There was double delight for Irish basketball today as the Ireland senior men’s and women’s teams drove home to victory in their respective FIBA European Championship for Small Countries group games.
The men’s team pipped Andorra to a semi-final spot this afternoon, as they ran out 63-56 point winners in their final group clash in San Marino. It wasn’t an easy victory for the Irish, despite leading 34-16 at half time, as a late, late comeback from Andorra saw the gap closed back to two points with just over a minute to go. Ireland pulled through though thanks to captain Ciaran Roe, who performed excellently in the dying stages to see them through to Saturday’s semi-final.
Big performances from Jordan Blount, Taiwo Badmus and Lorcan Murphy were the highlights for the Irish, with Blount having a 15-point first quarter to gain Ireland a comfortable cushion, and Badmus, Murphy and Travis Black chipped in with big scores throughout to keep them leading well, 52-34, going into the last.
It was the fourth and final quarter though where it got very nervy for the Irish though. Momentum swung in favour of Andorra early on, as some big scores from their talisman Guillem Colom closed the gap somewhat. They then went on a run of unanswered scores to bring Ireland’s lead right down to two points, and the Irish went from cruising comfortably to under severe pressure. An intense, final two minutes followed, but Roe settled the nerves adding two vital points from the free throw line followed by a clutch drive to the basket to secure the victory - and a semi final spot - for Ireland, 63-56.
In Cork meanwhile, Mark Scannell and the senior women’s team had the crowd in full voice at the Mardyke Arena UCC as they ran out winners over Cyprus, 73-54, in brilliant fashion. In what was the team’s final group game, the Irish stood tall on their home court despite coming off the back of two tough defeats against Norway and Luxembourg earlier in the week.
A huge team display saw many stand out stars for the Irish, with Sarah Woods, Fiona O’Dwyer, Aine McKenna, Claire Rockall and Grainne Dwyer all sharing a big spread of the scoring, while huge defense from Amy Waters of local club Brunell was one of the big highlights for the home crowd.
A tough opening quarter saw nothing between the sides, as they matched each other score for score, before Ireland took a slender two-point lead to the bench (16-14). Tough defense and some great ball movement saw Ireland begin to hit their stride in the second, with Sarah Woods dazzling and Claire Rockall and Fiona O’Dwyer putting up some big scores. A huge buzzer beater from Woods at the end of the quarter sent the team into the dressing room on a high, leading 32-26.
Momentum stayed with the Irish in the early stages of the third, and despite the threat of Eleni Oikonomidou and Petra Orlovic for Cyprus, Ireland continued to stand strong and led the way 48-39 going into the last. A huge 25-point quarter from the Irish followed, with Edel Thornton and Sorcha Tiernan both chipping in with scores and ‘olé, olé, olé’ was a welcome sound ringing out around the Mardyke as Ireland closed out the game to win 73-54 in the end.
