ST. BRENDAN’S BASKETBALL CLUB
Boys U18 County League
Gneeveguilla 71
St. Brendan’s 63
It was a wet, miserable and freezing cold afternoon in Rathmore as the St. Brendan’s u18s prepared to battle with the six man army of Gneeveguilla.
The game began with St. Brendan’s superstar big man Shane O’Connor picking up four early fouls and having to take a seat on the bench for the remainder of the first three quarters. Despite this the Brendan’s lads came out ready to fight and won the first quarter 17-15.
The thanks going to David McCarthy’s 9 points in a row to open the game and an enormous three pointer from Dominic Craig to close out the quarter and send the Gneeveguilla team back to the bench with their heads hanging. In the second quarter Gneeveguilla found their rhythm, getting to the rim at will and knocking multiple three pointers.
However the outstanding individual play of Alan Enright and Amadeus Lelental ensured that the Brendan’s offence was still a threat at all times.
St. Brendan’s went into halftime down 40-34. Spectators remarked after the game that were it not for the stellar defence of Benas Zymantas, Brendan’s would have ended the second quarter down by twenty or more. Gneeveguilla opened the third quarter on a run that put them up eleven points.
However James Roche was not satisfied with this, and with David McCarthy upped the defensive pressure, caused five or six turnovers in quick succession, got out on the fast break and finished hard at the ring to bring the lead back to two points.
James Roche scored an impressive 9 points in the third quarter to rally the troops but alas, it wasn’t enough as Gneeveguilla finished the quarter strong causing three of four turnovers of their own finishing the quarter 58-49.
The battle was lost but the war was still to fight for and coaches Charles O’Sullivan and Ger Donnelly were not waving any white flags just yet.
It is not yet known what was said in the quarter break huddle but it was powerful stuff and inspired the soldiers of St. Brendan’s to make one last push.
Dominic Craig opened the quarter dropping two bombs from three-point range. This, combined with the stellar rim protection of a refreshed Shane O’Connor and the prevalent defensive presence of Benas Zymantas, led Brendan’s on a six point run to shoot the deficit to three points.
From here it was a back and forth game with both teams going basket for basket and shot for shot.
As the clock was winding down the Tralee boys had to foul their opponent in the hopes of misses at the line and a chance at the ever-elusive W, giving them free throws to finish the game out giving a final scoreline of 71-63 to Gneeveguilla.
Players and scorers: David McCarthy 20, Dominic Craig 16, James Roche 13, Amadeus Lelental 5, Alan Enright 5, Shane O’Connor 4, Benas Zymantas.
Boys U16 Div 3 County League
Tralee Tigers 30 St. Brendan’s 32
This was this years first meeting for local rivals in what turned out to be fantastic battle that went right down to the wire.
Tigers raced into an early lead and were up by six with all scores coming from their scoring machine Gary Clifford before Brendan’s replied through Barry Sugrue and John Fok Seang to leave the game level at the end of the first quarter.
More scores from Danny Fok Seang and George Reidy gave Brendan’s a slim lead at half time. Stephen Bowler and Eoin Cahill came to the fore in the third quarter and along with good general play from Dylan McHugh, Cian Harris and great defence from John O’Mahony increased the lead entering the final quarter.
Tigers mounted a great fightback in the last quarter and leveled with 30 seconds to go. However George Reidy struck for Brendan’s with a Jordanesque style score to secure the win for Brendan’s. Well done to coach Donald and his team.
Boys U14 Div 3
St. Brendan’s 51 St. Bridgets 17
St Brendan’s started their first game of the year with a very positive display both offensively and defensively.
Graham Sheehy put serious pressure on the Currow ball-handler, forcing turnovers which were then turned into fast breaks.
Declan Mangan and Jack Clapham pressured the ball with Ryan McHugh and Sam McCarthy proving near impenetrable in defence. Brendan’s led 15 – 2 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter Garry Lynch, Brendan’s ball-carrier, called the plays and the shots scoring 12 points from strong drives to the basket.
Matthew Hussey grabbed some very important rebounds while Ryan McHugh, Daniel Bowler and Sean Dillane each added scores to stretch Brendans lead to 35 – 7 by half-time.
The second half saw the late arrival and introduction of Currow’s strong number 12 who had caused Brendan’s considerable problems in this pairing’s December game. Sam McCarthy took the job of marking him and seriously curtailed his effect on this game.
Nelly Olanrewaju and Joshua Roche pressed hard in defence as well as being unlucky not to score from some very good efforts. Jack Clapham, Liam Kingston and Sam McCarthy scored 10 points for Brendans bringing the score to 45 – 11.
The final quarter saw Brendan’s tire a little and Currow continue to fight hard. The aforementioned Currow number 12 got 4 of Currow’s 6 points which score was matched by Brendan’s.
The score at the whistle was 51 – 17 and reflects the steady improvement in the team coming from the hard work put in during training.
