ST. BRENDAN’S BASKETBALL CLUB NOTES
RESULTS
Leestrand Boys U12 Div 2
St. Brendan’s 29 St. Paul’s 17
St. Brendan’s hosted St. Paul’s at home in their last game of the season. Brendan’s started strongly and made home advantage count.
Great team work by Eoghan Bradshaw, David Scally, Brian O’Donnell, Shane Kelly and 6 points from Olaf Michalezuk saw us up 3 at the end of the first quarter. There was nothing between the teams in the second quarter, Peter Doyle did well at point guard with Kieran Arellano and Harry Wallace scoring for Brendan’s to leave it 13 – 8 at half time.
Liam Óg O’Connor, Rory Clifford and Shane Cotter worked tirelessly in defence and grabbed rebounds at both ends of the court. Brendan’s continued to dominate the third quarter and outscored Paul’s by 10pts to 2, including 2 from 2 from the free throw line by Brian. St. Paul’s to their credit never gave up, Jack O’Sullivan and Tim Mc Clain proving most accurate throughout.
The last quarter saw some great scores by Shane Kelly, Brayden Pierce and Olaf Michalezuk to leave the final score 29 -17. This win ensured a second place finish in the league which is a great achievement, well done everyone.
A big thank you to Cyril and Matthew who trained and coached the team during the year. Time for a well earned break for a while but don’t forget the club’s Easter basketball camp which runs from April 18th to 21st.
OTHER RESULTS
Leestrand Boys U14 Div 2
St. Brendan’s 24 Caherciveen 36
Leestrand Boys U16 Div 3
St. Brendan’s 34 TK Vixens 54
THE JIMMY CURRAN MEMORIAL U14 TOURNAMENT
Congratulations to TK Bobcats who won The Jimmy Curran Memorial U14 Tournament with a thrilling victory over Fr. Mathews of Cork in the final. Fr. Mathews had seen off KCYMS in the semi final and looked to be favourites to claim the title.
However the Bobcats under the direction of coach Roscoe Patterson accounted for the hosts St. Brendan’s in the semi final before driving to victory against the Cork side in a high quality decider.
The Plate title went to St. Bridget’s who played well throughout the competition. The tournament took place at Moyderwell and Presentation Gyms in Tralee on Saturday and featured clubs from around Kerry, Limerick and Cork.
A big thank you to Pa Carey and everyone involved in running the tournament that was both very well organised and attended. After the Cup final Helen Curran presented the winning trophies and MVPs.
GARVEY’S TRALEE WARRIORS
Congratulations to the Garvey’s Tralee Warriors on their sensational win in the Champions Trophy in Letterkenny on Sunday. The Superleague debutantes went toe-to-toe with the regular season champions Templeogue in an absolute cracker of a final with the Tralee side eventually winning out by a single point after overtime.
The Warriors had led by as much as 6 points at one stage in the contest but for the majority of the game there was just a single play between the sides.
Templeogue were the only team to defeat the Warriors in the Tralee Sports Complex this season and followed that up by completing a home and away double clinching a three point win in Inchicore last month.
However the late season momentum the Warriors have generated aligned with the ongoing support of the loyal fans, particularly those that made the trip to Donegal, made sure that the Dublin side would not make it three victories in a row.
In a dramatic finale to the showpiece Kieran Donaghy came up with a huge two point score to level matters and bring the contest into overtime. After a nailbiting five minutes of play it came down to a classic Trae Pemberton three-pointer to draw level with seconds remaining on the clock before Donaghy landed the crucial free throw to secure the title for the Warriors.
Congratulations to all the players, management and committee of the Warriors on their unbelievable achievement of securing a national title in their first season.
Our congratulations in particular go to St. Brendan’s players; captain Darren O’Sullivan, Fergal O’Sullivan, Kieran Donaghy and Paul McMahon. The Tralee basketball faithful are already anticipating the return of the Superleague Saturdays to the Complex next season.
