Tigers had too much in the tank

Abrakebabra Tigers 90 Roma St Vincent's 81

Defending their SuperLeague title from the top of the table, the Tralee side had to be fancied but it was not until they beat the two time champions, Mardyke UCC Demons, in a tight semi-final on Saturday afternoon that it became a real possibility.

Once again, they did it the hard way yesterday. The game did not provide the nailbiting finishes of recent years but it had plenty of excitement for the fans. The lead changed no fewer than 12 times and the scores were tied five times in the struggle for supremacy.

Tigers won that struggle in the final quarter when Roy Smallwood and his compatriot from Texas El Paso University (Player/Coach) Chris Craig provided the inspiration, drive and scores to finally put an end to St Vincent's hopes of a fourth title.

"Our team is tough, with a lot of heart," Craig said afterwards. "Some things did not go our way this weekend but we prevailed."

He was reflecting on a final that saw St Vincent's take them to the brink, but Joey Boylan's men could never push them over. And while Kerry All-Ireland football medal winner, Micheal Quirke, insisted it was a team effort that saw them through, there were times when salvation came in the huge shape of MVP Smallwood, who rebounded and made the clutch shots when it really mattered.

Kieran Donaghy did a lot of blue collar work too as Craig drove the game forward when it needed an injection of pace. Luke O'Hea was always threatening from the outside and Quirke, himself, was powerful in defence.

Smallwood had a game-high 31 points contributing one offensive and five defensive rebounds, while the evergreen John Teahan, who captained the side in their last final appearance in 1995, contributed 12 boards. Craig had 10 to augment his 22 points.

O'Hea was also busy at both ends with big Paul Tonkovich always threatening for St Vincent's who, in the end, were best served by home- grown players like their top scorer Peter Madsen, the Donnellys and Stephen McGuirk.

A basket on the buzzer by Teahan gave Tigers a 22-20 lead at the end of a tight and tense first quarter and the lead changed several times before Tigers pulled away to lead 49-42 at half time.

Several players found themselves in foul trouble in the third quarter as St Vincent's battled back to lead 62-60.

"Our guys were a little bit tired and we were in foul trouble," Tralee's Craig said. "The refs called a very honest and fair game."

But Quirke scored a three pointer on the buzzer to put them back on top again, 64-63, going into the fourth quarter.

"We were tired but we gutted it," Craig said. "Then we went on one of our famous Tigers runs and that did it."

"Let's face it, they played some excellent basketball. It was an excellent game," St Vincent's coach, Joey Boylan, said. "The lead changed so many times it was incredible. It must have been great to watch.

"But when they finally came back at us there was little we could do. They got the spurt at just the right time."

Top scorers: Tralee: Roy Smallwood 31, Chris Craig 22, Luke O'Hea 16. Vincent's: Peter Madsen 22, Paulo Tonkovich 18, Stephen McGuirk 16.