The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Warriors beat Killorglin in Castleisland Blitz final
THE St Mary’s Christmas blitz 2016 will be remembered as one of the finest in the events 47-year history with full houses every day, top class action, superb skill, tears of joy and heartache, and an ultimate feel good factor of a job well done. St Mary’s Chairman Maurice Casey could scarcely wipe the smile off his face as he described how happy he was with how the blitz went.
“We couldn’t ask for a better five days,” he said. “The basketball was top class from day one to day five I was so impressed with the standard overall, especially at national schools level. The quality of coaching that is going on is certainly paying dividends and it augurs so well for the future of basketball in the county. Teams like Currow , Scartaglin, Gneevguilla, I could name many more - they were superb.”
Casey also felt that the addition of Superleague teams like Garveys Tralee Warriors, Griffith Swords Thunder and UL Eagles gave the Premier Men competition an extra edge. “It’s fantastic to see Tralee going so well in the Super League,” he said. “They have great support and along with the other Premier Men teams they really brought some colour to the blitz.”
The Premier Men’s competition was run off on the Wednesday. Superleague powers Garveys Tralee Warriors and Griffith Swords Thunder played a thrilling semi-final with the Tralee side scraping over the line with a 43-41 victory to secure a final spot. Two from the free throw line by Alex Calvexe with 25 seconds on the clock left Thunder in the driving seat, but Trae Pemberton drilled a sublime three-pointer with 5.2 seconds on the buzzer to force overtime. Pemberton again emerged as the hero when he landed a two after a pass from Kieran Donaghy. Pemberton was fouled while shooting and he also secured the bonus point from the line to secure a two-point victory for the Warriors to the delight of the huge crowd.
Warriors Superleague experience, and the brilliance of young Ryan Leonard, proved too much for Keanes SuperValu Killorglin in the final. Tralee led by 5 at half time, 31-26, but a second half purple patch pushed the warriors 12 points ahead,48-36 with just five minutes left on the clock. Damon Jones, with a game high 18 points, and Declan Wall, kept plugging away for Killorglin but Kieran Donaghy and the imperious MVP Leonard had just too much for the SuperValu challenge and Tralee Warriors waltzed to victory on a final scoreline of 55-45.
The Senior Ladies final was contested between Cork’s finest Brunell and Fr Mathews, and it
took 2 periods of overtime to decide the game. After an absorbing contest Brunell pushed 5 points ahead with just 1.34 left on the clock but a three-pointer from Fr Mathews Danielle O’Riordan along with a basket from Amanda O’Regan tied the game and took it into the first overtime. Brunell pushed 6 ahead, but Fr Mathews showed never say die spirit to pull back once more, and Suzie Large scored the all important equalizer on the buzzer to tie the game 31-31 and take the contest into the second period of overtime. O’Regan with five points kept Fr Mathews in touch but MVP Amy Murphy scored 2 on the bounce for Brunell to tie the game 36-36, and Alex Macheta sank two free throws with five seconds on the buzzer to win the game for Brunell 38-36.
The Division One men’s contest saw St Mary’s U-20s take on KCYMS with the Killorglin outfit proving too strong for their young opponents winning on a scoreline of 37-15. At half time there was only two points in the game 15-13 but St Mary’s only scored a solitary basket in the second half as KCYMS dominated proceedings. Eoin O’Sullivan 9 and MVP Saulius Marcinkevicius with 10, top scored for Killorglin while Alex Fleming hit 6 for St Mary’s.
Elsewhere, Waterville went down by one point 18-17 to a strong Cordal United team in the Division 2 men’s decider in spite of an MVP performance and 10 points from the great John Teahan for Waterville. Teahan scored 7 on the bounce to drag his team back into the game in the second half but it was the Philip Griffin inspired Cordal that held out for a one point victory in the finish.
The St Mary’s Division 2 ladies defeated Currow on an 18-12 scoreline with Irish underage international Rebecca Ryan scoring 7 points and deservedly winning the MVP award after powering her team forward throughout.
Tournament director Donal O’Connor said: “I think it was a great blitz and it is always worth the hard work when you see the crowds and see how well everything has fallen into place.”
It is estimated that in excess of 13,000 patrons visited the tournament this year.
Presentations were made to retired principals Cait Daly, Scoil Ide Curranes, and Denis Griffin, BNS, for their dedication to the blitz during their time as principals.
A special presentation was also made to club chairman Maurice Casey. Maurice has been chair for the past five years and he was highly complimented on his success and popularity as both chairman and club member and for also for the ongoing work he does for the club. Maurice’s wife Michelle was also presented with a bouquet of flowers.