Basketball round-up: Mixed results for Ballincollig while Waterford Wildcats get revenge on Liffey Celtics
HANG TIME: UCC Demons' Patrick Robinson is tackled by Irish Guide Dogs Ballincollig @MTU Quashawn Lane during the Men's Super League at the Mardyke Arena. Picture: Eddie O'Hare
Just three weeks after being convincingly beaten in the cup semi-final by Liffey Celtics, Waterford Wildcats got their revenge with their biggest win of the year.
Wildcats struggled in the Cup game with a slow start, but that wasn’t a problem this time in Kildare as Helena Rohan got them off to a good start and they never looked back. Rohan’s contribution for me was an x-factor as she scored a season high of 12 points.
Waterford are sometimes too reliant on just four players offensively so when they get that extra contribution it makes them incredibly tough to stop. Liffey will do their own post mortem after their second straight loss, but they likely won’t have to look too far as once again their offense got stuck in the mud.
Alex Navarette was nursing a hand injury as she was limited to just two points, but Celtics offensive problems went beyond that. Overall, it’s a major win for Wildcats as they now are two games clear of the chasing pack.
The reward isn’t quite the same as previous years as the league is decided by a playoff rather than the table at the end of the season, despite that Wildcats will still be buoyant as they build towards the playoffs.
In another cup semi-final repeat, St Paul’s also overturned their recent loss to Killester with a big win in Dublin.
Alex Wittinger and Gracen Kerr were again a powerful duo combining for 41 points as St Paul’s came from as many as 11 down to win by four. Killester will be disappointed by their fourth quarter in particular as they managed just nine points at home and the absence of influential Ieva Bagdanaviciene was definitely noticeable.
St Paul’s are currently outside of the playoffs in ninth place but with Wittinger and Kerr they have the ability to push into the playoff spots and be a handful for teams.
Meteors road troubles have been well documented this year and they looked like they were in for more issues as they trailed 25-8 after the first quarter.
Meteors started to grow into the game in the second quarter before condensation caused the game to be abandoned, giving an important win to Meteors who now sit just one game behind 2nd place.
The other big game of the weekend was on Friday night as Edel Thornton inspired Brunell to a come from behind win over Glanmire. With the league format as it is, and the rare parity in the league, the playoffs are building to be can’t miss games.
Predicting who will come out on top is impossible at this point, and for the first time in years it could be one of as many as six or seven teams.
Ballincollig managed to top Killester in MTU on Saturday night in the Dublin side’s first loss since early October.
Without Paul Dick, Killester are slightly more containable, and Ballincollig did an excellent job on that particularly as they limited Kason Harell and Isiah Dasher both below 20 points.
Killester will be disappointed with the loss and know they have more tough battles to come especially if Dick is out for a few weeks. Monday away to Killorglin will be a tricky test.
Ballincollig couldn’t follow that Killester win up in the Cork derby on Sunday against Demons as they lost 102-85. Demons to their credit got another double-header win after narrowly overcoming Maree on Friday night.
Demons were criticized for a lack of consistency last year and to be fair to them they’ve successfully addressed it this year as they sit just one game off top spot.
Coming into the weekend, I expected Star to likely split their games, what nobody would have predicted was which game they’d win and lose.
On Saturday night their season looked in peril as they dropped a road game to Templeogue in the Arena 92-84. Despite being without Max Cooper they had more than enough ammunition to beat the Dubliners but they never got going.
A loss on Sunday would have been devastating for them after that, but in fairness to them, they responded well with a big 109-100 win over a Tralee team who had won easily against Vincent’s the night before.
De’Ondre Jackson hadn’t really lit up the league since his return, but his old club Tralee brought out the best in him as he scored a season-high 37 in the win. If Jackson clicks into gear Star are dangerous but the biggest thing they need now is consistency.
Sligo almost got drawn into a relegation battle but a strong second-half performance lifted them over St Vincent’s on Sunday. Sligo, who are shorthanded due to some injuries, were beaten at home by UCD Marian on Saturday and suddenly found themselves drifting from the playoff pack.
A loss to Vincents would have seen just one game between the teams, but Sligo fans will be grateful for Robert Montgomery’s 30-point performance as he dragged them to victory and back into playoff contention. With Templeogue beating Star, it looks increasingly likely that Maree’s points deduction has doomed them and only a remarkable run can save them.
Templeogue face UCD Marian on Monday and then next week Vincents and Templeogue clash in what could be a critical game for both teams’ survival hopes. Vincents were unfortunate to miss Charlie Coombes this weekend due to the loss of his father and he will be a big addition back in.
Vincent’s changed one of their Americans Sam Henderson who had 23 points for Templeogue over the weekend. New signing Isiah Gaiter is still getting used to Irish basketball so if Henderson returns to haunt Vincents it will be a very interesting storyline.
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