Garvey’s Tralee Warriors are into the National Cup semi-finals, beating Killester 89-75. Alan Cantwell reports
Garvey's Tralee Warriors are through to the semi-final of the National Cup after a decisive 89-75 win over Killester and for the second time in two weeks they put the defending champions to the sword in front of a huge home crowd at the Kerry Sports Academy on Saturday night. A brilliant final quarter display by the Warriors, winning it 17-10, ultimately decided the contest and they now join Ballincollig, Limerick Celtics and UCD Marian in the last four of the competition.
Daniel Jokubaitis was in range early for Warriors to help them to an 8-5 lead but Killester’s American Robert Braswell responded in kind and when former Warrior Paul Dick struck for a double either side of an Andy McGeever three, the Dublin outfit led 12-8 midway through the first quarter. Iggy Hunte and Jordan Perkins opened their accounts and Jokubaitis nailed his second major of the night to edge the Warriors in front. Braswell fired back with a three point ‘and one’ to put Killester ahead but Perkins had the final say in the quarter with a basket and two from the free throw line to tie the game at 20-20 at the end of the first.
Jokubaitis hit his third and fourth majors to kickstart the second quarter and despite a Braswell three and Josh Wilson adding his name to the score sheet, Perkins and Hunte combined to put the Warriors 7 up. Braswell lit up for Killester midway through the quarter and scores from outside, inside and the free throw line added to by a corner three from McGeever saw the defending champions wrestle back the lead. Scores from Dan Bowler, Jokubaitis, Perkins and Hunte saw the Warriors restore a 5 point advantage but in the final minute of the first half McGeever and Wilson both struck from beyond the arc to put Killester 46-44 up at the long break.
Braswell and McGeever were on the mark from distance early in the third to consolidate Killester’s lead but the Warriors response was immediate and impressive with baskets from Eoin Quigley, a double from Cian Sullivan and major number 5 from Jokubaitis edging the Warriors ahead again. Olaf Michalczuk and Padraig Fleming were then sprung from the bench and their impact was instant with Michalczuk drilling a three with his first touch and Fleming bossing Baptiste Chazelas in the paint to slot his first score. Moments later Fleming had the Warriors fans on their feet as he rattled in a three from well beyond the arc. A double at the other end from Paul Dick kept Killester in front but Fleming pulled another three pointer right out of the top drawer to put the Tralee side 72-65 up. The score was greeted with a roar from the crowd hitting a decibel level not heard since the greatest of Warriors nights at the Tralee Sports Complex.
Quigley and Perkins gave the Warriors the start they needed in the fourth to start the drive from home but Wilson and a Paul Dick three put the game back in the melting pot with Killester 4 points down with 5 minutes to play. However, that was as good as it got for the defending champions as the Warriors embarked on an unanswered 13 point run that settled the contest long before the final buzzer sounded. Eight points from Perkins and a double from the outstanding and fully deserving McCarthy Insurance MVP on the night Daniel Jokubaitis saw the Warriors assert late on to secure their place in the last four of the Cup with what will go down as one of the great Warriors game nights.
Scorers:
Garvey's Tralee Warriors: Daniel Jokubaitis 27, Jordan Perkins 19, Iggy Hunte 9
Killester: Robert Braswell 21, Paul Dick 17, Josh Wilson 15
Next up for the Warriors is an away trip to recce Neptune Stadium with a clash with Energywise Ireland Neptune on the court they will play their Cup semi final on. The sides meet next Saturday with a 6.30pm tip off. The following week it is back to Castleisland Community Centre for the final League game of the year against Éanna and then returning to the venue to defend their Premier Mens title at the Castleisland Blitz after Christmas ahead of the Cup semi final at Neptune Stadium on the first weekend in January.
Garvey’s Tralee Warriors v Killester in the Basketball Ireland MSL National Cup Quarter Final at The Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh Sports Hall at the Kerry Sports Academy. Photo: David Corkey/Radio Kerry SportTeam Flexachem were knocked out by UCD Marian, who won 81-75. Ger Nolan reports
Team Flexachem welcomed UCD Marian to the Killorglin Sports Complex on Saturday evening for a quarter final clash in the Pat Duffy Cup. The game tipped at 7.15 in front of a packed house. The first quarter did not go well for the home team with a lot of offensive errors along with poor defending,while Marian had a stormer of an opening period with Josh Reynolds clocking up 14 points which included four 3 pointers while Tanner Graham and Michael Linde added another 7 each which left Team Flexachem in arrears to the tune of 17 points on a score of 11 to 28 heading into the second quarter.
