 |
ESB Men's League
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ireland
ESB Men's League
ESB Women's League
Britball.com Front
More.. Profiles Archive Search Features The News Wire
Interactive Hang-Time News by Email Hoopchat Frequently Asked Questions Dublin duo stay top as log-jam forms in third
ESB Men’s League
Esat Business Demons 62 71 Neptune Toby Carberry 20 17 Andy Meyers John Esteck 18 17 Charron Watson Brian Clernon 11 16 Stephen McCarthy After a close and tight first quarter, Neptune pulled out to lead by 4pts. They remained in front for the rest of the game, and led by between 2pts and 7pts for the remainder of the game. Despite the efforts of Carberry and Esteck in offence, they just couldn’t pull in front. Neptune taking the derby points for the second time this season – and the fourth time since Demons came back into the ESB League.
Gleneagle Killarney 97 118 Frosties Tigers Maurice Carter 33 38 Robbie Turner David Griffin 16 24 John Teahan Terry Smith 18 29 Roscoe Patterson The Game was close for the opening five minutes and teams were level at 13 each at this stage. Maurice Carter and David Griffin opened up a 20-17 lead and the Killarney side led 25-19 with 2:23 left in first quarter. Horgan and Jarlath lee maintained the lead extending it to 29-22 and Gleneagle were 29-25 in front at the quarter. Baskets from Terry Smith kept Gleneagle 33-27 ahead as Horgan and Turner traded three-pointers leaving Gleneagle 36-32 in front while an alley hoop dunk from Smith had Killarney 38-32 in front after three minutes. Ricardo Leonard scored his first basket of the game then. two free shots.. and Teahan and Patterson leveled it at 38 each with 6:12 left. Teahan extended the Tralee lead but a Carter three pointer cut it back to 42-43. Teahan and Turner pushed Tralee 49-44 in front with 3.11 left and a three from turner made it 52-46. Patterson then scored and drew foul and technical from Carter and made both shots leaving it 58-46. Carter and Smith clawed it back but Tralee led 61-51 at half time.
Turner and Teahan opened up and Tralee went 67-53 ahead after three minutes. Carter replied but Teahan had a purple patch and Tralee led 73-58 midway through quarter. Teahan Turner and Leonard added scores and Tralee led 90-71 at end of third quarter.
The last quarter was a formality and Tralee led 103-78 with five minutes left and had 21 points to spare in the end.
Big Al’s Notre Dame 90 81 Tolka Rovers Lester Hunt 28 24 Brad Linder Brandon Hughes 15 15 Greg Haffner Lennie McMillan 15 12 Eoin Quill
Waterford Crystal 102(49) 65(29) Tolka Rovers Damon Shoultz 38 38 19 Brad Linder
Burger King Limerick 106(87)(40) 94(87)(36) AET Gleneagle Killarney Cleotis Brown 25 36 Maurice Carter Very bad performance from BurgerKing Limerick for most of the game, as the players seemed content to let Cleotis Brown do most of the work. Gleneagle Killarney were well up for the game and could sense victory, and it was only in the 4th quarter, when BurgerKing could see the game slipping out of their control, that the home side really began to perform. The 4th quarter and extra time produced some excellent basketball. John Galvin, who had done nothing throughout the game, kept BurgerKing in the game, he scored 2/2 at the line to put his side 85-84 in front in with 25 seconds to go. Then Maurice Carter hit a three-pointer for Gleneagle to move them into an 87-85 lead. Galvin was fouled again and went to the line with 8 seconds on the clock, making 2 /2 to level the game and force over time. Both sides were on form now, but with BurgerKing Limerick having fought to save the game they were more on fire, and they outscored Killarney 19-7 in the extra time period to take the victory.
Tyrone Towers 72(25) 64(27) Abbey Foods Sligo Charles Mason 27 14 Davor Halbauer Jermaine Turner 15 12 Chad Holmes Jose Luis Supervia 15 11 Fergal Kelly In this hard fought encounter between two of the basement clubs, good defensive play was the deciding factor in Tyrone Towers win. It was only in the last three minutes of the final quarter that Tower managed to put a gap between themselves and Sligo, and just about deserved their win. Th game was a personal triumph for Kieran Goodacre, the big forward from Leicester, who has been criticized often this season, played a stormer in defence and was also involved in a lot of Mason’s and Turners scorers. Davor Halbaeur was Sligo’s most outstanding player on the night, and the big centre troubled Tyrone’s defence for most of the game, but the home side pulled away at just the right time in the game, and Sligo just did not have the fire power to fight back.
