A report from Tralee Imperials on their clash with KCYMS in the U20 National Cup quarter-final game at Cumann Iosaef Sports Hall on Saturday afternoon…
Tralee Imperials 83
KCYMS 89
It was a local derby in the quarterfinal of the National Cup.
On Saturday we took on local rivals KCYMS in the National Cup 1/4 final in Tralee. The visitors started quickly and we struggled to contain their transition offense.
Aivaras Uosis, at just 16 years old, had eight first quarter points to keep us within touching distance as we trailed 15-23 at the end of the first period.
Continued below…
Our lack of match practice was apparent at this stage as our opponents were much sharper. Our defense was much improved in the second quarter and we managed to get into our flow on offense.
Sean Pollman-Daamen was outstanding in this period and we trailed at half time 42-49.
We started the 3rd really well and got the lead down to just 3 but a combination of tiredness and foul trouble came against us and we fell further behind ending the quarter behind 63-75.
Dean Rusk and Tim Pollman-Daamen were getting into the game at this stage but KCYMS kept the scoreboard ticking over to extend their lead to 18 points with just 5 minutes to play.
It was at this juncture that the boys showed tremendous character and drive. With Aivaras, Sean and Zygi hitting some key buckets we managed to reduce the lead to 1 point with just over two minutes remaining.
Tim was unlucky to be fouled out when playing great defense and this was a huge turning point in the game. We had to put our opponents to the foul line in the dying moments which inflated their lead. The final score was 83-89.
The players couldn’t have given any more and the game could have gone either way. We are certainly very proud of them all. Well done to KCYMS and we wish them the best of luck in their semifinal against Marian of Dublin.
Top scorers for Imperials:
Sean Pollman-Daamen 34
Aivaras Uosis 17
Tim Pollman-Daamen 12
Zygi Kaletka 11
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