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ESB Men's League
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ESB Men’s League
Big Al’s Notre Dame 86 (38) 98 (61) Star of the Sea Lester Hunt 24 22 Kenny McFarland Lennie McMillan 20 20 Gabe Jackson Brandon Hughes 18 20 Gareth Maguire Star came to the National Arena and shot ‘the lights out’ after a close first quarter, which they led, 33 to 26. They clicked into gear and shot five ‘threes’ to effectively kill this game off by half time when they led by 61 points to 38. Big Al’s valiantly tried to get back into the game and in the third quarter they managed to bring it back to 19 points. By this stage Star were well on their way to victory and Big Al’s efforts were in vain.
Star’s big advantage was their Irish players, who added more to the team than Big Al’s contingent. Gerard
Ryan scored 12, Ewan McGratten hit 14 and Scottie Summersgill had 8.For Big Al’s Lester Hunt worked hard and Lennie tried his best but overall they had insufficient threats around the floor to test Star.
Frosties Tigers 89 (39) 81 (43) O’Hagan Saints R Patterson 21 33 C Doyal R Turner 21 17 S McGuirk J Teahan 16 15 P Shuttlesworth Without Karl Donnelly for this game, O’Hagan Saints were a weakened side and despite good performance form the team were unable to carry this one off. Tralee started well going 10-9 up in the first few minutes of the game. It looked to be all over for Vincent’s when Tralee took the first quarter 23-14.
Coach Joey Boylan made a strategic change in the second quarter, shifting to zone defence, which successfully turned the game around. Saints made an incredible comeback and went up 43-39 going into half time.
The third basket saw Tigers come back fighting and the game was basket for basket for the first six minutes. However, Tigers outscored Vincent’s 29-16 to give them a good lead going into the final quarter 68-59.
Tigers were to stay in control for the remainder of the game and Vincent’s were never a threat in the last ten minutes. The closest they were to come to Tralee were six points. O’Hagan Saints are now in a position that they may struggle to make the top eight teams to go forward for the National Championships.
Esat Business Demons 74 83 Tyrone Towers John Esteck 34 29 J Turner Tobe Carberre 30 18 B Howard Bryan Clernon 4 15 Thomas Hughes Demons let this one slip through their fingers, having led by 18 points at the end of the first quarter. They maintained their lead throughout the second quarter, but Tyrone managed to bring it back to 11points going into half time. Dungannon came into the third quarter in fighting form and managed to not only cut back Demons lead, but led by three points going into the final quarter. Juan Wiley sat this one out as Tobe Carberre and John Esteck made the squad. The Cork side let the two Americans do all the work, scoring 64 points between them, while their Irish players managed a total of 10 points between them.
Going into the final quarter Dungannon could smell victory and were hungry for it, having come so close in recent weeks. Demons took on a defeatist stance and were no match for the Northern side, while Bryan Howard worked hard both offensively and defensively. The determination of Tyrone Towers won this one for them, a quality which Demons haven’t been displaying much of this season.
Burger King Limerick 106 (52) 99 (39) Hibernian UCD Marian T Walsh 28 33 K Ward BJ McFarlane 26 26 P Glover C Brown 24 14 G Edge The first quarter was basket for basket, with Kevin Ward outstanding for Marian and keeping them level 24-24 going into the second. Chris Akers didn’t feature much for Marian, neither was Cleotis Brown in his usual form for Limerick. However Brown scored crucial baskets at varying stages of the game to keep Limerick up on top and in control throughout the game. The second quarter saw Limerick take off, and they outscored Marian 28-15 to send them into half time leading 52-39. Limerick held onto a fifteen-point lead throughout the third quarter, but Marian managed to cut the gap to 74-68 going into the final round. This was as close as they were to come to victory. Marian continued to battle in the last quarter and some late three-pointers by Kevin Meaney and Gary Edge saw them come dangerously close, but it was too late and Limerick picked up the points to keep them in the running for second position. Marian traveled without Barry Glover this weekend and his absence was felt against the strong Limerick side.