Killorglin started well in the second period with early scores from Rami Ghanhem,Jordan Blount and a pair of threes,one each from Liam Croke and Eche Okeke.However ,Marian hit back with scores from Reynolds,Jack Kehoe and James Connaire,but the Launesiders did cut the deficit by six to leave the halftime score at 34 to 45.
UCD Marian switched to a full court press in the third in an effort to stem Killorglin's tide but Rami Ghanhem revelled in this type of game and notched up 11 points in this period which helped to further reduce the deficit further and by the end of the third saw the score at 58 to 60.
Marian got early scores in the final quarter to push their lead out to 6 again but Flexachem hit back with a 3 from Patrick Lanipekun and twos from Ghanhem and Blount and when Eche Okeke got an inside two with 5 minutes and 34 seconds left in the game the home team took the lead for the first time on a score of 69 to 68,shortly after this Jordan Blount was fouled out which led to a tough final five minutes for the home team,Tanner Graham tied the game from the free throw line at 75 all with 1 minute 40 left and with 1 minute left he got a big 3 to put Marian ahead again,the Dublin outfit went on to add another 3 point against an energy depleted Killorglin and saw out the win on a final score of 75 to 81.
Team Flexachem were left to rue what might have been if it wasn't for a poor opening quarter,their gallant efforts to claw back the encounter having just fallen short.Top scorers on the night for the home side were Patrick Lanipekun and Rami Ghanhem on 17 each while for Marian,Josh Reynolds had 24 and Tanner Graham 19.It's back to the bread and butter of the league now for Team Flexachem for their next game at home to high flying Ballincollig on Saturday 13th with a usual tip off time of 7.15.
In the Division One National Cup Utility Trust St Pauls Lakers were beaten by Templeogue, 84-95. Enda Walshe reports
Men's Division 1: Killarney Cougars 92 Tipp Talons 88. Clodagh Donnelly reports
Basketball Ireland weekend review:
Ballincollig, Garvey's Tralee Warriors, UCD Marian and Limerick Celtics advanced to the Domino's MSL National Cup semi-finals following victories over Belfast Star, Killester, Flexachem KCYMS and St. Vincent's on Saturday.
Ballincollig managed to grab an 83-79 victory over Belfast Star on Saturday to make it into the semi-finals of the Domino's MSL National Cup. Latavious Mitchell had a relatively quiet night by his standards with just eight points. But Josh Steel stepped up when he needed to with 25 points, including a lead-taking three with just under 30 seconds remaining after Rapolas Buivydas managed to tie up the game for Star after being down by as much as 22 points during the game. The win for the Cork side sees them enter the semi-finals of the competition.
The return of Robert Braswell was a huge boost for Killester; however, it was not enough as Garvey's Tralee Warriors defeated them 89-75. In a game where there were 11 lead changes, it was the duo of Jordan Perkins and Daniel Jokubaitis that carried quite a bit of the load after combining for 46 points of Tralee's 89 points. Braswell managed to score 21 for Killester on his return to action, along with three other players in Paul Dick, Josh Wilson and Andrew McGeever, all scoring in double digits. The 2022 champions, Tralee Warriors, continue their hunt for a fourth title as they knock out the current champions, Killester, who will look to the league to bounce back from their third consecutive defeat.
Joshua Reynolds hit five threes on his way to a 24-point performance for UCD Marian as they overpowered Flexachem KCYMS in an 81-75 win in Kerry on Saturday. Ioannis Liapakis' men led by as much as 16 during the game, but Killorglin managed to pull themselves back into the game at 69-69 during the fourth quarter, but scores in the final minute from Sean Fitzpatrick and Daniel Conway secured Marian's progress to the next round in the cup. With their second win this season over Killorglin, UCD Marian remain in the chase to end a 14-year National Cup title drought.
Limerick Celtics managed to get revenge on St. Vincent's after a Domino's Men's Super League defeat just a few weeks ago, where Celtics secured a 112-89 victory to enter the final four of the Domino's MSL National Cup. Celtics came flying out of the blocks with 60 points by halftime on 53% shooting from beyond the three-point arc. AJ Williams managed to drop 34 points in 38 minutes of play, along with a 25-point, 11-rebound performance from Finn Hughes, who continues his fine resurgence of form. William Thomas had a strong showing for Vincent's, with 23 points on an efficient 11-18 shooting. The win is another notch for the promoted side, after Celtics overcame UCC Demons in the first round recently.
