Gunslinger O'Leary clinches U20 victory for Demons
InsureMyHouse.ie Under 20 Men's National Cup Final, National Basketball Arena, Dublin 22/1/2023
JACK O’Leary provided Blue Demons’ ice-cool head and hands when they sensationally pipped Tolka Rovers 76-73 at the death to win the men's U20 Cup title and the ultimate redemption after last year’s narrow final loss to Marian.
A frenetic game dominated by fast breaks and rebounding threatened to explode at times and even included a delay when the shot-clock malfunctioned.
But it ultimately came down to a pure battle of nerves at the death and O’Leary’s was just immense.
He wasn’t Demon’s top-scorer – that was powerful centre and brilliant rebounder Jake Orgi (16) – but he shot 10 of his 15 points in the final quarter and the ones that mattered most were his final six, all from the free-throw line, in the final minute.
Tolka’s exceptional point-guard Elijah Faapito, top-scorer on 22, had earlier given an exhibition of no-look passing and scoring in an always tight game that looked to be just drifting from the Cork teenagers when they trailed by six with less than two minutes left.
Then Colin Hannigan threw them a lifeline with his second three of the game and, with both sides on team fouls, it became a straight shoot-out from the line.
O’Leary slotted two to trail 72-73 and when Demons forced themselves back to the line again his next two gave them a one-point lead with 36 seconds remaining.
Then a frankly baffling ‘unsportsmanlike foul’ call on Orji (who was on the ground tussling for a ball) put Tolka’s star centre Brian Curran to the line but he missed both.
A brilliant block by Orji on the Dubliners’ subsequent possession helped put Demon's brilliant gun-slinger back on the line again with three seconds left and he slotted both with an assassin’s finish to spark off raucous celebrations among Demons’ big contingent of travelling fans.
He provided the bullets and also pulled 16 rebounds (14 defensive) but Demons also had heroes in co-captain Matthew McCarthy, (14 points), topscorer Orji (16) and Issac Eroutteh (8).
Tolka led by four at the end of the first quarter (20-24) and a point at half-time (36-37) but Ben Horgan provided some timely threes to keep the Cork side level (54-54) at the start of the last quarter Hannigan gave Demons only their first lead of the game after half-time and it took some marvellous scores from McCarthy and O’Leary to keep them in the game at times but the heartbreak of last year’s loss meant they just wouldn’t quit and O’Leary truly led by example.
There was no underage double delight for Cork though as Dublin’s Meteors beat Singleton Supervalu Brunell 70-53 in the women’s U18 decider, despite the best efforts of Rebecca Sexton (14 points and 13 rebounds), Ava Walshe (12 points), Saoirse Breen (10) and captain Issy McSweeney (9).
Rachel Lynch also chipped in eight points and 13 rebounds but Brunell’s three-pointers just refused to drop (five of 22).
Meteors were also a lot taller and stronger under the boards and their point guard captain Grace Prenter racked up 30 points, eight rebounds and and five steals to bag the MVP. They were 31-23 up at half-time but pulled away to a 55-32 lead even before the final quarter.
Elsewhere UCD Marian, led by MVP Antonio Castillo (25), Colm O’Reilly (19) and Conor Meany (17), beat all-Lithuanian side Leixlip Zalgiris 83-58 in the men’s Intermediate final.
UCC Demons 76 (J Orji 16, J O’Leary 15, M McCarthy 14, B Horgan 11).
Tolka Rovers 73 (E Faapito 22, B Curran 16, E Testa Farrelly 12, S Badejo 10).
Meteors Meteors 70 (G Prenter 30,A Moran 15, A Ryan 10).
Singleton Supervalu Brunell 53 (R Sexton 14, A Walshe 12, S Breen 10, I McSweeney 9).
UCD Marian 83 (A Castillo 25, C O’Reilly 19, C Meany 17).
Leixlip Zalgiris 58 (M Kaspervicius 17, A Statkus 12, K Damulevicius 8).
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