Glanmire on brink of greatness

TEAM Montenotte Hotel Cork will go down in the history books as one of the great teams in Irish basketball if they succeed in winning their third women’s National Cup in-a-row on Sunday.

To achieve that distinction they must defeat last year’s beaten finalists, Bausch and Lomb Wildcats from Waterford, and coach Mark Scannell is well aware of how difficult that is going to be.

Last year defiant Wildcats took the Glanmire team to the very edge before going under 78-77 points to 77 in a thriller and Scannell is prepared for more of the same.

“We are going for three-in-a-row and that has never been done before,” he said. “Wildcats are a very dangerous team, especially in the cup.

“They brought us all the way to the wire last year and I have no doubt, from a television point of view, people will be delighted to see it going down to the wire again this year.

“But we have been there, done that and that stands for a lot when it comes to the big games — experience is everything. I know we won’t be found wanting on Sunday.

“This team will go down in the history books as one of the great teams in Irish basketball. You talk about Lee Strand, Blarney, Wildcats and UL down the years but I think the amount of silverware this team has won and the consistency they brought to the table over the last three or four years is sensational.”

Team Montenotte Hotel Cork have had runaway wins this season but some of their games have been thrillers. The cup semi-final, for instance, went to double overtime before they beat DCU Mercy by a single point. It all helped underline their fighting spirit.

“They have created that little niche for themselves — they are hard to beat — they are very calm under pressure which is a big tribute to the team,” said Scannell. “They don’t panic and that’s the key.”

The coach bought in a bunch of young players who had come through Glanmire’s under-age programme when he took over four years ago. They had a very talented player in Denise Walsh and signed Michelle Fahy and Sinead Leahy to add experience to the side.

“We were raw in some ways but there was a lot of talent there,” Scannell recalled. “I was lucky to inherit a great bunch of girls. With the 18’s and 20’s doing so well over the last few years we have had a lot of good young players coming through.”

They lost to UL last weekend in the SuperLeague but Scannell admitted you cannot expect to go through the season without losing a game.

“I did not make a big deal of it. I thought the girls were very tired after two overtime games. We needed a rest. You can’t make every match a cup final.”

Wildcats’ coach, Tony Hehir, knows all about three-in-a-row pressure. He failed to achieve it with UL Aughinish although they came back to win three cups in all.

Michelle Aspell goes into Sunday’s final with a slight knee injury and, along with American Melanie Thomas, the highest scorer in the women’s SuperLeague, she will inspire the remainder of the team — six of whom are under-20 with two under-18.

“Team Montenotte had a very convincing win when we met in November and they are the team to beat ,” said Hehir. “But we want to win the cup. I’m sure the neutral viewer was enthralled by last season’s final but our concern is to win first and foremost.”

Experienced cup campaigner, Jillian Hayes, who missed last weekend’s win over Tolka Rovers, returns for Wildcats.