Neptune outlast game Kestrels to book place in final

BFG Neptune 92 Kestrels (Portlarlington) 79: BFG Neptune qualified for the final of the President’s National Cup with a hard-earned win over Portarlington side Kestrels at Neptune Stadium last night.

It was a game Neptune were expected to win in a canter, but Kestrels put it up to them and, after a competitive opening quarter, the home side led 25-24.

On the restart, the trend of the game continued in the same manner with Americans Tanner Brooks of Neptune and Kestrels Christopher Teasley ensuring the sides were level at 48 points each at the break.

The home side had impressive performances from Sean Jenkins and David Murray in this period and a late basket from the latter ensured they surged into a 10-point lead entering the final quarter.

Coming down the stretch, Neptune wore down their opponents with fast break basketball and, afterwards, coach Paul Kelleher praised his team’s resilience.

“I don’t think it was one of our best performances, but we still had enough in the tank to get the business done,” said Kelleher.

“This is a massive weekend for our club and now we must ensure our under-18 and 20 teams complete the treble of finalists for our club.”

BFG Neptune:

G Walsh, S Sheehan, A Drummond, T Brooks, S Jenkins, D Murray, B O’Neill, S Duggan, C O’Sullivan, D Cronin, A Heaphy, L Chandler.

Kestrels:

C Foster, L Guinan, A Whelan, D Dunne, G Mitchell, M Vilmas, D Debosz, D Stankevicius, C Teasley, T Gwaizdauskas, J Gormley, K Timofejevas.

Referees:

Maurice Thornhill (Cork), Louise O’Toole (Waterford).