Murphy and Randolph to the fore in wonderful victory
AS the 2020 Pat Duffy National Basketball Cup entered the closing stages of the fourth quarter, it was teetering on a knife-edge. Griffith College, Templeogue – going for their third title in five years – had led the contest throughout the day, having gone into the last three minutes of the final quarter 69-58 in front, inspired by the 33-point haul from MVP, Lorcan Murphy.
What should have been a straightforward, routine sprint to the end, threatened to turn into a photo-finish, as DBS Éanna brought it back to 69-67 with moments left to play.
Just as Templeogue looked like they were about to throw away what seemed to be a comfortable triumph right at the end, up stepped Neil Randolph – brother of Irish international goalkeeper Darren – to snatch a spectacular three-pointer. The shot represented the most important of the eight total points that he scored.
‘It was a bit of a ballsy play, but I am happy that it went in. It was probably the most memorable offensive possession in my career,’ Randolph told the Wicklow People, reflecting on the events.
‘I had missed a couple before that, and I just kept thinking to
Bray’s Lorcan Murphy of Griffith College Templeogue in action against Hillary Netsiyanwa of DBS Eanna during the Hula Hoops Pat Duffy National Cup final between DBS Éanna and Griffith College Templeogue at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght, Dublin. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
myself, ‘stay positive, keep being aggressive.’ I knew that I had the smaller Neil Lynch guarding me,
and then I had the bigger Mark Reynolds switched on to me. I knew I could create space. I said to myself, ‘if I can create space, I can take the shot and live with the consequences.’
‘When I hit the shot and looked around at their supporters and our supporters, looked at my bench, and I could tell that it was a very, very significant shot. They kind of dipped their heads a little bit after that, but they were still in the game. Luckily, James Killeen put the icing on the cake and, when that shot went in, I knew that we definitely had this.
‘Basketball is a crazy sport; we needed to stay focused.’
Spurred on by the Bray native’s heroics, Templeogue romped home to record the 78-68 win over their brave opponents; sealing yet another National Cup title in the process.
Saturday was not the first time that Griffith College and Éanna have crossed paths this season. Back December 7, the two sides crossed paths in the Men’s Super League. On that occasion, it was once again Griffith College whom came out on top, this time 101-87. For Randolph, who was competing in his second National Cup final, experience gained from past matches against DBS, as well as his teammates’ experience in cup finals, is what got them over the line.
‘We knew they were going to come back. We had played earlier in the year and the exact same thing happened; it was a neckand-neck game. They’re ahead of us in the league. They’re an extremely talented team, so we knew that they were going to come back. It was just wondering if we could keep our composure, and
when they did strike back, could we finish it off with our own little run at the end, which we did.
‘That was my second cup final. Lorcan, who was MVP, Jason (Killeen) and Stephen (James), and the other guys; it was, maybe, their third. We have been there before.
‘We know what these kinds of games are like. I think that bit of experience maybe helped us kind of execute our gameplan.’
Despite DBS’ bravery and resolve in fighting back, it would prove to be Templeogue’s day. Between Lorcan Murphy’s MVP display, and Randolph’s exploits when it mattered the most, it was a case of two Bray ballers winning the day.