Wolves eye cup triumph
DROGHEDA WOLVES CORK BLUE DEMONS 96 89
LAST year’s beaten finalists Drogheda Wolves have made it through to the last eight of this year’s NICC Cup competition after a thrilling win over Cork’s fancied Blue Demons at St Joseph’s CBS on Saturday last.
With team captain Ciaran McGroggan out due to an injury and Under-18 international Denzel Ebose ineligible, the team was running light on some of its regular picks, but the existence of a large panel meant there were players ready to step up and not only fight to win the game but put a stake in the ground for a first pick for future games.
The entire team certainly stepped up to the plate as six different players scored in double-digits to help sink a Cork team who just never gave up.
Steven Safo led the way with 20 points, while sharpshooting guards Padraig McGroggan and Rafa Martinez each helped themselves to 16.
The team also put on another impressive three-point shooting display which saw them connect on 13 attempts
39 points.
Wolves were out of the traps really fast with a trio of three-pointers from Nerius Saltonas and Padraig McGroggan in the first two minutes and they led by 13 points after only seven minutes.
However, Blue Demons cut the deficit to seven by the end of the first quarter and remarkably reached half-time with a single-point lead - 47-46.
Wolves made a slight push in the third quarter, at the end of which it was they who led by one - 71-70 - thanks largely to the outside shooting of McGroggan, Martinez and the Saltonas.
This hot shooting from the Wolves’ guards, complemented by the inside presence of Safo, Patryk Kopek and Padraig Nulty, meant that with two minutes to go the home team still led by a single point.
The intensity and tension was felt by both teams as a player from each got fouled out, but a couple of three-pointers in succession Rob Sullivan put some distance between the teams and this time Demons had no answer as the home side ran out seven-point winners.
The quarter-finals, semis and for a whopping final will be played in the National Arena in Tallaght on the weekend of February 8th and 9th and once again Wolves will be looking to go all the way.
In their maiden campaign at this level last year Wolves knocked out tournament favourites Leixlip Zalgiris in the semis but then lost to Glasnevin in the decider.
Meanwhile, in the North East League, Wolves Team A overpowered the visiting Navan Cougars 128-54 later the same day, registering what is surely a new club record of 28 three-pointers in that one game. The result put them clear at the top of the table.
Both last weekend’s results extended the Wolves winning streak to a remarkable 12 games in Northern Ireland, North East and NICC tournaments combined since October 26th of last year.
Coach Gerald Kennedy praised the hard-working effort of his squad but remained vigilant that the team would have to remain focused and not get too complacent.
Wolves are still in the hunt in all six competitions this season and that is a huge challenge as injuries mount and the fixtures list piles up.
Next up for the Wolves is a semi-final tie against Tyrone Towers in the BNI Cup on Saturday at 5pm in St Joseph’s.
•Jack Carroll and Diarmuid Waldron from the Wolves Under-16 B team have been selected for North
East Knights and will be flying off on a trip to Spain in June. •Drogheda Wolves’ Under-18 girls stormed to a 77-25 away win over Newry Fliers last Friday evening.
The Boynesiders were up and running early to amass a 22-6 lead as Kate Kelly got nine of her 17-point total in the first quarter.
Baskets continued to flow as Ava Briscoe, Ciara Ni Criosta, MVP Ome Esajobor and Zeina Khattab all hit double figures to help increase the lead to 64-19 after three quarters.
There was no let-up in the final period and Ava Russell, Zoe Gardiner and Abby Rice all contributed to the scoring in the latter stages and Ellie Riggs was to the fore.