The second weekend of the Basketball Ireland Men’s Division One season was just as action-packed as the first, with six of the league’s 17 teams keeping their good starts to the season intact, winning two games from two.
In the Northern Conference, DBS Éanna stamped their mark on the league, running out emphatic 103-68 point winners over Ulster University Elks in Dublin on Saturday evening. Big scoring from Neil Lynch, Joshua Wilson and Conor Gallagher helped Éanna into a 55-32 lead at half-time and they didn’t look back from there.
“It was a score-for-score first quarter, and I felt we should have be doing more to limit their scoring,” said head coach, Darren McGovern afterwards. “We did just that in the second quarter, limiting them to nine points while we scored 29. That set the tone for the second half, and that was our best offensive game to date.
"We had impressive performances across the board - guys like Joshua were very impressive with a triple double – 18 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists – in just 24 minutes. Going forward, we have a lot to improve on, but the lads have improved every week. Sligo away next weekend will be a huge test for us, but we’re looking forward to it. “
Moving across the city, and KUBS stared down the overtime barrel for the second weekend in-a-row as they hosted Abbey Seals Dublin Lions in a hugely-anticipated Dublin derby that certainly did not disappoint. KUBS held the upper hand throughout the opening periods, but a big push from the visitors in the closing quarters saw the game go to overtime and Lions drove home to victory.
“It’s good for the lads to get a win, they are a very young team,” reflected Lions’ head coach, Rob White. “KUBS were missing a couple of players and played very well. We missed a lot of free throws in the first half, so we tried to focus on ourselves. It was a dreadful start to the season getting the two ex-Super League teams in our opening two games, but hopefully that’ll stand to us now.”
Elsewhere, Tradehouse Central Ballincollig were celebrating two wins from two games on Saturday afternoon, as a 43-point game from American star, Andre Nation and a 23-point game from Ciaran O’Sullivan, helped them home to a 95-74 point win over WIT Vikings. Vikings were not without their shooting stars, with Daniel Noe and Craig O’Neill bagging 44 points between them. Down in Portlaoise meanwhile, the Panthers also made it two wins from two games, with a second Limerick team in as many weeks falling at the hands of the midlanders as they ran out 85-73 point winners over LIT.
A packed house greeted the teams from Scotts Lakers St Paul’s Killarney and Fr Mathews in the kingdom of Kerry, where the hosts ran out 93-70 point winners over their Cork visitors. A huge 37-point game from Sean O’Brien for Killarney saw them hold the edge over Mathews to also go 2-0 on the table.
In Limerick meanwhile, Limerick Celtics continued to fly the flag high for the county, with a big win over IT Carlow Basketball. Leading by five at half time, the hosts kept Carlow at arm’s length to hold that lead until the final buzzer, 78-72. A good stretch of scoring from Turrell Morris and Fabio Hernandez – who bagged 45 points between them – helped Celtics continue their winning start to the season.
In the final two games of the weekend, it was a north-west showdown in Sligo on Sunday afternoon as Ej Sligo All Stars welcomed LYIT Donegal. A nip-and-tuck affair ensued, with LYIT taking the better of the opening exchanges before Sligo dug deep to lead at half time. A strong third quarter saw Donegal retake the lead and they drove on from there, to win out 65-76 in the end.
Down in Galway, Gamefootage.net Titans hosted Bad Bobs Tolka Rovers, with the latter taking their second win in as many weeks. Dunks from Alex Dolenko and Justin Goldsborough kept the crowd entertained as Tolka opened up a 41-48 point lead at half time before a huge third quarter from the Dubliners saw them stretch the lead out to 20 points, and they went on to win out by 31 in the end, 60-91.
Games continue next weekend.
Basketball Ireland Results: September 15-16th
Basketball Ireland Men’s Division One
Tradehouse Central Ballincollig 95-74 WIT Vikings
Limerick Celtics 78-72 IT Carlow Basketball
DBS Éanna 103-68 Ulster University Elks
Scotts Lakers St Paul’s Killarney 93-70 Fr Mathews
Portlaoise Panthers 85-73 LIT
KUBS 82-90 Abbey Seals Dublin Lions (after overtime)
EJ Sligo All Stars 65-76 LYIT
Gamefootage.net Titans 60-91 Bad Bobs Tolka Rovers
Basketball Ireland Detailed Results: September 15-16th
Basketball Ireland Men’s Division One
Gamefootage.net Titans 60-91 Bad Bobs Tolka Rovers
Top scorers Gamefootage.net Titans: Ioan Nickson 20, Eoin Coughlan 15, Ben Kelly 6
Top scorers Bad Bobs Tolka Rovers: Alex Dolenko 25, Justin Goldsborough 18, Oisin O Reilly 12
Half time score: Gamefootage.net Titans 41-48 Bad Bobs Tolka Rovers
Basketball Ireland Fixtures: September 22nd and 23rd, 2018
Saturday, September 22nd 2018
Basketball Ireland Men’s Division One
IT Carlow Basketball v Tradehouse Central Ballincollig, Barrow Centre, 12:30;
Ulster University Elks v KUBS, Ulster University Elks, 15:00;
Bad Bobs Tolka Rovers v LYIT Donegal, Tolka Rovers SC, 18:00;
UL Sports Eagles v Limerick Celtics, UL Arena-Limerick, 19:00;
WIT Vikings v Scotts Lakers St Paul’s Killarney, Waterford IT, 19:00;
Fr Mathews v Portlaoise Panthers, Fr Mathews Arena, 19:00;
EJ Sligo All-Stars v DBS Eanna, Mercy College, 19:30;
Sunday, September 23rd 2018
Basketball Ireland Men’s Division One
Tradehouse Central Ballincollig v LIT, Ballincollig CS, 13:00;
Scotts Lakers St Paul’s Killarney v UL Sports Eagles, Killarney, 15:00;
Limerick Celtics v Fr Mathews, St Munchins, 15:00;
GameFootage.net Titans v Abbey Seals Dublin Lions, The Jes, 15:30;
Portlaoise Panthers v IT Carlow Basketball, St Mary’s Sports Hall, 17:00;
