Team Flexachem KCYMS have lost their play-off with Energywise Ireland Neptune and have been relegated from the Domino’s Men’s Super League.
Killorglin lost in UL 81-78.
Ger Nolan reports
Team Flexachem's relegation play off with Energywise Neptune took place at the UL Arena Limerick on Sunday afternoon at 3 pm, with the Killorglin side having a nervy opening couple of minutes. When they called a time out three and a half minutes into the game they were at the wrong end of a 4 points to 13 scoreline with only two inside 2's by Marquez Letcher Ellis to their name. On resumption Team Flexachem showed improvement, Ellis continuing to get inside 2's along with further scores by Eche Okeke, Rami Ghanhem and Jordan Blount, but Neptune were notching up the points as well from Eoin Nelson,Nils Sabata and Adon Gregorio to leave the score at 18 to 19 by quarter's end.
Early scores by Killorglin in the second period set the tone for the Kerry outfit having a strong quarter with further points from Okeke and Blount, while on the Neptune side Samuel Henderson had a good showing with 8 points. However, it was Flexachem who led by half time at 46 to 37.
Neptune hit back hard in the third quarter scoring five 3 pointers in the process and despite Killorglin's best efforts, Neptune took full advantage of the Launesiders having to bench Jordon Blount due to picking up his fourth foul and by the end of the third ,Neptune had retaken the lead at 57 to 61.
The early minutes of the final period were evenly matched but with six minutes to go, Jordan Blount was fouled out with Killorglin behind at 64 to 67,this left the Kerry side with a challenging finish to the encounter and even though Okeke and Ellis did their best on the scoring front, Neptune's Samuel Henderson had a strong finish adding another 9 points to help the Cork side to victory on a final score of 78 to 81.
Team Flexachem's poor return from the three point arc cost them dearly, returning only 7 from 33 attempts (21%) while Neptune nailed 10 out of 25 (40%) and as sure as goals win football games, three pointers win Basketball games. This loss now see's Killorglin's eight season run in the top flight of Irish Basketball come to an end, they will have to content themselves with division one basketball next season.
Best for Team Flexachem on the day were Marquez Ellis on 31 and Eche Okeke on 22 while for Neptune, Samuel Henderson scored 26 and Adon Gregorio 20.
Weekend review:
Energywise Ireland Neptune retained their Domino's Men's Super League status, defeating Flexachem KCYMS 81-78 in their relegation playoff at the UL Arena in Limerick on Sunday, which means the Kerry club will be playing in Domino's Men's Division One next season.
In the Domino's Men's Super League playoff quarter-finals the top four seeds all advanced to the semi-finals, as Ballincollig defeated Limerick Celtics 91-83, Killester beat St. Vincent's 98-77, Belfast Star overcame UCD Marian 91-69 and Griffith College Éanna were 87-72 winners over Garvey's Tralee Warriors.
It was a cagey affair in the opening quarter of the relegation playoff between Energywise Ireland Neptune and Flexachem KCYMS, with both sides exchanging heavy hits in the paint, with Neptune edging slightly ahead at 19-18 at the end of the first quarter. Neptune's shooting went ice cold in the second quarter, shooting 5-15 from the field. Killorglin really pressed on in the same quarter, with Irish international Jordan Blount running things and dished a close assist to Eche Okeke, who scored 10 of his 22 points in the second period to give Killorglin a 43-37 lead at half-time.
Neptune came out swinging in the second half, coming back with a 24-14 third quarter to move ahead and took advantage of the absence of Blount on the court, after he picked up his fourth foul and was substituted. The two sides fought tooth and nail in the final quarter, with the game coming down to the final two possessions of the game.
After Blount fouled out, coach Declan Wall checked into the game for the final minutes of the game. Mike Hayes snuck in on the right-hand side of the paint to give Neptune the 81-78 lead with 11 seconds to go on the clock.
Following the timeout, Wall took the ball from the inbounds, but had his pass intercepted by Samuel Henderson and would give Neptune the win that would retain their Domino's Men's Super League status.
Top seeds Ballincollig progressed to the semi-finals of the Domino’s Men’s Super League playoffs after a 91-83 triumph over Limerick Celtics in the MTU Arena on Saturday. Despite holding the lead for the majority of the first and second quarters, Celtics ran them close a few times, with Ballincollig only building a double-digit lead heading into the half-time break.
The third quarter is where Ballincollig started to assert dominance, with Latavious Mitchell scoring eight of his 20 points in the third quarter. Ballincollig entered the fourth quarter with a 75-58 lead. Celtics showed resilience as the final quarter commenced, starting off the fourth with a 10-0 run, through an Eoghan Donaghy three, followed by scores from Tony Hauser and AJ Williams. Ballincollig held on for the remainder of the fourth, with Latrell Jossell getting eight of his 19 in the final five minutes of action to give Ballincollig the win.
Ballincollig now set up a semi-final at home to Griffith College Éanna, following Éanna’s 87-72 victory over Garvey's Tralee Warriors on Saturday. The Dublin club made it back-to-back wins in consecutive weeks over Garvey’s Tralee Warriors.
Jaylyn Richardson’s fine season in Ireland continued with a 24-point, nine-rebound showing, accompanied by a 14-point, 13-rebound, double-double from Irish international James Gormley.
Despite a fast start by the visitors, which saw a finish from Olaf Michalczuk give Warriors a 22-15 lead inside the final two minutes of the opening period, it was Éanna who were ahead after a quarter of action, with a 9-2 run in the final two minutes, giving them an early edge. Éanna maintained control for the majority of the game, leading by 15 points after the second quarter concluded. The third and fourth quarters were more of the same despite early pressure in the third from Warriors. Éanna managed to hold their 15-point advantage once the game had hit its climax to send them through to next week’s round of semi-final ties.
Killester picked up a dominant 98-77 win over St. Vincent’s on Saturday night to set up a date with Belfast Star next weekend. It was a team effort from Killester with five players in double digits. Josh Wilson had a team-high 19, followed by 18 for Robert Braswell, 16 for Paul Dick along with 13 each from Baptiste Chazelas and Farouq Raheem.
The Vincent’s squad went down fighting, James Phelan scored a game-high 27 points along with Will Thomas, who scored 22. Vincent’s had rattled Killester earlier in the game, with a 32-point second quarter to reduce what was a 14-point lead after the first quarter for Killester, down to eight points by half-time. Killester responded well in the second-half, with Wilson and Chazelas scoring 23 of their combined 32 between the third and fourth quarters to send Killester through to the semis.
Belfast Star booked their spot in the semi-finals against Killester, following a 91-69 victory over UCD Marian on Sunday. Shane Dezonie was the leading scorer for Star, getting 20 points and grabbing eight rebounds. Roger Wilson and Conor Quinn combined for 35 points in a big supporting showing behind Dezonie's performance.
Star showed their dominance from early on, not falling behind after the second minute of the game. A 31-point first quarter put Star well on their way to victory, taking a 52-39 lead into the half-time break after a second quarter where Conor Quinn scored eight of his 19 points to extend Star's lead.
Marian struggled with the pressure from Star as the third quarter began, with Ronan Byrne doing his best to try and keep Marian in the game, scoring a team-high 22 points in the game, five of which came in the third. After an improved final quarter from Marian, it proved to be insufficient as Star would secure the victory by 22 points.
