Ciaran O’Sullivan hails team effort on 'special' night for Ballincollig
TEAM EFFORT: Ciaran O'Sullivan celebrates a score during the Domino’s MSL National Cup final. Pic: Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile.
A shooting exhibition beyond belief by Ballincollig’s American Lattrell Jossell ensured Ballincollig were crowned Pat Duffy Men’s National Cup champions for the first time when easily disposing of Tralee Warriors at the National basketball arena on Saturday.
Jossell finished with 31 points of which 24 came outside the paint as the American deservedly was named as the game’s MVP.
This was probably one of the finest shooting performances ever witnessed at basketball headquarters as the winners made an amazing 16 three pointers over the four quarters.
Speaking after the game the joyous Ballincollig player coach Ciaran O’Sullivan praised the performance of his team.
“I thought Demons' cup successes against Killester in 2014 under Doug Leichner was a clinical shooting display but I suppose this evening will be remembered by all at Ballincollig as a very special one,” he said.
In typical O’Sullivan fashion he praised all his squad for their contributions.
“We had somebody scoring all the time and that’s great after Latrell Jossell’s opening quarter display the lads continued to step it up one after the other at different periods.”
For the Ballincollig American Latavious Mitchell this was a momentous occasion winning his first championship.
Mitchell said: “I just think we have great balance within the professionals as we all live together and get on well off court which is crucial.
“This is my first year out of college as I was a late developer, but I couldn’t have asked to come to a better city or club, and you can see the joy among the fans which gives me great satisfaction.”
As a team Ballincollig were fine-tuned and the Warriors found themselves chasing the game almost from tip off.
It looked as if both sides were tentative in the opening exchanges until the Warriors' American Irshad Hunte nailed a jumper in the second minute.
Credit to Ballincollig, they refused to panic, and Keelan Cairns drained a huge three-pointer on their next possession.
The Cork side now looked to be settling and when Latrell Jossell shot outside the paint it was followed by a similar shot from Josh Steel.
In fairness the Warriors refused to panic and with Ballincollig raining three pointers in the opening five minutes they trailed 20-10.
Amazingly Jossell shot six three pointers in the opening seven minutes as the Warriors were on the ropes when trailing by 13 points.
It wasn’t that the Warriors were playing poorly, it's just that Ballincollig’s shooting was off the charts, shooting 10 three pointers in eight minutes.
Leading 34-20 entering the second quarter, Ballincollig reintroduced American Latavious Mitchell who was sat down when committing his second foul in the fifth minute.
The three pointers continued to rain down on Tralee and in the 12th minute they had made 13 of their 18 attempts outside the paint that saw them surge into a 44-22 lead.
As this quarter matured the warriors defence improved and midway through this period they had reduced the deficit to 17 points 44-27.
Strangely, Ballincollig’s scoring avalanche had dried up but player-coach Ciaran O’Sullivan ended the drought with a stunning shot outside the arc in the 16th minute.
On each occasion that the Warriors threatened a revival, Ballincollig consistently responded and with 1.10 remaining to the interval they still commanded a 20 point lead 57-37.
In the closing possessions various rotations were used by both sides but Ballincollig remained in pole position at the break with a 21 point cushion 61-40.
On the restart the Warriors increased the tempo, outscoring Ballincollig 6-2 in the opening minute.
Suddenly Ballincollig looked tentative, but Adrian O’Sullivan eased the pressure with a crucial three-pointer.
Midway through the quarter, Ballincollig led by 18 points and the Warriors needed big scoring to the end of this period.
The Warriors battled like Trojans, but they simply couldn’t handle the pressure Ballincollig put on them and with three minutes remaining they still trailed by 20 points.
The contribution of Josh Steel in defence was immense as he nullified the threat of Jordan Perkins, who only had 12 points to his name in 30 minutes of basketball.
Coming down the stretch, the power of Mitchell was evident as despite a brave Warriors performance, they simply couldn’t match the brilliance of Ballincollig.
L Jossell 31, L Mitchell 20 J Steel 19, K Cairns 12.
I Hunte 22, J Perkins 14, P Fleming 14.
A O’Sullivan, J Steel, L Jossell, D O’Herlihy, A Rodriguez, C O’Sullivan, R O’Sullivan, C Blount, L O’Sullivan, D Corkery, L Mitchell, K Cairns.
I Hunte, J Perkins, O Michalczuk, J Friel, J Fernane, D Bowler, K Crowe, P Fleming, D Jokubaitis, S Bowler, C Sullivan, E Quigley.
E Perry (Dublin), M Nazimek (Dublin), L Cassidy (Dublin).
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
