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ESB Men's League
Hibernian UCD Marian 91(51) 74(33) Gleneagle Killarney Kevin Ward 26 32 Maurice Carter Chris Akers 18 22 Shane Horgan Pat Glover 16 14 William Maysfield
Frosties Tigers 92(47) 74(37) Tyrone Towers Roscoe Patterson 28 49 Jermaine Turner Ricardo Leonard 27 14 Charles Mason Robbie Turner 25
Esat Business Demons 82(38) 89(43) 24 Connect Star of the Sea Toby Carberry 32 19 Gabe Jackson Juan Wiley 23 15 Gareth Maguire Brian Clernon 12 12 Scott Summersgill/Kenny McFarland Star of the Sea led from the first few minutes, the home side only up in the open minute when they led 4-3. Neither side impressed in the game and it was far from an outstanding game.
Neptune
69(36) 61(30) Waterford Crystal Charron Watson 27 23 Eric Blair Andy Meyers 18 10 Lester Hunt Stephen McCarthy 11 8 Mike Norris
Neptune scored their first points of 2001 with an uninspiring win over Waterford Crystal in the TG4 IBA Match of the weekend. Both sides were guilty of poor shooting and some awful turnovers, and the game was there for either team to take right up till the final minute. Nobody shone for either side, but Crystal’s firing power was dented by a lack lustre performance from second American Lester Hunt, who was guilty of missing some bankable shots underneath the basket
The first quarter was an even and low scoring affair with neither side showing any sign of stamping their authority on the game. Charron Watson got two unanswered baskets for Neptune, but an inside score from Hunt followed by a rocket from David Cunningham – just on the three-point line, levelled the game with just over two minutes played. It continued basket for basket for the remainder of the first quarter
Both sides played tight defence in the first quarter, and this together with one too many unforced errors kept the quarter a low scoring affair. Stephen McCarthy got his first score of the game with 30 seconds remaining to put Neptune 2pts up, but Eric Blair levelled it at 16 apiece with ten seconds on the clock. There was just enough time for Stephen McCarthy to get a 3-pt attempt off – but to the despair of McCarthy and the Neptune fans, it popped back out of the basket on the buzzer and the quarter ended 16 apiece.
Eric Blair hit a three-pointer straight on the restart to give Crystal their biggest lead of the game, but it was short lived, Marcus Wally making 2 /2 at the line after he was fouled by Eamonn Sheehan. The game then went over two minutes without a score, as neither team could seem to find the basket, Eric Blair eventually breaking the deadlock from the line with seven minutes remaining in the half. Marcus Wally made it 24-21 to Neptune with a three pointer with 5.46 on the clock before Dean Kavanagh made it a one point game seconds later, scoring both his free throws after he was fouled by Nick Chatzinokis under the boards. Neptune pulled away for the first time in the game with 59 seconds on the clock, after a Waterford turnover allowed Vince Daly possession, the former Killarney player coolly slotting home a three-pointer that put Neptune 33-28 in front. Sheehan got one basket back for Crystal, but Watson made it a 5pt margin at the half time with a hook shot past three Crystal player, Neptune going in 35-33 in front at the break,
Neptune had the best of the third quarter, showing a little more life than the first half. They outscored Waterford 6-2 in the first two minutes to open up a 9pt lead, 41-32. the biggest lead of the game. Neptune dominated the quarter, as Crystal looked to self destruct, and 6 unanswered points
(two from Meyers, one from McCarthy) saw them extend their lead to 14pts midway through the quarter, and it looked like they were going to whitewash Crystal in the second half.A three-pointer from Blair and baskets from Kavanagh and Hunt helped to cut the deficit, but with Crystal failing to protect their boards, Neptune were allowed second and third chances in offence and the defending champions still led 52-43 going into the final quarter. Mike Norris led a Crystal revival in the opening minutes of the fourth, he scored Crystals first basket, set up Eric Blair for a slam dunking second, and scored their third unanswered basket to cut Neptune’s lead to just five points (56-52) with three minutes played.
