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Sparkling Crystal shatter Neptune In their tragedies the Greeks of old had a word for it: catharsis. It  described that cleansing feeling that their spectators felt having just  experienced one of their performances. Something similar happened in WIT  sports hall on Wednesday when Waterford Crystal took on last year’s league winners, Neptune from Cork, in an enthralling encounter.  Apart from Neptune’s big Nick Chatzinikolis there may not have been too many Greeks on show, but all those supporters from Waterford city and its hinterland knew  all about catharsis and cleansing when they mingled with their heroes in the aftermath of what must rank as one of the finest performances ever seen in  WIT as the hosts scrambled a 90-79 victory. Crystal knew only too well the monumental challenge facing them in this  game. Neptune came with convincing credentials - last year’s runaway league  winners; they had demolished Clare Jets by a whopping 143-70, and Thorn  Killester by 103-88. Gone from the scene were McKune and Leonard, but  Fitzpatrick has put together a team with an array of talent; he certainly  has the best bench options   in the country.   Big Charron Watson is as good as any American in Irish basketball while their other American, Finley, though not big in stature plays a deceptively effective game, and he must surely be one of the most economic shooters of the ball in the land.  He certainly was Neptune’s most influential player on the floor, top scoring with 28 points, including five three pointers. Then how come Waterford  Crystal won this game? It would be difficult question to answer without some reference to character, heart, self-belief,  honest grafting, and  (always a big factor now in WIT) a vociferous and appreciative crowd - surely the best in ESB basketball right now. Watson got the first points in the game for Neptune while Kavanagh  reciprocated in kind at the other end for Crystal.  The first quarter was  fast, exciting, end to end stuff. McCarthy and Fitzgerald hit two early  three pointers for Neptune,  while Sheehan and Cunningham took their chances at town end.  Eric Blair came more and more into the game despite the fact  that he got a lot of attention from the visitors. But Crystal’s own “Rabbit” Cunningham was tireless in his efforts as again and again he burrowed his  way through a Neptune defence that perhaps would have been wiser not to have given him so much space, and his eleven points in the first quarter was only three points short of Watson’s tally in the entire game.  McCarthy was Neptune’s main asset and most of his first quarter’s ten points were superbly taken from the perimeter. Crystal led 28-24 at the end of the first quarter and the packed crowd sensed that they were in for a treat. The blistering pace that marked the first quarter would be hard to sustain  for forty minutes, and it was no surprise then in the second quarter that  the tempo of the game dropped somewhat as both teams tried to asses their  opponents. Mike Norris took the floor for Crystal and as the quarter  unfolded it became apparent that he was Evans’s trump card. His work rate on both ends of the floor was immense: he rebounded, defended, went fearlessly  to the boards, and in many ways his style epitomised the character of the  Crystal team. Neptune put a full court press on the home team; but this  tactic that worked so well for them in their two previous games, backfired  somewhat on Neptune as Crystal again and again punished the press with some fine baskets on the other end. It must be said that Dean Kavanagh had yet another superb game for Crystal: not only did he play for the full forty  minutes, but his protection and distribution of the ball was a delight to  behold. For most of the second quarter Crystal led by four or five points, but with  two  minutes to go to the interval Watson put Neptune ahead 41-40, and an  excellent three pointer from Finley gave the visitors a four point  advantage. But both Blair and especially Norris responded with great baskets and both teams went to their respective dressing rooms at the interval with  Neptune in the ascendancy 46-45. Worrying for Crystal was the fact that  Blair was on three fouls. Neptune drew first blood in the third quarter and went into a 49-45 lead:  and when Blair picked up his fourth personal foul and was substituted,  things looked ominous for the home side. With Blair off the court one would  have thought that Neptune would have punished Crystal; indeed it looked like they would but some superb defensive work by Norris, Massiah and especially  Kavanagh who took three offensive charges from Neptune meant that the home side was holding its own.  The teams were tied 51-51 when Neptune, through their full court press tactic and Finley’s shooting, went ahead by nine points, 59-51. Crystal had six team fouls to Neptune’s two, and the home side appeared to be in trouble.  Norris (4) and Cunningham (2) reduced the deficit to five with 2:25 left in the third quarter. Then Stacey Massiah, though physically tiring, played his heart out: he sank six points (four from free throws) to keep Crystal in the game, and when the third quarter end with Neptune just four points ahead 63-67, Crystal knew they were in with more than a chance in this game. They had just played the third quarter without the services of Blair, and Neptune had increased their advantage by two points. Coach Evans kept his powder dry at the start of the forth quarter when he  still kept Blair on the bench. Norris got the first two points of the  quarter and when Finley missed his two free throws the crowd sensed that  Neptune were wilting under the pressure. Cunningham tied the game 67-67 from the free throw line, and then Massiah picked up his fourth personal foul for the misuse of his elbow. With 7:30 to go in the game the teams were locked  and then Finley threw up another sweet three pointer. Norris  came back with two, then Watson, and then Norris again. There was a huge roar when Blair  rested Massiah, and no sooner was he on the court when he made a three point play to put Crystal back into a 74-72 lead. McCarty tied the game yet again 74-74 and the atmosphere was electrified when Blair sank a magnificent  trifector. Almost instantly Finley responded in kind to tie the game again  77-77.  With four minutes to go Kavanagh broke through for two. Neptune took  a time out with 3:54 left in the game, and on resumption of play Blair  missed what seemed an easy basket; and then Finley tied the game yet again  79-79, and the game had moved into the realms of a titanic struggle, with  overtime perhaps looming on the near horizon. If any aficionado, basketball or otherwise were to say when Crystal took a  time out with 2:14 left in the game that Neptune could be held scoreless for the remainder of the contest, it would be unlikely that s/he would be  believed. And that is precisely what happened. Blair sank his two free  throws and when Kavanagh hit a three pointer the crowd were on their feet.   With less than 90 seconds left in the game and Neptune fouling for time,  Massiah hit two free throws while Cunningham sank two from four. It all  became academic in the end when Massiah  got the final basket to give  Crystal a 90-79 win, one of their finest victories over the much-vaunted  Neptune team who, in their analysis of this game, will not only be wondering why they lost the game, but why the victory was so convincing in the end. As for Crystal, they will take heart from this performance. The cloud of  self-doubt that seemed to envelop the team during the last season has  evaporated. The Blair/Massiah partnership is working well and the inclusion  of Mike Norris in the team has given Crystal a new dimension.  Kavanagh is  growing in stature with every game while Cunningham seems to be enjoying the game like never before. Sheehan’s contribution to the team is rock solid  whether he is on court or on the bench, and there are a few others on the  bench also itching for action - but their time will come. Waterford Crystal: E, Blair 22 & 7 R, M. Norris 21 & 4R, S. Massiah 18 &  10R, D. Cunningham 17, D. Kavanagh 7 & 8 Assists & 5 Gains, E. Sheehan 5 &  5R, J. Fitzgibbon, I. Palmer, J. Malone, N. Doherty, A. Burnell, M. Winkle,  C. Hourican. Neptune: B. Finley 28, S. McCarthy 17, C. Watson 16, G. Fitzgerald 7, D.  Downey 6, N. Chatzinkolis 3, V. Daly 2, M. Walley 2, N. O’Reilly.

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