Warriors made to work hard for win by Kubs
MEN’S SUPERLEAGUE
MAYBE it was anticipated that Warriors would win this particular contest with a bit to spare given the placings of the respective teams on the League ladder and, ultimately, it was somewhat comfortable for them at the end of a pretty competitive and dogged encounter. However, Warriors were pushed all the way by a side who came within eight points of the unbeaten League leaders Templeogue, and produced on this occasion an extremely competitive performance that certainly didn’t reflect their standing in the table.
Definitely, not a vintage performance from the home side, but it was sufficient to ensure their fourth win on the spin, and their tenth overall in the season to date.
Warriors started brightly with Kieran Donaghy neatly opening the back door twice for Goran Pantovic to net the first two baskets, and with Pantovic being extremely effective on the offensive board grabbing some hard earned rebounds, the locals looked to be the more accomplished combination, but it wasn’t reflected on the scoreboard given the level and averages of their scoring efforts and returns which were well below par.
However, a hat trick of three point scores from the resourceful and prolific Trae Pemberton meant that they held a marginal advantage (19-17) at the end of the first quarter with the impressive Kevin Foley having contributed nine points to Kubs tally.
The second quarter largely followed the trend of the first, being somewhat fragmented and disjointed with scores at a premium for periods, and, really, it was the heart-warming endeavours of Donaghy which kept Warriors in front, but, at the half time break, the contest was still delicately poised with Warriors enjoying just a slender six-point lead (30-24).
A brace of baskets from Brian Edwards narrowed the gap to just two within minutes of the restart, but, a response which yielded vital baskets from Donaghy and Trae Pemberton meant that Warriors had re-established a seven point lead (38-31) inside four minutes.
However, with American Brian Edwards being fouled out of the game, with his fifth foul being a technical call it provided Warriors with the opportunity to essentially put the game beyond reach.
Certainly, his departure was hugely significant, and, it meant that the pendulum had swung firmly in favour of Warriors, but, they couldn’t capitalise, with Conor James, Kevin Foley and Stephen Ingle, all netting threes to reduce the deficit to just three (47-44) going into the fourth and final quarter.
With Warriors struggling to negotiate a route through a Kubs defensive formation which at times was a mixture of zone and man to man, and, Kevin Foley continuing to exert an influence in offensive situations, the visitors matched the locals stride for stride, and were still very much in touch, being, just five adrift (53-48) with six minutes remaining.
Momentarily, it looked as if Kubs might well achieve what would have been considered a surprising result, but the input of Darren O’Sullivan who produced some vital plays at a critical juncture allied to a succession of baskets from Donaghy and Pemberton, both of whom were central figures in their sides success eventually put the game beyond reach.
Overall, it was a performance which, only intermittently scaled any real heights, but, it was sufficient to achieve the desired result. The win keeps Warriors in joint third spot but they have played a game more than UCD Marian and two more than Killester, who are just below them. So there’s still an awful lot to play for and a lot of issues to be decided before the final placings are decided.
Coach Mark Bernsen certainly wasn’t pleased with some aspects of his side’s performance, but ultimately the result was what was most important of all.
“We have had better performances, and we have had worse performances. They made life tough for us, and we made life tough for ourselves tonight. We had bad match ups at times and we didn’t perform really as well as we should. Defensively, I don’t think it was a situation where they stopped anything, we just didn’t finish at the rim very well. We got the ball down low, we drove the ball low to the rim, and we didn’t finish.
“But if we can have bad games and get the job done, then we can work on it from there. We had some individuals do well at times, but it’s a game where you have to be consistent you can’t turn off, turn on. You have to be consistent throughout the game and we weren’t that at all.
“Bottom line, it’s a win. I would play ugly and poorly and win over a great loss any day, so we will work away, and we will be ready to go up to Tallaght next Saturday.”