Blair made it a 3pt game from the line seconds later, but McCarthy dented Waterford’s fight back with a crucial three pointer, which pushed their lead back to 6pts. Two unanswered baskets for Blair and Cunningham saw Neptune’s lead evaporate and suddenly it was a 2pt game again. Both sides went to the line in the next few plays, Neptune scoring 6/ 6 and Crystal 2/ 2. Lester Hunt made it a 4pt game (65-61
) with just one minute on the clock. Neptune held the ball, trying to run the clock down, but Crystal managed to steal back the ball before they got a shot off and Blair set off Norris on the break with 38 seconds on the clock. But McCarthy cleverly managed to get a knee in the path of the fast breaking Norris, knocking the ball lose and into the hands of the waiting Marcus Wally. Wally set up Watson for a quick score at other end, which put Neptune 67-61 in front and sealed the victory for the home side. Game MVP Watson put it beyond doubt seconds later making 2/ 2 at the line.
BurgerKing Limerick 107(42) 89(48) Tyrone Towers William McFarlan 37 32 Charles Mason Joe Kilroy 26 19 Jermaine Turner Matt Hall 17 18 Jose Supervia There was little to excite in a dull and below par performances from both sides. There wasn’t much between the sides until the third quarter when Joe Kilroy, who had only 4pts up to that point, hit seven three pointers to give Limerick a comfortable lead which they were never to lose.
Thorn Killester 93 78 Neptune Damien Sealy 26 28 Charron Watson John Leahy 26 20 Andy Meyers Ed Randolph 12 15 Stephen McCarthy THORN Killester took their fourth consecutive victory in a one sided encounter with defending champions Neptune at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght. Andy Meyers kept Neptune in touch in the opening minutes- he scored their first 7pts. Killester pulled away to run up a 16-9 lead with 4.39 to go in the quarter, thanks to baskets from Fulton and Sealy. Watson and McCarthy got their first scores of the game to pull it back to a 3pt game, but Killester pulled away again through Sealy and Leahy, who put the home side 30-23 ahead and the end of the first quarter. Killester continued to dominate, and led 33-25 with 1.30 gone in the 2nd quarter. Charron Watson made it a 3pt game again, bringing it back to 33-30 with 7.31 remaining in the quarter. With five minutes to go in the half, there was just 5pts between the sides. But Killester outscored the visitors 14-7 in the final five minutes to make it 50-39 at the break. Most of Killester’s baskets coming from Eric Jackson and Ed Randolph – the two players recovering from injury.
Killester continued their pattern of coming out strong in the third quarter, and they totally dominated Neptune in this period, outscoring them 31-17 to lead 81-56 at the end of the quarter and finish the game as a contest. Damien Sealy hit 10pts in the quarter, as he enjoyed one of his best games this season, while John Leahy hit 11pts, including three three-pointers.
The game was over before the fourth quarter began, as Neptune never looked like fighting back from their 25pt deficit and Mark Ingle played his bench with Jonathan Grennell and Michael Westbrooks both contributing baskets in the final quarter as Killester ran out easy 93-78 winners to retain their top of the league status.
