Ireland bidding to bounce back

IRELAND will bid to bounce back from last week’s two-point defeat by Switzerland against Romania in this afternoon’s European Championship clash at the National Basketball Arena.

Coach Greg Gurr insisted: “We have the potential to turn the narrow loss to Switzerland into a really good result if we can beat Romania. But if we lose this game to Romania it leaves us with a very difficult if not impossible task ahead next year.”

Last weekend they went to with point-seven of a second of a turning around last year’s disastrous defeat to the Swiss. Pat Burke’s last-gasp shot came off the rim after Donnie

McGrath, from the free-throw line, had made it a two-point game with 17 seconds on the clock.

“Our defence was superb,” Gurr continued. “Going into this game the potential of a heavy loss was very real. On Thursday we watched the tape of last season’s loss and I used that as motivation. It was something that just could not be allowed to happen again. We might have tied it and won it in overtime had we been able to put some more points on the board.

“We are going through a blending process now with a number of new faces in the squad but we are getting there. It was never going to happen overnight.”

Romania are literally going to be a pretty tall order.

“In one word they are ‘enormous’ with eight players over 205 centimetres,” he said. “And they have one very good player who plays professionally in Germany. But we must win our home game. If we don’t I think the away game may be just a step too far,” he said pointing out that the ultimate target is a place in the top 16 in Europe. “If you are in the top 16 in Europe you are in the top 20 in the world.”

On Saturday week the senior men will be joined by the senior women in a huge double header at the National Basketball Arena when the men play Cyprus and the women play Holland.

The women get their European championship campaign under way away to Norway this evening and coach Maeve Coleman also expects a close game.

“We are talking about a two-point game or a four-point game,” she said. “And I would gladly settle for a one-point victory.”