O’Hagan Saints 104(49) 95(38) Tyrone Towers Chris Doyal 27 34 Jermaine Turner Stephen McGuirk 21 30 Charles Mason Pierre Shuttlesworth 18 16 Jose Luis Superveria Saints were totally in control in the first quarter as a good start saw them go 11-2 in front mid way through the quarter. Some lapses of concentration and silly turnovers allowed Tyrone Towers back in the game, but Saints still led 28-17 at the end of the first quarter. The second quarter was pretty much basket for basket, with Jermaine Turner very strong inside for Dungannon. Saints worked up a 15pt lead midway through the quarter, thanks to baskets from McGuirk and Doyal. But again they allowed Tyrone Towers to crawl their way back into the game, but some late scores from Doyal and Shuttlesworth saw Saints pull away again to lead by 11pts at the break.
Saints had a bad start to the third quarter. Stephen McGuirk had picked up his 3rd foul just before half time, and he sat out the entire third quarter. Jermaine Turner, who had 23 of his 24 points in the second quarter, was unstoppable inside. He and Mason helped Tyrone Towers cut it to 3pts with 4 minutes to go in the quarter, but some sharp shooting and good defensive rebounding from Chris Doyal (who had 11pts in this quarter) helped Saints pull it back, and they led 73-62 going into the final quarter.
Stephen McGuirk came back into the game in the fourth; he had 14pts to ensure Saints a relatively easy win in the end. Mason had 13pts and Turner 14 in the last quarter to keep Towers in touch.
Thorn Killester 96(85)(48) 87(85)(43) Big Al’s Notre Dame Eric Jackson 30 26 Brandon Hughes Damien Sealy 21 24 Lester Hunt John Leahy 15 16 Lennie McMillan A game full of incident, it enthralled a paced IWA for the 90 minutes plus. Killester were anxious to consolidate their place at the top of the table and Big Al’s had to win the game to keep their league ambitions alive and the pressure on both teams was obvious in the opening minutes of the game. Hughes opened the scoring after 20 seconds and after that it was basket for basket, with 8 minutes left in the first quarter, Albert Carrigan put Big Al’s 6-4 up, then Hughes had two unanswered baskets to put the visitors 10-4 in front with 7.15 left in the quarter. With 5.20 to go Mark Kenny came into the game for Big Al’s scoring with his first touch to make it 14-8. Then Sealy, Jackson and Leahy hit three unanswered baskets to level it with 2.45 to go and Killester pulled in front to lead 23-22 at the end of the quarter.
Former Killester player Tony McDonagh got the first basket of the second quarter to put Big Al’s 24-23 in front, but that was to be the last time that Big Al’s led in the game, until the opening minute of extra time. Jackson and Leahy were in flying form and they combined put Killester 34-26 in front with 7 minutes left in the half. Killester kept up their pressure, with Damien Sealy hitting some big buckets for the home side, and despite the efforts of Lester Hunt inside and Hughes; they kept up a 6pt lead on Big Al’s. Killester extended their lead to 10pts with 3 minutes to go, after three unanswered baskets and Big Al’s called a time out. Paul Cummins and Lester Hunt cut the deficit to 5pts at the half time break. Jonathan Grennell’s in your face man marking of Brandon Hughes kept him scoreless in the second quarter.
Sealy got the first of the 2nd quarter, and John Leahy had an excellent third quarter and he put Killester 59-49 with 6.49 to go. Killester could not get their lead beyond 10pts, but the closes Big Al’s could cut the deficit to was 6pts, and the quarter ended 71-66 to Killester
Big Al’s fought their way back into contention in the last quarter. Eric Jackson had a bad miss, McEvilly had quick steal and set up Hunt, who was fouled on the shot, making 2/2. He was back on the line 20 seconds later, making 2/2 again to cut it to a 4pt game, 74-70 with 8 minutes left.
