Kilkenny stun St Mary’s on bright Summers’ day

Kilkenny created history accounting for St Mary’s Castleisland in the senior men’s National Cup semi-final at Neptune Stadium.

The Kerry side were highly fancied to advance to the final but they came up against a stubborn Kilkenny unit that led 37-34 at the break.

St Mary’s went into the game minus the influential Declan Cahill and struggled for long periods to guard Kilkenny’s American, Puff Summers, who finished with an impressive 27 points.

It was nip and tuck in the final quarter but a stunning late three- pointer from Summers gave Kilkenny an unlikely 73-72 win. The final buzzer was greeted with euphoria by the Kilkenny players and supporters with coach Declan Brett praising his teams effort.

“Many people thought we were coming to Cork for a bus ride but in our hearts we knew with the preparations made in the build-up, we would trouble St Mary’s,” Brett said.

Titans of Galway are the other finalists following their emphatic 89-62 win over UCD Marian.

This result was never in doubt as the westerners laid the foundation for their win when commanding a healthy 19-point interval lead.