Boys’ Basketball Narrowly Miss Out on Final in Cork!

1st May 2016

Latest News


The 2nd year boys basketball team competed in the All Ireland championships in Cork on Sunday the 24th of April. Having gone undefeated in the Dublin league, the team spent the few weeks prior to the excursion preparing for the most important games they had to play to date. The day got off to a rough start when at tip-off time for the first game, only 6 Donabate players had reached the hall due to the maze that is Cork Country roads.

The lads kept focused and managed to keep in the game even with a very altered starting five. Will Deering led the way in the first quarter and his intense defence led to multiple Donabate scores. The opposition were too strong however in the first quarter for Donabate’s depleted squad and held a strong lead at the end of the first.

Just in the nick of time for the 2nd quarter John Troy and Oisin Lambe arrived and were forced to run straight on court to begin the 2nd due to the ‘5 on 5 off’ rule enforced by Basketball Ireland. Once again Donabate managed to stay in the game but the lack of warm up for half of the players on court meant it was half time before they really got going. Down 12 points, Donabate fought out the remainder of the game, trying to make up the points they gave away in the early ongoings but the other team managed to hold their own in the last quarter, winning the game by 6 in the end.

The team re-grouped before their 2nd game having time for a team meeting and had regained the same focus that had allowed them to go undefeated in the Dublin league by tip off of game 2. Joint captain Alex Redmond led the way out of the gate scoring 4 points before the opposition had a chance to react. Matthew Boland had 2 blocks in the first half and Marcus Evans managed one along with 2 steals as well. Donabate were down just 2 points at half-time.

In the 2nd quarter the opposition came out with a vengeance and scored two consecutive three pointers dragging their lead out. Co-captain John Troy started the quarter as he meant to go on making two three pointers to match the opponents. With time winding down and Donabate down 2, Coach Luke Rock called a time-out and switched the players into a full court press in order to steal the ball and score. Conor Owens stole the ball and drove to the basket scoring a layup and tying the game, sending us to over time.

With parents on the edges of their seats, Donabate kept up all their momentum from the 4th quarter and dominated the 3 minute over-time period winning the game by 6, after scores from Conor Owens, John Troy and Matthew Boland. Their most hard-fought win of the season by far!
With the next game played immediately, the 10-man team refuelled quickly and lined out for their third and final game of the day. The team carried their momentum out from the previous game and raced to a 12-0 lead. In the first half the lightning quick hands of Will Deering led to fast-break scores by John Troy while Árón Kinsella’s equally quick speed allowed him to set the quick pace of the game.

With John Troy forced to sit due to a foot injury in the second half, Adam Barker stepped up to the mark and he, along with Jake O’Toole pulled down 14 rebounds between them! The opposition fought hard but Donabate gave everything they had in their final game and finished the game out with a comfortable lead, finishing the day with 2 out of 3 wins.

The team left the tournament in high-spirits after two hard fought wins, proving how competitive this team can be. They were unlucky not to qualify for the finals, losing out on point difference but in only their 2nd year as a team showed what they are capable of making it further than any basketball team In Donabate CC history. We would like to thank Mr. O’Sullivan for his hard work and commitment to the team this year. There is undoubtedly a very bright future ahead of this team.

Team: Will Deering, John Troy, Alex Redmond, Marcus Evans, Jake O’Toole, Adam Barker, Conor Owens, Árón Kinsella, Matthew Boland, Oisín Lambe.

Article by Luke Rock.

Special thanks to all the parents who came down to support the team. Thanks also to Mr O’Sullivan and Luke Rock for all their hard work and a special thank you to Mr. Redmond for also accompanying the team on the day. Many thanks to Luke for this report in what was a fine outing for the Donabate Community College team!