Neptune 109 (55) 73 (37) Tolka Rovers C Watson 33 31 Brad Linder S McCarthy 18 12 Neal McCotter G Fitzgerald 12 10 Greg Haffner/Mike Quill
Thorn Killester 119 (57) 98 (44) Gleneagle Killarney D Sealy 32 36 Maurice Carter J Leahy 31 24 Terry Smith E Jackson 15 12 Shane Horgan Thorn Killester are even nearer to a first league title in 25 years after Saturday’s 119-98 win over Gleneagle Killarney. The home side were never in trouble despite being without Jonathon Grennell (Grennell was playing for Trinity in the Colleges finals) and the injured John Quigley. Coach Mark Ingle was in Killarney coaching Foxrock so John Leahy took over as player coach. Leahy sat out 16 minutes of the game, yet managed to score 31 points, which was only bettered by Damien Sealy who had 32. Thorn had 5 players in double figures and all ten scored. To their credit Gleneagle never gave up with Maurice Carter hitting 36 and Terry Smith 24. Shane Horgan was his usual reliable self with 12.
Neptune 102 (59) 89 (49) Tyrone Towers C Watson 31 31 J Turner G Fitzgerald 14 25 C Mason S McCarthy 13 16 JL Supervia Neptune stood out as the stronger team for the beginning, scoring 4 3-pointers in the first quarter, with Stephen McCarthy and Gordon Fitzgerald outstanding. Neptune led 34-25 in the first quarter at which stage the game was all over for Dungannon. The second quarter saw Stephen McCarthy get into foul trouble as he picked up his fourth personal midway through. Dave Downey came on in the second half and managed an impressive 12-points for the Corkonians. As usual, Tyrone Towers Americans were outstanding. Charles Mason, recovered from injury, had an outstanding game, but the Dungannon squad traveled with eight players this weekend, only five of which made the court. The weakness of their Irish players again damaged the side.
Abbey Foods Sligo 69 (32) 76 (47) Big Al’s Notre Dame C Holmes 30 21 A Jenkins D Halbauer 18 16 L McMillan N Daly 13 13 B Hughes
ESB Women’s League
Thorn Killester 58* (54) (26 62 (54) (30) Bausch & Lomb Wildcats Carmel Kissane 14 19 Catrriona White Gillian Ennis 13 18 Jillian Hayes Siobhan Kennedy 9 9 Kim Fitzpatrick Their relative positions in the league table meant nothing at Clontarf as overtime was required to separate League and Cup winners Bausch & Lomb Wildcats and Thorn Killester. Wildcats led from the start and the quarter scores were 11-18, 26-30, and 38-42. Killester went ahead 49-48 with 3 minutes to go, but strong play from Jillian Hayes and free throws from Catriona White seemed to have Wildcats safe, but scores from Gillian Ennis and Carmel Kissane (who had an outstanding game) left Killester trailing 52-54 inside the last minute. A basket from Ciara Fenton with 14 seconds left brought Killester level and they looked to have taken the match when Sinead Vaughan shot on the buzzer but the ball circled the rim and came out.
Wildcats went ahead again in overtime, but a determined Killester came back and were 58-60 behind with 4 seconds remaining. Free throws from Christine Kiely and Jillian Hayes secured victory for Wildcats.
Sasha Meteors 92 (38) 69 (39) University of Limerick C O Sullivan 24 15 Michelle Aspel Neassa O’Keeffe 15 13 Jillian Aherne Lisa Timmons 12 12 Carol Fennell An unexpected outcome, but a truly deserved win for Sasha Meteors. The game was slow to start, but after the initial scrappiness, it was basket for basket and Meteors looked like a threat from the beginning. They outscored UL 20-19 at the end of the first quarter. The second quarter continued in the same manner and very little ever separated the teams. Limerick came out on top, going into half-time with a one point lead 39-38. Traditionally Meteors collapse in the third quarter, but they steam-rolled against Limerick. They managed a total of thirty points compared to University of Limerick’s 15. Meteors played great man-to-man defense in the third quarter and three 3-pointers in a row from Sinead Harvey, as well as a number of fast breaks put them 68-54 ahead going into the final quarter.
Catherine O’Sullivan and Neassa O’Keeffe were outstanding in the final quarter to help Meteors maintain their lead, to give them a well deserved victory that lifts them from the bottom of the league. Meteors were without Karen Hennessy this weekend due to injury and don’t expect to have her back for next weekend’s clash against Tolka Rovers.
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