Mercy hoping for final flourish

WHEN Montenotte Hotel Cork and DCU Mercy clash in the final of the Women’s Superleague National Cup on Sunday week, fans will be hoping for another classic. Last year’s semi-final went to double overtime before the champions came out on top, winning a third successive cup title.

It was a fourth successive semi-final defeat for Mercy and coach, Mark Ingle had little difficulty recalling a day of bitter disappointment after the Dublin side qualified for this year’s final with a hard-earned victory over UL at Neptune Stadium on Sunday.

“This was a real big hurdle for us because we have lost four semi-finals in a row,” he admitted. “It is not always just about the basketball. Sometimes it is a little bit of mental strength, making the right decision at the right time and toughing it out. We probably lost one of the best basketball games ever seen in this country in double overtime last year. We felt that, after playing so well and being in control, it was still basket for basket but they made the great shots to win the game.”