Bowdler on fire, but still no joy for Ireland

Germany 80 Ireland 71

Bowdler, an ex-Atlanta Hawks player, hit 26 points, continuing the rich vein of form he showed against England on Monday night.

However, it wasn’t enough as Ireland failed to get to grips with German guard Mithat Demirel, the fulcrum of an impressive German team.

The defeat now leaves Ireland with an uphill struggle to qualify for the European Championships, needing to win three of their last four games, two of which are in the Balkans next week.

Ireland were behind from the start, always chasing the game after Ademola Okalaja put the Germans ahead from the tip-off. Germany were in charge of the first quarter, Ireland unable to handle Demierel’s ball-handling or incisive attacking skills.

With Okulaja finding his range, Ireland relied on Bowdler to keep them in the game.

The forward scored six points in the first quarter, and was ably assisted by Dan Callaghan. But Ireland still found themselves trailing at the end of the quarter, 23-13.

The second quarter continued the trend. Ireland were only in control when Demirel was off the court, but even then, the handling from some of their players let them down.

Jay Larranga impressed under the boards, with seven defensive rebounds, as did Dan Callaghan. But, only in the third quarter, did the Irish find any sort of rhythm to their play.

With Bowlder and Callaghan driving them forward, Ireland managed to close the gap to three points at one stage. However, Demirel returned to the court to stamp his authority on the game once again. And Ireland lost the advantage.

By the start of the fourth quarter, Ireland were fighting a nine-point deficit and their cause looked all but lost. However, a wonderful three-pointer from Glen Skunda brought them to within six points of the Germans and set up a grandstand finale.

However, Germany, through Pesic and Nikagbaste, pushed another wedge between the teams to leave Ireland with a lot to do in the Balkans next week.

GERMANY: Demirel 10, Okulaja 17, Schultz, Pesic 11, Tomic 9, Willoughey 2,Garris 5, Arigbabu 9, Femerling 13, Nikagbaste 4.

IRELAND: Bowdler 26, Fulton, Sealy, Conlon 5, Larranga 8, Kennedy 6, Leahy, Callaghan 11, Sekunda 15.

England, meanwhile, have had some bright moments in recent years of European Championship qualifying but last night’s 97-39 defeat in Coventry against Italy was truly one of its darkest hours.

No-one gave the home side a chance against the 1997 European champions and it took just 13 minutes to see why.

After staying close at 21-15 with Andy Betts scoring on a baseline jump-shot at the first quarter buzzer, Italy exploded.

Less than three minutes into the second quarter the Azzurri led by 14 points.

By the time Benetton Treviso star Massimo Bulleri had sunk a long jump-shot as time expired in the first half Italy led 51-23 and the game was over.

The visitors buried England not only with their three-point shooting, but with their fast breaks and their hustling off the ball.

England, who rely so heavily on Betts, had just three people on the scoresheet at the interval with Betts leading the way.

The Greek-based centre had a game high of 14 points at that stage while Italy, a reflection of their superb team play, already had all 10 of their players in the scorebook.

Another indication of how easy it had been was that guard Gianmarco Pozzetto patted coach Carlo Recalcati playfully on the cheek as he was substituted shortly before half-time.

Italy had six players in double figures by the end, led by centre Robert Chiacig’s 17 points. The team also made 12 of their 26 three-point attempts. Betts finished with 16 points to lead England.

England are now in serious danger of relegation after this humiliating defeat as they travel to play Slovenia on Saturday before returning to face the Czech Republic in a must-win game as they fight to beat the drop.