WE SIMPLY MUST PLAY ISRAELI TIE
BASKETBALL Ireland chief executive John Feehan says it would be “ruinous” to the women’s international programme not to fulfil the FIBA Eurobasket 2025 qualifier with Israel on Thursday.
There have been calls for Ireland not to go ahead with the rescheduled clash at a neutral venue in Riga due to the ongoing situation in Gaza.
However, Feehan (below) says that not doing so would result in a €180,000 fine and a five-year ban from competing for the Ireland team.
The game was originally due to take place in Israel on November 9 but was postponed due to the conflict in the region.
The Group E game tips off at 4pm and will be streamed by FIBA. “The game has received a high degree of publicity due to the opposition we face on Thursday and the strength of feeling around the fixture,” said Feehan.
“As we have previously stated, we’re all very concerned about events in Gaza and are extremely sympathetic to the dreadful situation that people are having to deal with.
“Basketball Ireland is obliged to play this fixture because the ramifications of not doing so would be ruinous to the women’s international programme, as boycotting these games with Israel would lead to huge fines from FIBA of up to €180,000, along with an effective five-year ban for the team.
“I’d like to praise James Weldon, his staff and the players who’ve had to deal with off-court issues in the lead-up but remain focused on putting in a performance on Thursday as they target a win.”
Weldon has included three uncapped players in the 12-strong squad for the qualifier.
Grace Prenter (top) of Trinity Meteors, who is 17, Ulster University’s Alex Mulligan and The Address UCC Glanmire’s Amy
Dooley are poised to make their senior Ireland debuts.
JOAQUIN NIEMANN higlighted LIV Golf’s long-standing issue with the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR), as the Chilean fell in the ranking list despite winning the LIV Mayakoba title.
Niemann got his hands on his first individual LIV title, as the 25-year-old prevailed in a dramatic four-hole playoff against Sergio Garcia. Niemann who shot an historic 59 in round one - ended the week at 12-under-par alongside Fireballs captain, Garcia.
With the light rapidly falling Mexico, the pair were forced to battle it out via a playoff, and after tying the first three holes, were forced to return to the 18th tee for a fourth time.
By this point Niemann and Garcia (right) were facing off in near-darkness, as the green-side leaderboard lit up the putting surface. The Chilean finally ended the contest after four holes, rolling in an impressive birdie to secure £3million ($4m) in prize money.
Niemann’s win did however once again hone in on the breakaway league’s ongoing issue with the OWGR. Amid its rapid rise in the professional game, the one kink in the LIV Golf armour has been its failure to acquire world ranking points for its 54-hole, no-cut events.
This has seen some of its biggest names tumble in the world rankings, and Niemann felt the effects.
Despite prevailing in Mexico, the Torque GC captain saw his position in
in the rankings fall eight places from 66th to 74th.
For Niemann this has been an ongoing issue, with his place in golf ’s four Majors at stake. Despite being one of the world’s most in-form golfers, the Chilean is only currently eligible to compete in this year’s Open Championship after earning exemption thanks to winning December’s Australian Open.
In his post-tournament interview, Niemann was quick to refer to this issue in the system. Amid all the praise he was heard saying: ‘But, I’m not in the Majors.” Niemann added he ‘hoped’ he had caught the attention of the flagship event’s governing bodies in a bid to an earn an invite, reiterating his goal to become a Major champion.
The Mayakoba champion revealed he used his omission from three of the four flagship tournaments as motivation to get over the line in Mexico. “I think I have a different mindset for this year,” he said. “It kind of hurt me a little bit not being in the Majors and I think also helped me to get motivation to kind of earn my spot back into the Majors, into the elite players.
“I think it helped me a little bit to get focused back, to start working harder, to start working with a purpose. I think it’s paying off, and I just want to keep telling myself that I’m capable of doing this, of winning tournaments, and this is a good way to prove that, and I don’t want to stop working the way I’m doing it. I just want to keep going.”