Michael Westbrooks came into the game, and Killester began to falter. John Leahy and Killester coach Mark Ingle had words as Killester began to let Big Al’s take control. McEvilly put Big Al’s within 4pts of Killester, 90-76. Killester had a turnover, and then Hughes was fouled making 2/2 to make it a 2pt game with 3.09 to go. With 2.46 to go, Hughes went to the line again to level it, but he missed both free throws. Quigley went to the line for Killester at the other end, and he missed both as well leaving it still a 2pt game. Tony McDonagh’s 3pt attempt popped in and out with 1.20 to go. Jackson had a 3pt play at the other end with a score and the bonus to make it 83-78 and Killester looked home and dry. But Lester Hunt was fouled, but made just 1 /1 to make it 83-79 with 1 minute to go. Lennie McMillan was fouled on a 3pt attempt, and when John Leahy protested the call, he received a technical. Lennie coolly converted all four throws to level the game. Big Al’s had possession, but lost it to Killester. Ed Randolph put Killester 2pts clear with 9 seconds left, but Brandon Hughes leveled it again with a superb basket with 2 seconds on the clock to force extra-time.
Lennie McMillan got the opening basket of extra time – but then fouled out a minute later. That was to be Big Al’s only score of extra time, as they got into foul trouble. Some superb baskets by Eric Jackson saw him score 5 unanswered baskets, and free throws from Fulton secured the victory for Killester.
Hibernian UCD Marian 66(33) 70(37) Esat Business Demons Kevin Ward 23 21 Mark Kennedy Pat Glover 12 21 John Esteck – MVP Barry Glover 7 12 Juan Wiley The first half was a close affair, with a three-pointer from Barry Glover giving Marian an early lead, before three’s from Mark Kennedy and Brian Clernon closed the gap. Demons took the lead through Kennedy just before half time as his second three-pointer of the quarter put the visitors 19-16 in front. Barry Glover cut it to a 2pt game in the last 30 seconds, but John Esteck scored on the buzzer to give Demons a 3pt lead at the break. The second quarter was pretty much basket for basket. Kevin Meany hit 2 /2 at the line but Mark Kennedy cancelled them out with his 3rd three-pointer seconds later to put Demons 24-20 in front. The teams traded scores for most of the quarter, Kennedy extending it to a 4pts game again with 7 minutes to go, Demons 28-24 in front. Pat Glover put Marian back in lead for the first time since the opening five minutes with 5 minutes left in the half, but scores from Esteck and Kennedy saw Demons extend their lead to 4pts, 37-33 at half time.
Both sides started the third quarter badly, with some poor shot selections and turnovers and it was almost 2 minutes played before John Esteck got the opening basket of the half. Esteck scored again seconds later to put Demons 41-33 up, Ward getting one back for Marian before Mark Kennedy extended Demons lead to 9tps with his 4th three pointer of the game. Demons had by far the best of the third quarter, as Marian struggled offensively and Dave Lehane gave his side a 48-39 lead with 4.10 on the clock. Free throws from Chris Akers – who worked tirelessly under the boards for Marian – but was very quiet in offence – and a basket from Pat Glover cut it to a 5pt game with 3.25 to go. Demons pulled away again through Esteck, but 5 unanswered points from Pat Glover kept the home side in touch and it was a 2pt game with 30 seconds to go. Marian’s tight defence forced Demons into a 24-second violation, but Mark Kennedy stole the ball from Kevin Meany and scored his fifth three-pointer at the other end to put Demons 55-50 in front at the end of the 3rd quarter.
Gary Edge leveled the game with 1.40 gone in the last quarter, 55 apiece and Neville Charles gave Marian the lead from the line seconds later. There was never more that 2pt or 3pts between the teams for the entire quarter. Marian missed a crucial opportunity to go ahead, missing four consecutive free throws (two from Akers, two from Edge) five minutes into the quarter, but Edge gave them the lead with 4.46 on the clock, 62-61. Ward extended their lead to 3pts with an inside drive, but Sparky (Mark Kennedy) who was awesome throughout the game for Demons, scored 2 /2 at the line to make it a 1pt game with 3.10 to go. Demons pulled away to win the game from the free throw line – with Hannigan and Sparky both making 2/2 in the last minute and Esteck 1/ 2 to see Demons win 70-66 in the end.