Players & scorers: Garry Lynch 14; Graham Sheehy 9; Liam Kingston 6; Daniel Bowler 6; Sam McCarthy 4; Ryan McHugh 4; Jack Clapham 4; Declan Mangan 2; Sean Dillane 2; Nelly Olanrewaju; Matthew Hussey; Joshua Roche;
UPCOMING FIXTURES
Friday 8th January
Boys U16 Div 1
Glenbeigh v St. Brendan’s at 6.00pm in Glenbeigh GAA Sports Hall
Saturday 9th January
Boys U14 Cup
St. Mary’s v St. Brendan’s at 4.00pm in Pres Gym Killarney
Boys U16 Div 1
KCYMS v St. Brendan’s at 11.30am in Killorglin Sports Complex
Sunday 10th January
Boys U14 Div 3 Pool 1
St. Mary’s v St. Brendan’s at 1.00pm in Castleisland Community Centre
Boys U16 Div 3 Plate
Gneeveguilla v St. Brendan’s at 6.00pm in Rathmore Sec School Gym
Monday 11th January
Ladies Div 2
St. Brendan’s v St. Joseph’s at 7.00pm in Moyderwell
Wednesday 13th January
Ladies Div 2
KCYMS v St. Brendan’s at 7.15pm in Killorglin Sports Complex
Men Div 1
KCYMS v St. Brendan’s at 8.30pm in Killorglin Sports Complex
Boys U12 Div 3
St. Anne’s B v St Brendan’s B at 7.30pm in Farranfore Community Centre
BOYS U14s AND SENIOR MEN NEWS
It was a busy Christmas period for both our U-14s and Senior Men. Both teams competed very well in the Castleisland Blitz with our Senior Men taking the honors in the Div 1 section and our U14s losing to eventual winners Castleisland in the U14 section.
Last Sunday last our U14s started the new year with a 50-30 win over St Bridget’s in Moyderwell. Special mention to Rap Buivydas who has been playing exceptionally well and finished the game with 29 points.
Up next for our U-14s is the County Championship Final vs St. Mary’s, Castleisland in Killarney on Saturday 9th January. Keep up the good work boys!
GET ON THE BUS!!!!!
Our Senior Men travel to Portlaoise on Sunday next to play Cork Celts in The Hula Hoops Intermediate National Cup semi-final.
The Senior team go into the game on the back of a good winning streak and are confident of a positive result. The team has beaten Shannon Jets, Portlaoise Panthers and Phoenix BC of Belfast to progress to the penultimate stage.
A bus travelling to Portlaoise from The Castle Bar will be leaving at 10am is €10 return. It is a great opportunity to meet some of the people involved with the club and support the lads.
Contact Fergal or Darren in the Bar to book your seat. Pa, Gareth, Fergal, Darren, Star, Paul, Micheal, Conor, Cyril, Jason, Nathan, Stephen, Rob and Wayne would like to thank everyone for the support in the season to date and wish everyone a Happy New Year.
TABLE QUIZ
The fundraising Table Quiz scheduled to take place on Wednesday 6th January in the Castle Bar has been postponed until a later date.
TRAINING TIMES
St. Brendan’s Basketball Club Training Times for 2015/2016 are now confirmed. The venue is Moyderwell Hall.
Boys and Girls Academy 5yrs-9yrs
Tuesday 5-6pm
Saturday 10-11am
Girls U10s
Friday 6-7pm
Boys U10s
Wednesdays 6.30-8pm
Sunday 9.30-10.30am
U12s (A)
Tuesday 6-7pm
Sunday 11.30-12.30pm
U12s (B)
Thursday 6-7pm
Sunday 10.30-11.30am
U14s (A)
Wednesday 5-6.30pm
Sunday 1.30-2.30pm
U14s (B)
Tuesday 7-8pm
Sunday 12.30-1.30pm
U16s (A)
Monday 6-7pm
Friday 7-8pm
U16s (B)
Thursday 8-9pm
Sunday 2.30-3.30pm
U18s
Tues 8pm-9pm
U18s and U20s
Saturday 7pm – 9pm
Senior Men
Wednesday 8pm-9pm
Senior Ladies
Monday 7-8pm
Thursday 7-8pm
Senior Men and Senior Ladies interested in playing this year please get in contact with Claire O’Sullivan or Fergal O’Sullivan. New players always welcome.
Please be aware that due to registration with Basketball Ireland and KABB, all players and teams must be registered as soon as possible. If you are interested in playing this year get in contact with your coaches and let them know.
ST. BRENDAN’S BASKETBALL CLUB JUVENILE ACADEMY
St. Brendan’s Basketball Club has officially started back with their Juvenile Academy for boys and girls for the new season and is actively encouraging budding young basketball enthusiasts to join.
The club, which was founded 20 years ago to cater for boys in the Tralee area, has grown enormously since then. The club now caters for boys and girls in their Academy and boys in the Under-10, 12, 14, 16, 18 and under-20 age groups, as well as at Senior Men and Senior Women level.
Our Academy is an integral and important part of the continuing development of the club. The Academy times are as follows Tues 5-6pm and Sat 10am – 11am for the 5 to 9 year olds. Our Academy is held at Moyderwell Gym with our coaches Linda Raymond and Charles O’Sullivan and players Michael O’Donnell and Arianne Finnegan. The cost of the Academy is just 3 euro per hour.
For more information on our Academy please contact 086 871 9335 or 086 862 5932
