It was a Paul Kelly masterclass at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght this afternoon as the talented Moycullen teenager drove his side home to a comprehensive 69-52 victory over St Vincent’s Castleknock College in the Subway Schools U19 B Boys All Ireland Cup final.
Kelly, who has been making headlines for both his club and country over the last few years, was certainly the star of the show for St Paul’s Oughterard today as he opened his scoring in the first quarter in style and had 19 points under his belt before the quarter finished to put his side ahead 27-15, and added a further 10 before the half time break to make it a fait accompli (full report attached).
In the Subway Schools Under 19 B Girls Cup final, Loreto Stephen’s Green (Dublin) scooped top honours this morning with victory over Ulidia Integrated (Antrim), 69-54. A superb all-round performance from the Dublin school saw Lauren Devitt, Laura Furlong and Clodagh Cullen all impress hugely as the pressure mounted, while the Maguire dynamic duo of Erin and Enya at the other end were the big difference for Ulidia, netting a whopping 49 points between them (full report attached).
It was double delight for Galway schools today as Colaiste Einde were crowned Under 16 Boys Subway Schools champions with a 45-31 point win over Colaiste an Spioraid Naoimh, Cork. Malik Thiam was the star of the show for the Galway side, as a 20-point display from the talented young student was brilliantly supported by a very strong performance from teammate James Webb who chipped in with 15 points on the day (full report attached).
The Under 16 B Girls Subway Schools Cup meanwhile is on the way to the Kingdom, after Presentation Secondary School, Tralee, won out 33-28 over Muckross Park College of Dublin. A super performance from Mary O’Connell was the foundations of their win as, in the face of a fourth quarter comeback from Muckross Park, O’Connell was on hand to get the vital scores to keep her side in front (full report attached). Games continue at the Arena tomorrow.
Speaking ahead of the finals on behalf of the Subway brand Muriel O’Grady, Subway Ireland Marketing Board Chairperson commented: “As this year’s Subway All Ireland Schools Cup competition draws to a close, we can take a look back on what has been another exciting season. We are very proud to partner with school’s basketball, as it demonstrates Subway stores’ commitment to supporting a healthy and active lifestyle in schools and communities throughout Ireland. On behalf of Subway stores I would like to wish all competing teams and players the very best of luck at the finals.”
Subway All Ireland Schools Cup ResultsDay 2 (January 24th, 2018)
U19B Boys
St Paul’s Oughterard (Galway) 69-52 St Vincent’s Castleknock College (Dublin)
U16B Boys
Colaiste Einde (Galway) 45-34 Colaiste an Spioraid Naoimh (Cork)
Subway Schools Under 19 B Boys final
St Pauls Oughterard players celebrate with the cup infront of their supporters after the Subway All-Ireland Schools U19B Boys Cup Final match between St Pauls Oughterard and St Vincents Castleknock College at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght, Dublin. Photo by Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile
St Paul’s Oughterard (Galway): 69
St Vincent’s Castleknock College (Dublin): 52
It was a Paul Kelly masterclass at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght this afternoon as the talented Moycullen teenager drove his side home to a comprehensive 69-52 victory over St Vincent’s Castleknock College in the Subway Schools U19 B Boys All Ireland Cup final.
Kelly, who has been making headlines for both his club and country over the last few years, was certainly the star of the show for St Paul’s Oughterard today as he opened his scoring in the first quarter in style and had 19 points under his belt before the quarter finished to put his side ahead 27-15.
Good scoring from Castleknock’s very impressive Lloyd Carolan and UG Roland Onuoha in the second quarter kept their scoreboard ticking over, but all eyes were on defense at that point and looking for a way to stop the unstoppable Kelly. Cian Monaghan and Matthew Tierney were on hand to add more buckets for the Galway side and they were leading well at half time, 47-23.
A dominant St Paul’s kept the tempo at a high pace in the third, with Ryan Monaghan adding more points to their tally, and Kelly and Cathal Walsh all producing good scores to lead, and Castleknock were dealt a blow as Carolan was fouled out of the game. Good baskets from David Nugent and Roland-Onuoha were not enough to close the gap though as St Paul’s led by 62-29 by the end of the third.
