Fulton purring after Quinn has Star shining bright at the top
AIDAN Quinn was hailed by Belfast Star coach Adrian Fulton following his crucial role in Saturday night’s 91-71 victory over Dublin Lions at La Salle.
Star remain joint top of the All Ireland Superleague with three other sides and will head confidently into this weekend’s mouth- watering c l as h with co-leaders Neptune brimming after all 12 players contributed to the win over the Lions.
Irish i nternational Quinn, who missed all of last season, had been struggling to find the basket throughout the game as American Ben Marello kept the scoreboard ticking over — particularly in the first half.
But, as the Dubliner closed the gap in the final quarter to seven points, Quinn found his range and slotted home eight straight points to effectively give Star full control of the game once again.
“Leading by 20 at half-time, I wanted us to put them away in the third quarter but we didn’t and credit to Lions because they focused their defence more on Ben and my son CJ which had an effect,” said coach Fulton. “Things got a bit tight but then Aidan Quinn dropped a three and his confidence soared and he was terrific down the stretch.
“We all know the ability Aidan has but having been out for a full season through injury I think he has maybe been trying too hard and forcing things which is only natural. He showed real character with the way he kept going for his opportunities even though it hadn’t been going well for him.
“There’s no doubt that, defensively and offensively, Aidan can be a big player for us this season and I hope that after this performance he can play with more freedom and keep contributing the way we know he can.
“Overall it was a very good performance and it was pleasing for me to be able to use my whole bench because the guys who don’t get that many minutes are training just as hard as the starting guys.”
The next fortnight is going to be highly significant for Star’s season as they travel to Cork for the league clash with Neptune and then entertain another co-leader, Eanna in the NationalCup quarter-finals the following Saturday night.