Garvey’s Tralee Warriors beat Eanna 90-84 in the Domino’s Men’s Super League. Alan Cantwell reports
(pictures courtesy of Liam Ryan)
Garvey’s Tralee Warriors bounced back to form following their shock defeat to Neptune last week by producing a confidence-building win over Griffith College Éanna in front of a packed out Castleisland Community Centre on Saturday night. The Warriors impressively turned the game around having trailed at the end of the first and second quarters and fended off a late Éanna rally to secure their sixth League win and consolidate their position on the table as the race for the eight playoff places begins in earnest.
The Warriors started brightly with Daniel Jokuabitis landing a double and baskets from Eoin Quigley and Jordan Perkins giving the hosts an 8-2 lead. Éanna struck back immediately with Stefan Desnica with two threes either side of another from Sean Jenkins edged the visitors ahead midway through the quarter. Padraig Fleming opened his account much to the delight of the big crowd, and when Jordan Perkins also put his name on the scoresheet, the sides were level. Neil Lynch fired in from beyond the arc to spark a late Éanna run that saw Jenkins with two and Desnica with another combining to give the Dublin side a 23-14 lead at quarter time.
Jenkins continued to torment the Warriors rearguard with baskets from inside and outside early in the second but Warriors kept in touch with majors from James Fernane and Jokubaitis and two classy finishes in the paint from Fleming to cut the gap to 32-25. Iggy Hunte powered his way into the game with a hat trick to pare the Éanna advantage down to a single score. Jenkins repeated his early quarter trick with another major and minor effort but Fernane and a cracking three pointer from Quigley squared the game at 41-41 with seconds on the clock. Éanna were dealt blow when Mikah Blackwell picked up his fourth foul and forced to the bench but there was just enough time for Kristijan Anadabaka to get an open look to swish a three to put the visitors 44-41 up at half time.
The Warriors began the third quarter with a quickfire 11 point run that turned the contest around with Hunte, Fleming and Perkins all in range to see the Tralee side wrestle the lead back to go 52-46 up. Manou Christal and Fernane exchanged major scores before Hunte, Fleming and Perkins again combined to maintain the Warriors six point advantage. Dan Bowler then landed the toughest score of the night over three Éanna defenders before an ‘and one’ from Hunte put nine between the sides. Two late baskets from Christal and Jalen McAfee Marion did however temper the Warriors lead to 68-61 at three quarter time.
A stunning 7 point volley from Jordan Perkins gave the Warriors the perfect start to the final quarter and when Fleming chimed in and Quigley landed a monster three from well beyond the line the hosts were in full control of contest at 80-66 ahead. Desnica and Jenkins stemmed the tide for Éanna with a basket apiece and early foul trouble for the Warriors allowed the visitors drill further into the lead with Desnica and James Gormley adding from the line. The Warriors again looked to Perkins to deliver and he duly obliged with a stylish major to put 7 between the sides with three minutes on the clock. However Éanna were far from finished and Blackwell returned to hit two from two from before Jenkins and Andabaka struck to leave 3 between the sides as the clock ticked down. However two clutch free throws from Perkins ahead of the final buzzer sealed the win for Warriors ahead of their Cup semi final meeting with UCD Marian on the first weekend of 2026.
Scorers:
Garvey's Tralee Warriors: McCarthy Insurance MVP Jordan Perkins 27, Iggy Hunte 22, Padraig Fleming 12
Griffith College Éanna: Sean Jenkins 25, Stefan Desnica 15, Manou Christal 9
Next up for Warriors is a trip to Neptune Stadium on Saturday 3rd January when they take on UCD Marian in the National Cup semi final. Ahead of that they will return to Castleisland Community Centre to defend their Premier Mens title at the Castleisland Blitz on 29th December.
Flexachem KCYMS lost to Limerick Celtics, who won 84-77. Ger Nolan reports
A lively opening quarter saw scores from Killorglin's Eche Okeke, Jordan Blount and Rami Ghanhem, while for Limerick Aryion Jamal Williams had a strong opening period,scoring eleven to leave the tally at 24 to 26 in favour of the away team heading into the second quarter.
