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Alan Cantwell reports on the two InsureMyVan.ie Men’s Super League 2021/2022 – games between Garveys Tralee Warriors and Tradehouse Central Ballincollig on Saturday and Sunday. First up Warriors home game…
Nikola Roso lays up a score. Photo: Liam Ryan
Garvey’s Tralee Warriors 94
Tradehouse Central Ballincollig 90
Garvey’s Tralee Warriors and Tradehouse Central Ballincollig took a win apiece over the weekend as the sides met twice in 24 hours in their Round 13 and the delayed Round 9 fixtures in the InsureMyVan.ie Men’s Super League.
The Warriors maintained their perfect League home record with a 94-90 win on Saturday, and in doing so brought Tradehouse Central Ballincollig’s 11 game winning streak to an end.
The following day the teams reassembled in the Ballincollig Community School with the home side exacting a hard-fought victory to guarantee top spot in the Southern Conference as the League playoffs positions come into sharp focus.
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The Warriors got the two-day event off to a winning start in Tralee with both sides contributing to an entertaining and exciting encounter.
The teams were level at the end of the opening quarter after Darragh O’Hanlon opened his and the Warriors account with a three.
Scores from Aaron Calixte, Nikola Roso, Daniel Jokubaitis and Eoin Quigley were negated by efforts from Andre Nation, Keelan Cairns, Kieran O’Sullivan and Padraig Lucey to see the sides level at 19-19.
The sides were level again at halftime after the Warriors had pushed ahead early in the second with Calixte firing in his first effort from distance.
Kieran Donaghy drives to the board. Photo: Liam Ryan
Milorad Sedlarevic replied in kind for Ballincollig to launch a run of scores for the Cork side through the impressive Nation and Adrian O’Sullivan that saw them wrestle back the lead of 43-38.
However, the Warriors finished the half on a high with scores from Roso, Brandon Cotton and a crowd pleasing lay up from Kieran Donaghy saw the sides level at 45-45 at the long break.
The Warriors embarked on a run of their own early in the third with Darragh O’Hanlon twice finding the basket from distance and when Calixte followed his example, the home side moved into a decisive 64-51 lead.
Ballincollig’s shooting quality was called upon and O’Sullivan, Nation and Sedlarevic duly obliged to cut the gap back to 4 but a late Jokubaitis effort from inside saw the Warriors take a 73-67 lead into the final quarter.
Nikola Roso produced some of his best minutes this season in the final quarter to dominate under the Ballincollig board and help himself to four scores in a row, but the visitors were also finding scores when they needed, and four threes from Sedlarevic, Nation, O’Sullivan and Keelan Cairns turned the game around and saw them lead 84-81 with 4 minutes remaining.
However, the Warriors regained their footing and when O’Hanlon fired in his fourth three of the game and Roso was again on the mark they took a commanding 90-84 lead into the final minutes.
Roso and Calixte made maximum use of three visits to the line and despite two late threes from Sedlarevic and Nation, the Warriors had done enough to keep their perfect home record intact and in turn bring Ballincollig’s impressive 11-game winning run to an end.
Top scorers: Garvey’s Tralee Warriors: Nikola Roso 27, Aaron Calixte 23, Darragh O’Hanlon 16
Tradehouse Central Ballincollig: Andre Nation 35, Milorad Sedlarevic 18, Kieran O’Sullivan 12
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Tradehouse Central Ballincollig 79
Garvey’s Tralee Warriors 73
Brandon Cotton fires in a three. Photo: Liam Ryan
Just less than 24 hours after the game in Tralee it was a case of take-two as the sides took to the court again in Ballincollig Community School to fulfil the Round 9 clash originally slated for 3rd January that was postponed due to Covid.
Dylan Corkery got Ballincollig off to a fast start with a lay-up and when Andre Nation and Keelan Cairns hit two major scores the hosts led 8-4.
Nikola Roso continued his good form from the previous day with the three scores for the Warriors before Pau Cami Galera pushed Ballincollig 14-10 ahead.
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Fergal O’Sullivan had the last say in the quarter with a trademark three to cut the Ballincollig lead to 14-13 at quarter time.
Ballincollig had the better of the exchanges in the second quarter with Milorad Sedlarevic, Padraig Lucey and Nation all in range with the Warriors response coming from Eoin Quigley, Aaron Calixte and Daniel Jokubaitis.
However, Cairns hit a significant three late on and Nation pulled up for two floated efforts to see the home side’s advantage out to 36-27 at half time
Daniel Jokubaitis launches from distance. Photo: Liam Ryan
The Warriors got right back into contention in the third with Roso and Quigley hitting early scores before a Calixte three cut the gap to a single score.
Sedlarevic hit two huge threes to restore the Ballincollig lead before Lucey batted in a rebound to push the gap out to 5.
However, Brandon Cotton planted his feet and fired down a cracking three before a Kieran Donaghy effort levelled the game at 57-57 at three quarter time.
The Warriors drove on in the final quarter and when Cotton, Roso and Calixte combined to ease into a 5-point lead midway through the period.
However, Ballincollig were in no mood to cough up another defeat as Kieran O’Sullivan hit a huge three to bridge the gap before Adrian O’Sullivan produced one of his showpiece threes to take back the lead.
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It proved to be the killer score as Ballincollig saw out the win with Andre Nation and Adrian O’Sullivan copper-fastening the victory with six from six from the free throw line.
Top scorers: Tradehouse Central Ballincollig: Andre Nation 22, Milorad Sedlarevic 11, Pau Cami Galera 9
Garvey’s Tralee Warriors: Nikola Roso 18, Aaron Calixte 18, Daniel Jokubaitis 13
Next up for the Garvey’s Tralee Warriors is a clash with NUIG Maree at the Tralee Sports Complex in their last home Southern Conference fixture of the season with tip off at the regular time of 7.30pm.
