Gamble pays off as Lakers sink Neptune
He did just that yesterday when he played the leading role in Gleneagle Lakers' sensational 78-75 victory over his old club in the Cup quarter-final at Neptune Stadium.
It was the first of the four quarter-finals to be played at the weekend, with Mardyke UCC Demons playing host to UCD; SuperLeague conference leaders DART Killester and Abrakebabra Tigers battling it out at Belfield, and Limerick Lions travelling to Glasnevin to play Roma St Vincent's. However, the Neptune-Lakers game will take beating for passion and pace, for it had all the passion of any Cork-Kerry clash, and with so many familiar faces in opposition, including coaches Jim Nugent and Mark Scannell, the flavour of a local derby was bound together with the finality of a Cup clash.
Since the early season switches that saw Ronnie Clark leave Killarney for Neptune and the two Neptune Americans, Kenny Gamble and Charron Watson cross the county bounds to join Gleneagle Lakers, there has been a fair share of needle between the sides, and it was exploited by Kenny Gamble yesterday afternoon. He scored 37 points against his old club and insisted afterwards that he hoped it hurt, but stressed that at the end of the day he was only doing his job. He hit them for six with practically his first touch a big three-pointer from just inside the halfway line - and ensured that from then on Lakers would never go behind, though Neptune did manage to draw level at 67 points apiece with eight-and-a-half minutes left to play.
For Neptune, there were ominous signs but nothing that a team of their experience could not handle. The first quarter saw Gamble include two three-pointers in his total of 12, while his sidekick Charron Watson scored eight, but Stephen McCarthy hit back with a three-pointer and Ronnie Clarke added another as they kept the deficit to three points at the end of the firs 11 minutes.
Things got more serious in the second quarter. Stephen McCarthy had to spend much of his time mopping up at the back alongside Davenno Hines and they managed just two points between them, leaving Clarke to do the work up front. Another three-pointer from Gamble, a total of eight from Watson and Lakers led by seven (51-44) at half-time.
Neptune set a ferocious pace after half time and while Gamble stopped them in their tracks with a big three-pointer, they looked like a winning side.
Clarke landed a three-pointer and added four more baskets and Hines, after just two points in the second quarter, was back with eight. Clarke's basket on the buzzer left just four points between the sides at the end of the third quarter (63-67). Ricardo Leonard cut the deficit to two on the resumption and then Stephen McCarthy levelled matters with over eight minutes remaining before they were stopped in their tracks by Gamble, who landed a three-pointer. Almost immediately Rob Lynch picked up a rebound and set Shane Horgan up for a three-pointer and Killarney were six points clear again.
The eight minutes that remained left Neptune with plenty of time to get back on track but now Colin O'Reilly and Rob Lynch were growing in confidence and it they were finding it difficult to get a run going. "We just could not get into our stride," said coach Jim Nugent. "We never got going today. It was all stop-start stuff. We could not get a run." Before the game, Lakers' coach Mark Scannell said he did not want to see the game decided in the final two minutes. "If it does they will win," he predicted.
But it went into the last two minutes on a knife-edge. Ricardo Leonard cut the margin to two from the free throw line with 54 seconds on the clock. Ger Noonan hit back with one from two and that clinched victory.
"The guys showed a lot of bottle today," Mark Scannell insisted afterwards. "Kenny Gamble was an inspiration to the young guys and look what they did - Colin O'Reilly and Rob Lynch - they were just superb. Our whole season hung on this one. If we lost it would have been very difficult to keep going. Now we have four weeks to prepare.
"I always believe you get back what you put into it. We put an awful lot into this over the past week. Thankfully, we got it all back today."
: K. Gamble 37, C. Watson 15, C. O'Reilly 12.
: R. Clarke 25, D. Hines 15, S. McCarthy 11.
Mardyke UCC Demons, the defending champions, qualified for the final of the men's under-19 cup with an 87-37 victory over Star in yesterday's semi-final with David Murphy scoring 17 pts, Arturas Gavenia 15 and Carlton Cuff 12.
They will meet Shamrock Rovers Hoops, who beat DART Killester.
The junior women's cup final will be between Waterford Wildcats, who beat Vienna Woods Glanmire yesterday, and Sligo, who beat DART Killester in yesterday's semi-finals.
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