FloMAX Liffey Celtics, Killester, Trinity Meteors and UCC Glanmire advanced to the Domino's WSL National Cup semi-finals following victories over Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell, SETU Waterford Wildcats, McEvoy's Cavan Eagles and Midlands Park Portlaoise Panthers over the weekend.
Defending champions FloMAX Liffey Celtics grabbed a big 82-80 win on Sunday, as they defeated Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell. Liffey had three players within the 20-point range, with Destinee Brusch scoring 24, including the game-sealing free throw, Katie Williamson had 21, and Brooke Kane was just shy with 19, along with 12 boards. The game featured 18 lead changes, with the sides tied on only six occasions. Irish international Edel Thornton led the way for Brunell with 20 points, with Brailyn Joseph and Maddie Clue adding 36 combined points as they suffered their second agonising defeat to Liffey this season after Celtics defeated them by a single point in the Domino's Women's Super League.
Both Samantha Haiby of Killester and Alyssa Frescas of SETU Waterford Wildcats recorded 30-point games in the matchup of the two sides. Still, Haiby and Killester ultimately prevailed with a 95-75 victory in Waterford on Saturday night. Outside of Haiby, Audrey Roden had a 16-point, 12-rebound double-double along with 22 points from Ieva Bagdanaviciene to ensure the 20-point win. Both sides managed to build double-digit leads, with Wildcats leading by as much as 14, but Killester managed to build a 23-point lead that could not be caught. The four-time champions now advance to the semi-finals in search of a fifth after defeating a Wildcats side whose 25-year wait for National Cup glory continues after a quarter-final elimination.
In a rematch of an opening fixture of the Domino's Women's Super League season, history repeated itself as Trinity Meteors knocked out McEvoy's Cavan Eagles in a 67-52 victory for the Dublin side. For Meteors, Irish international Hazel Finn and Kylie Horstmeyer combined for 44 of Meteors' 67 points to keep their cup run alive as they hunt for their first title since 1996. For Cavan Eagles, 15 points from Mazatkan Harris wasn't enough to get them back into the game after they fell behind in the second quarter and couldn't pry the lead away from Meteors, as they progress to the final four of the competition.
UCC Glanmire were the final side to complete the four-team lineup in the semi-finals as they defeated Midlands Park Portlaoise Panthers 81-53 in Cork. Glanmire saved their biggest lead for the end of the game, as the 28-point gap was the largest of the game. Glanmire did not surrender the lead after the opening quarter, with Viane Cumber leading the way for the Cork side with 24 points, in comparison to Portlaoise, whose leading scorer was Jessica Fressle with 12 points. Portlaoise kept pace with Glanmire in the first quarter, but a 21-9 second quarter in favour of Glanmire, mixed with 5-28 shooting from behind the three-point line, made them lose grip in the game, and they couldn't recover.
Participants in the semi-finals of the Domino's MSL National Cup, Domino's WSL National Cup, Domino's MD1 National Cup and Domino's WD1 National Cup will learn their fate at 11:00 on Monday, 8th December, when the draw for the four competitions takes place live on basketballireland.tv.
Results
Domino's MSL National Cup
Saturday 6th December
Ballincollig 83-79 Belfast Star
Garvey's Tralee Warriors 89-75 Killester
Limerick Celtics 112-89 St. Vincent's
Flexachem KCYMS 75-81 UCD Marian
Domino's WSL National Cup
Saturday 6th December
Trinity Meteors 67-52 McEvoy's Cavan Eagles
SETU Waterford Wildcats 75-95 Killester
Sunday 7th December
UCC Glanmire 81-53 Midlands Park Portlaoise Panthers
Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell 80-82 FloMAX Liffey Celtics
Domino’s MD1 National Cup
Saturday 6th December
Dublin Lions 83-86 Drogheda Wolves
Templeogue 95-84 SPK Utility Trust Lakers
Ulster University 91-90 Maree
Carrick Cruisers 50-81 Limerick Sport Eagles
Domino’s WD1 National Cup
Saturday 6th December
Abbey Seals Dublin Lions 43-86 Limerick Sport Huskies
Moy Tolka Rovers 70-59 Limerick Celtics
Cleveland Rockets 101-61 University of Galway Mystics
Dublin Raiders 68-79 Templeogue