O’Hagan Saints 92(45) 100(48) Big Al’s Notre Dame Chris Doyal 31 37 Brandon Hughes David Donnelly 27 23 Anthony Jenkins Pierre Shuttlesworth 21 21 Lennie McMillan Big Al’s Notre Dame held on to their unbeaten record with a valuable 100-92 win over Dublin rivals O’Hagan Saints. The game was close for the first three-quarters, until Big Al’s pulled away toward the end of the third to run up a lead that they were never to lose. Saints were without both John Clancy (on holidays) and Karl Donnelly (injury) and point guard Gerry Noone was only able to contribute about 6/7 minutes in his first return from the injury which has kept him out since October. Boylan had a weakened bench to work with and was not helped by the fact that key player Stephen McGuirk had one of his poorer games of the season, contributing just 10pts to their final tally. Brandon Hughes was on fire for Big Al’s, and was again shooting with the form he showed in the opening month of the season, causing the Saints defence numerous problems. Veteran Lennie McMillan was also on form, and hit a few crucial baskets to keep the visitors in touch. Despite Saints weakened side, there was nothing between the teams for most of the game, with David Donnelly working tirelessly in offence and defence, and scoring one of his highest tally’s for the season – 27pts. Big Al’s pulled away to lead by 5pts, 68-63 at the end of the third quarter, and when they scored the first two baskets of the fourth quarter, Saints were suddenly trailing by 9pts for the first time in the game and had it all to do. They pulled it back to a 6pts deficit midway through the quarter, but that was as close as they could get it back to and Big Al’s ran out 100-92 winners in the end to maintain the best record in the league.
Waterford Crystal 81(44) 76(36) Abbey Foods Sligo Lester Hunt 22 24 Damon Shoultz Eric Blair 22 19 Davor Halboeur Mike Norris 19 9 Scott McCarthy Waterford Crystal showed a marked improvement on Saturday’s lack lustre performance at Neptune to pull off a valuable 81-76 win over Abbey Foods Sligo. Sligo went 9-2 in front early in the quarter, but the home side pulled it back with some good work from Dean Kavanagh and Eric Blair and led 26-20 at the end of the quarter. Crystal had the better of the 2nd quarter, with Hunt and Blair showing more accuracy on their inside shooting than in yesterday’s game and the home side enjoyed a 8pt lead at the break. The game remained close throughout the second half, Crystal shading it 75-66 at the end of the third quarter. Sligo brought it back to 4pts midway through the 4th quarter, with Scott McCarthy scoring twice from the three-point line, but Crystal never looked in danger and held on for a crucial win.
Hibernian UCD Marian 85(34) 71(38) Frosties Tigers Kevin Ward 31 33 Ricardo Leonard Chris Akers 20 18 Robbie Turner Pat Glover 11 11 John Teahan The first half was basket for basket, with little dividing the teams in a fast paced and tense encounter. Marian had a great spell in the second quarter - they led 33-27 with 2 minutes gone in the quarter, and had extended that to 43-29 with 2 minutes remaining in the half, but good work from Patterson and Leonard saw the visitors pull back to cut Marian's lead to just 6pts and the half time break, 44-38 The third quarter remained close, with Marian maintaining their lead – but never by a huge margin and there was little between the teams till the final 2.30 of the game.
Marian led 72-68 with 1.10 on the clock, when a technical foul on Ricardo Leonard sent Pat Glover to the line. Glover made 1 /2 to put Marian 73-68 in front. With 1 minute remaining, Patterson was blown for an out of bounds violation and Marian won possession. Pat Glover was then fouled by John Teahan and made both free throws to put his side 79-68 in front with 41 seconds on the clock. Marian won back possession again, and Chris Akers was fouled on a 3pt attempt, making 2 /3 of his free throws to make it 82-68 with 35 seconds remaining in the game. Ricardo Leonard hit a big three with 29seconds to go, to cut the deficit to 82-71. Then with 14 seconds to go, Vinnie Murphy picked up an unsportsmanlike foul and a technical, which saw him exit the game on five fouls. Chris Akers hit 3 /4 at the line to make it 85-71 and end any hope of a Tralee comeback. Ricardo Leonard also picked up an unsportsmanlike foul - his fifth of the game and joined Murphy on the bench in the finals seconds of the game as Marian continued their unbeaten run and moved into joint top of the table.
ESB Women’s League
Sasha Meteors 50(28) 74(30) Tolka Rovers Orla Nolan 16 16 Sharon Kelly Catherine O’Sullivan 8 11 Rachel Kelly Ciara Harvey 7 11 Suzanne Maguire Meteors were without young star Neassa O’Keeffe for this big game – O’Keeffe is out with a possible broken hand after she injured it in training on Thursday. She has to attend a specialist this week, and is now a major worry for Meteors ahead of the Junior and Senior ESB Cup semi-finals at the end of the month. There were also without Sinead Harvey.
