Majestic St Mary’s in a class of their own

Day two of the Subway Schools All-Ireland Cup finals produced another series of thrilling games at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght yesterday.

The showpiece of the day saw the much-anticipated clash between St Mary’s Diocesan School, Drogheda and Coláiste an Phiarsaigh, Glanmire in the U19B Boys final, with the former winning well in the end, 64-45.

St Mary’s, boasting the services of Cormac and Pádraig McGroggan, Josh Coleman and Pádraig Nulty, were a formidable outfit while Cian Heaphy was the driving force for the Cork team.

Pádraig McGroggan was the star for St Mary’s, picking off some superb three-pointers to bag himself 29 points in total.

A fantastic display from FG Neptune star Cian Heaphy saw him shoot his way to 30 points for the Cork team, and also pulling off some fantastic blocks and rebounds to keep his side in touch.

It was a blistering second quarter performance that did all the damage though, as St Mary’s outscored Glanmire 25-7 to drive into a strong position or the second half.

Larkin Community College and Blackrock College were first on court in the Under-19 C Boys final, serving up an absolutely nerve-wracking final that saw a blistering second half end in nail-biting fashion, with Blackrock just edging it by four on 49-45 scoreline.

MVP Seán Lardner was the spark for an energetic Blackrock display, showing superb skills and ably supported by Roberto Brusasca, Rhys Hennessy and Rob Somers. Despite the best efforts of Larkin’s Jiahui Ren, they eked out a small lead which they clung fiercely onto until the final buzzer.

St Joseph’s, Charlestown stormed to an 11-point victory as they won the U19 C Girls final against Coláiste Ide an Daingean 36-25.

MVP Kellee Crean netted 16 points and had numerous assists as her team were crowned champions winners.

Next up was the U16 C Girls, with Castlerea Community School and Holy Child, Killiney and they brought a thrilling game to to overtime, with a basket from Castlerea’s Sandra Keane levelling the game at 36 apiece with just under six seconds on the clock.

That basket from Keane was just one of many crucial scores netted by the MVP in what was an absolutely superb decider, Castlerea eventually winning 45-40. Just one point separated them at half time, a draw going into the fourth quarter and level at the last buzzer, but Keane and Lisa O’Rourke showed their composure and held on to win in overtime.

The action continues today.