This weekend (January 11th & 12th) three teams from Titans Basketball Club in Galway travel to the MTU Arena in Cork bidding for a spot in a National Cup final the following weekend in the National Basketball Arena. Since the U18 Women's National Cup is facing a delay in advancing the competition due to an appeals process, Maree will not be playing their semi-final on Sunday, leaving just Titans in the U18, U20 and Division One National Cup semi-finals.
First in action on Saturday at 10 am are Titans U20 men who will face Dundalk Ravens in their semi-final. The path to their semi-final has been comfortable to say the least, with an average winning margin of just over 46 points - against the likes of Drogheda Wolves, Malahide and local rivals Maigh Cuilinn.
Next in action that evening are Titans Men's Division One team, who face Portlaoise Panthers in the President's Cup semi-final at 8.30 pm. Portlaoise are a familiar foe for the Titans, as they played the Panthers in November, where they suffered their first loss of the season in a 31-point routing that saw the ejection of both of their professional players, Michael Hayes and Charles Yassi Pepin. Since the loss and Pepin's sudden departure following that match, the Titans have gone 5-2 in the cup and league, including a narrow 3-point win over Limerick Sport Eagles in their home quarter-final. Ben Kelly spoke with Titans head coach Ciaran Kiveney prior to the weekend about their preparation and what to expect in their game...
Last but not least in action are Titans U18 men who face the tough task of playing Neptune BC in Neptune Stadium. Titans U18s have probably had the toughest path to the semi-final of the three times, not playing at home in the competition and playing both Portlaoise and St Declan's in their home gyms. Speaking to Ben Kelly ahead of Sunday morning's big game was head coach Marcus Otiede...