A well-deserved rest for Kelly as the fourth got underway, saw Castleknock get some good scores on the board early on, to make it 65-34 with six minutes to play. Good work on defense set them up for scores from Roland-Onuoha, Nugent and Ryan Monaghan and though Castleknock outscored St Paul’s by 23-7 in that final quarter, the mountain was just too big to climb and it was St Paul’s Oughterard who were crowned champions in the end, winning out 69-52.
ST PAUL’S OUGHTERARD (GALWAY): Paul Kelly (31), Cian Monaghan (8), Joseph O’Flaherty, Ryan Monaghan (10), Alan Kelly (6), Luke McDonagh (3), Sam Lwrence, Cathal Walsh (3), Dan Kenny, Luke O’Connor, Matthew Tierney (8), Kevin O’Toole.
ST VINCENT’S CASTLEKNOCK COLLEGE (DUBLIN): Oscar Brown (3), Ronan Barrett, Cathal MacCanna (2), Harry Fay, Jack Hensey, UG Roland-Onuoha (18), David Nugent (12), Lloyd Carolan (10), Eoghan McHugh (7).
MVP: Paul Kelly (St Paul's Oughterard, Galway)
Subway Schools Under 16 B Boys Cup final
Colaiste Einde Galway players celebrate with the trophy after the Subway All-Ireland Schools U16B Boys Cup Final match between Colaiste Einde Galway and Colaiste an Spioraid Naoimh at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght, Dublin. Photo by Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile
Colaiste Einde (Galway): 45
Colaiste an Spioraid Naoimh (Cork): 31
MALIK Thiam was the star of the show for Galway;s Colaiste Einde as they drove home to a 45-31 point win over Colaiste an Spioraid Naoimh of Cork in the Subway Schools U16 B Boys All Ireland Cup final at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght this afternoon.
A 20-point display from the talented young student was brilliantly supported by a very strong performance from team mate James Webb who chipped in with 15 points on the day.
It was the Cork team who got off to the better start as proceedings got underway at the Arena, with good scoring from Nathan Kruschke and Patrick Reidy getting SpioraidNaoimh off the mark early on to take an 8-9 lead going into the second quarter.
Colaiste Einde found their stride in the second though, and soon edged in front, opening a 14-11 point gap by the midway point. Hard work from AJ Garrucho and Kruschke for Spioraid Naoimh saw them try and close down the offensive threat of Thiam, but Einde held the lead 20-15 at half time.
This game was far from over though as once more, Spioraid Naoimh battled under the boards, and with four minutes left on the clock, had closed the gap back to just one point again. It stayed neck-in-neck throughout the quarter with Webb and Thiam on target for Einde, while Jordan Ukah, Kruschke hit the mark for Spioraid Naoimh to leave Colaiste Einde up by just three at the third buzzer, 27-24.
Einde were not giving up their lead easily though, and a superb fourth quarter display from Thiam, Webb and Uyiosa put them into a stronger position down the stretch to win out 45-34 in the end.
COLAISTE EINDE (GALWAY): James Webb (15), James Parnell, Shane Befula, Lewis Ferrer, UyiUyiosa (4), Issac Kavanagh, Dominic Matei, Daniel Onanuga, RomainGadioux (4), Ben O Sullivan (2), DamiOyelola, Malik Thiam (20), Dara Creighton, PrezemyslawSiwak.
COLAISTE AN SPIORAID NAOIMH (CORK): Patrick Reidy (6), Niall Downing, Gabriel Marfa (3), Liam Scannell (2), Gavin Malone, Guillerhme Ventura, Colm O’Callaghan, AjGarrucho (6), Jack Lucey, Nathan Kruschke (11), Josh Lyne, Jordan Ukah (6), Sé Butler.
MVP: Malik Thiam (Colaiste Einde, Galway)