Bausch & Lomb Wildcats 87(46) 76(34) University of Limerick Catriona White 30 21 Juliet Murphy Orla Dempsey 16 17 Michelle Aspel Olivia O’Reilly 15 16 Sinead Leahy It was Wildcat’s experience that saw them through this tough encounter, and the white hot form of Catriona White, as they came up against the ESB Cup semi-finalist opposition University of Limerick, who proved that able opposition on the night, severely testing Wildcats excellent home record. Jillian Hayes did play on the night, but struggled to find her form, as her foot isn’t fully healed from her December operation. UL were very strong, with Juliet Murphy and Michelle Aspel both on form. Sinead Leahy caused Wildcats problems under the boards, grabbing numerous offensive rebounds, which she quickly dished out to the waiting hands of Murphy and Aspel, or straight back up and into the UL basket.
Wildcats went 18pts up in the third quarter, but UL fought back with Aspel and Murphy combining to cut the deficit and there was just 4pts between the sides with 1.05 on the clock and Wildcats were on the rack. Then Catriona White hit a big three-pointer, and Hayes scored 2 /2 at the line to put Wildcats 9pts in front, and it was game over. But if White had not been "white" hot on the night, and Jillian Aherne hadn’t been missing for UL, it could have been a different result, and Wildcats will be taking nothing for granted when they meet in the cup semi-final in two weeks time.
THORN Killester 62(34) 65(27) Sasha Meteors Emma Pierce 13 18 Karen Hennessy Carmel Kissane 12 16 Orla Nolan Sinead Vaughan 12 9 Niamh Furey / Ciara Harvey THORN Killester have the edge in the first half and good work from Pierce and Vaughan ensured the home side a 7pt lead going in at the half time break. Meteors had the best by far of the second half, during a three minute period in the third quarter, they outscored Killester 16-2, with Orla Nolan contributing 10 of the 16pts to put Meteors 7pt in the clear. But Killester fought back with Hope Maynard contributing 5pts on her debut an inside score and a big three pointer, and baskets from Sinead Vaughan and Emer Brophy brought the home side back in touch and it was all square going into the final quarter. The fourth quarter was an exciting affair, with the lead changing hands repeatedly. Karen Hennessy put Meteors in front 55-56 with a lovely post move, but Sinead Vaughan scored with all most the same move at the other end to reverse the lead yet again, with just under five minute remaining. Emma Pierce extended Killester’s lead to 5 with a big three-pointer with 3.10 on the clock, but Karen Hennessy scored two successive baskets from baseline drives to make it a 1pt game 61-60 with 2.20 on the clock. Gillian Ennis fouled out with 2.18 on the clock for a foul on Orla Nolan, who then levelled the game from the line with 1 /2 and 2.14 on the clock.
Nolan was again to the fore seconds later, with a superb fake and drive through the centre. She was fouled before the shot, but it wasn’t called and she followed through to bag both the score and the bonus shot, which she then missed, but her basket put Meteors 61-63 ahead with 2minutes remaining. Both sides missed chances before Carmel Kissane was fouled, she made 1/ 2 to make it a 1pt game with 1 minute remaining (62-63). Both sides gave away turnovers in the next 40 seconds as they scrambled to gain control of the match and with 7 seconds remaining Karen Hennessy grabbed a rebound from Emma Pierces 3pt attempt and was fouled. Hennessy coolly made the resulting free throws to put Meteors 62-65 in front with 5.6 seconds on the clock and when Killester were caught for a back court violation on the resulting possession, it was game over. Meteors were without both Sinead Harvey and Neassa O’Keeffe for the game – O’Keeffe is out with a suspected broken hand which she picked up in training on Thursday night and is now a major doubt for the cup weekend.
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