A hard fought second period saw Celtic shade it and by half time they had stretched their lead to seven at 40 to 47 with Williams proving a right handful to control.
Team Flexachem fought back in the third, with Jordan Blount leading the way with a big defensive and offensive game,but Limerick stayed in touch with three pointers from Williams,Philip Kearney and Ruairi Cronin,however it was Killorglin who dominated and with good scoring from Blount and Okeke,it saw the game levelled at 66 all heading into the final period.
A poor final quarter by the home side in which they only scored 11 as opposed to Celtic's 18 saw this one slip away from Team Flexachem, with Ruari Cronin notching up 9 points for Limerick to help them to a 77 to 84 victory.
Overall, it was Limerick's better outside scoring that saw them through with a return of 12 from 29 from the three point arc while the Launesiders only managed 6 from 31.
This defeat now see's Killorglin slip to ninth place in the league with Limerick moving into an eight place playoff position.
Best on the night for Team Flexachem were Eche Okeke on 23 and Jordan Blount on 15 while for Celtics, Aryion Jamal Williams had 28 and Ruairi Cronin 19.
In the Domino’s Mens National League Utility Trust St Pauls Lakers defeated Maree 90-89. Enda Walshe reports
Killarney Cougars won away to Limerick Sport Eagles 85-83.
St. Brendan’s beat UCD Marian 48 to 38 in the Boys U16 National League.
Today:
U18 Boys National League @ Moyderwell
Tolka v St Mary’s 1.30
St Brendan’s v Tolka 3
Basketball Ireland weekly review:
Ballincollig moved into the outright lead at the top of the Domino's Men's Super League, following a 84-81 road win at Belfast Star, in a top of the table clash. It was the Cork side's second win over Star this season after previously beating them in the Domino's MSL National Cup earlier this month.
A 32-point first quarter for Ballincollig put them well on their way to victory, as Belfast Star's slow starts continue to cause issues for them. Star got back into it, winning the second quarter by 13 to bring the game in at half-time on level terms. However, a 22-16 third quarter wasn't enough for Star to catch back up before time ran out. Latrell Jossell was the star of the show, as he dropped 34 points, including seven threes, to give Ballincollig their ninth victory of the season. The win now puts a game between the two sides at the top of the table going into Christmas.
Killester joined UCD Marian and Griffith College Éanna on seven wins, after a 30-point win over EJ Sligo All-Stars. The 109-79 victory saw Robert Braswell scoring 28 points and both Josh Wilson and Baptiste Chazelas having double-doubles, in a game where Killester dominated the boards with 53 rebounds. The game was tight throughout, with 10 lead changes. But a 21-point swing in the final quarter made the scoreline unflattering for Sligo. The loss has Sligo now tied with both Limerick Celtics and Flexachem KCYMS at four wins in the hunt for the final playoff spot.
Garvey’s Tralee Warriors slowed down Griffith College Éanna's push for title contention, with a 90-84 victory in Castleisland. Tralee's pro duo in Irshaad Hunte and Jordan Perkins combined for 49 of Tralee's 90 points, with Hunte adding 16 rebounds. In a game with very few lead changes, it was Warriors' 27-17 third quarter that put them on course for their sixth win of the season and avoided falling to a negative record. For Éanna, they fall to 7-4 and slip to fourth in the table.
St. Vincent's defeated UCC Demons 103-99 in Glasnevin. UCC Demons' new signings in Jordan Washington and Tamyrik Fields combined for 55 of Demons' points, but it was St. Vincent’s Jaylyn Richardson who carried them, as he continues his strong showings with 35 points. It was Richardson's second-highest scoring game in a game that went right down to the wire. Vincent's went in at half-time down nine points, but a 60-47 second half handed the Dublin side their sixth win of the season and a third in five games. For Demons, they remain tied at the bottom of the Domino’s Men’s Super League table, with a 2-9 record.
