final
Limerick Sport Eagles v Drogheda Wolves, 1430
Domino’s WSL National Cup Final
FloMAX Liffey Celtics v Killester, National Basketball Arena, 1730 (Live on TG4, on-air 1725)