Burger King Limerick 104(53) 93(40) Neptune Cleotis Brown 33 31 Charron Watson BJ McFarland 27 21 Andy Meyers John Galvin/Matthew Hall 16 14 Stephen McCarthy Neptune started off by far stronger of the two sides. White hot shooting from Watson, and good work from Meyers inside combined with their pressure defence which forced BurgerKing Limerick into silly turnovers saw them move out into an early lead. BurgerKing fought back through Cleotis Brown, but Neptune still held on to a narrow lead at the end of the first quarter. Cleotis Brown then took over in the second quarter – he shot four three pointers in a row – putting his side 7pts in front of Neptune, and completing killing their defensive work. Brown continued to torment Neptune’s defence and he extended BurgerKing’s lead to 13pts going in at the half time whistle. Neptune were forced to play catch up in the third quarter, and an effective box on 1 on Cleotis kept the white hot shooter to just 1pt in the quarter. Gordon Fitzgerald doing an excellent job and keeping Cleotis quiet. With Brown contained, BJ McFarland was forced to step up his game, he had 11 of his 27pts in this quarter. Andy Meyers worked hard inside for Neptune and kept the defending champions in touch, but BurgerKing Limerick still held on to a relatively comfortable lead. With 6 minutes remaining Stephen McCarthy fouled out, BK were up 13pts at this stage and it was more or less game over. Emmett Neville came on for McCarthy – and scored some big baskets and it was pretty much basket for basket for the last five minutes, but Neptune unable to dent the home teams first half lead, BK Limerick running out 11pt winners.
ESB Women's League
Thorn Killester 56(27) 58(33) University of Limerick Gillian Ennis 17 14 Sinead Leahy Emma Pierce 12 12 Jillian Aherne Carmel Kissane 7 11 Maire Guiney Killester raced into an 8-0 lead thanks to baskets from Ennis and Pierce, but UL rallied and cut the deficit to 5pts at the end of the first quarter, Killester leading 15-10. Limerick got into the flow of the game in the second quarter and Sinead Leahy began to dominate under the boards at both end, her hard work seeing the visitors pull ahead to lead by 6pts, 33-27 at the half time break. In an exciting 2nd half, Limerick looked to be running away with the game as Killester fell apart and baskets from Aherne and Guiney coupled with Leahy under the boards saw UL run up a comfortable lead. But Killester had a late rally to pull back the lead and hard work from Kissane, Ennis and Pierce saw them cut it to a 2pt game in the last minute. But the home side ran out of time, and UL held on for the 2pt win.
Bausch & Lomb Wildcats 67(40) 55(32) Sasha Meteors Jillian Hayes 21 16 Catherine O’Sullivan Christine Kiely 14 13 Neassa O’Keeffe Orla Dempsey 11 12 Orla Nolan Wildcat’s last home game of the season, and Jillian Hayes last home game ever was played out in front of a jam packed Mercy Convent crowd, over 800 people packed into the school hall, with over 100 fans turned away from the game. The games itself was a ding dong battle between the two old rivals. Meteors had by far the better of the opening quarter, with Catherine O’Sullivan shooting well, and Neassa O’Keeffe working hard inside, and she put her side 18-14 up at the end of the first. Meteors were without Karen Hennessy, she’s out with a groin strain, and Lisa Anderson stepped in for the 6’1" former International. Wildcats pulled ahead to lead by 8 at the break, thanks to some strong offensive plays by Jillian Hayes. Meteors continued to battle hard in the third quarter, but with the home crowd behind them, Wildcats stayed in control with Jillian Hayes dominating the third quarter to put her side 55-40 up at the end of the 3rd quarter. With 4 minutes remaining in the game, and Wildcats leading by 17pts, Ciara Harvey slipped on either condensation caused by the large crowd or player sweat and referee Mary Whelan called for the gym to be dried before the game would be resumed. The doors were opened to dry the gym, and when the referee announced that if another player slipped, the game would be abandoned and awarded to Meteors under the condensation rule – the crowd almost went berserk. However, Wildcats called a time-out, held their heads and all players held their footing as Wildcats won their last home game by 12pts and are surely on course for their 6th title in seven years.
Tolka Rovers CANCELLED Thorn Killester
Copyright Britball. Download is subject to Britball's Terms and Conditions