UCD Marian hit another gear in their playoff push with a 100-68 triumph over Energywise Ireland Neptune. UCD Marian’s newest signing, Bruce Saintilus, carried on his strong showings since arriving at Marian, following up a 28-point debut with a 32-point game on Saturday. The offensive display from Naptune's trio of Michael Hayes, Samuel Henderson, and Eoin Nelson accounted for 55 of their 68 points. Neptune are at the foot of the table with fellow Cork side UCC Demons, as they slip to 2-9 for the season. The win for Marian has them at 7-4 in joint-third with Éanna and Killester.
Newly promoted side Limerick Celtics defeated Flexachem KCYMS 84-77. AJ Williams had his highest-scoring game of the season so far with 28 points, while Ruairi Cronin also had his best performance with 19 points for Celtics. New signing Tony Hauser also put on a solid display with his first double-double for the Limerick side. A combined 38 points from Jeffery Okeke and Jordan Blount wasn't enough for Killorglin in what was one of the closer games of the weekend, with 17 lead changes in the game. The win for Celtics now has them at 4-7, along with Killorglin in eighth and ninth, respectively.
Killester held firmly onto their place at the summit of the Domino’s Women’s Super League following an 82-63 triumph over SETU Waterford Wildcats, to move to 8-1 for the season. There are four teams trailing in their wake on 6-3 records - UCC Glanmire, Trinity Meteors, Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell and Utility Trust St. Paul's Killarney.
Samantha Haiby followed up her 40-point game last week, with 21 this week on 9-14 shooting. Haiby had a strong supporting cast with Michelle Clarke adding 18, and Ieva Bagdanaviciene scoring another 20 after a 20-point game last weekend. Killester led as much as 26, and this victory means they now have a two-win gap from their nearest chasers in the table.
Ireland captain Edel Thornton scored 31 points, but it wasn’t enough for the Cork side as Utility Trust St. Paul's Killarney caught up with Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell in the table with a 73-67 win. Thornton scored 31 on an efficiency of 24, including four three-pointers of her own. However, it was a game that St. Paul's largely dominated, with no lead being surrendered from the second quarter onwards. The loss for Brunell has the sides locked together, fighting for second at 6-3 records. It doesn't get easier for either side, as they both face fellow playoff contenders, with Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell hosting UCC Glanmire, and Utility Trust St. Paul's welcoming SETU Waterford Wildcats.
Trinity Meteors joined both Brunell and Killarney on 6-3 for the season after they defeated Midlands Park Portlaoise Panthers 71-60 on Saturday night. Irish international Hazel Finn capped off a memorable week after receiving a nomination for the Irish Times Sport Ireland 2025 Sportswoman of the Year award, with a 25-point game. Meteors took the lead midway through the first quarter and did not look back, not surrendering the lead for the remainder of the game. Portlaoise had three players in double digits with Christiana Boiko, Jessica Fressle and Alyssa Velles all scoring well. The loss leaves Portlaoise at 1-8 and just one game above Fr. Mathews as we approach the midway point of the season.
UCC Glanmire recovered from a slow start, where trailed by as much as 12 in the closing stages of the opening quarter, to secure a 94-85 win over McEvoy's Cavan Eagles on Sunday. It moves Mark Scannell's side to a 6-3 record, Viane Cumber and Jewel Watkings had 29 and 27 points respectively for the victors.
After a difficult start to the season, FloMAX Liffey Celtics appear to have found their groove with a 94-80 victory over a winless Catalyst Fr. Mathews. It is a third consecutive league victory for Liffey Celtics and brings them to a 4-4 record after starting the season 1-4. Brooke Kane and Sorcha Tiernan led the way for Liffey, as they combined for 46 points, with Kane having a strong efficiency of 37. For Fr. Mathews, Laila Blair continues to lead the way for points across the league, as she dropped another 29-point performance. The loss for Fr. Mathews means they are now 0-9 for the season and sit at the foot of the table.
