All-Ireland success for super St Mary’s
ST MARY’S DS 64 GLANMIRE 45
A STAR-STUDDED cast of players lined out on the court of the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght last Tuesday afternoon for the hugely anticipated Under-19 B Subway All-Ireland Schools Cup decider where St Mary’s DS proved strongest against Coláiste an Phiarsaigh Glanmire.
The Drogheda outfit had a strong line-up and Cormac and Padraig McGroggan, Josh Coleman and Padraig Nulty all proved to be key players in their win over the Cork side, with Padraig McGroggan picking off some superb three-pointers to bag himself 29 points in total.
However, a fantastic display from BFG Neptune star Cian Heaphy at the other end saw him net 30 points for the Cork team, and he pulled off some fantastic blocks and rebounds on the boards to keep his side well in it throughout.
A tight and competitive first quarter saw the sides stay neck in neck, as Coleman showed his skill on the drive by netting six early points for the Drogheda team, while Heaphy and Jack O Cionnaith were on hand to net some big scores for Glanmire to give them a 12-11 lead.
The second quarter was where a lot of the damage was done by St Mary’s, though, as they hit 25 points to Glanmire’s 7, with Padraig McGroggan, Nulty and Coleman bagging all of the baskets to send them into a comfortable 36-19 half-time lead.
Glanmire came back into it in the third quarter, out-scoring the Drogheda team by three in the end, but the second-quarter hammering was still being felt as a deficit of 14 points (48-34) stil haunted them going into the last period.
Padraig McGroggan kept a steady hand on the helm of the St Mary’s offense as the fourth quarter got under way, and good scoring from Canaan Tsabary, Shane O’Connor, Nulty and McGroggan kept them in the lead to win comfortably - by a 19-point margin - after an incredible match which showed how much promising young talent is out there in Irish basketball.