Sweet revenge as Ollies scoop All-Ireland title
ST OLIVER’S CC COLAISTE EINDE 61 44
REVENGE was certainly sweet for St Oliver’s Community College as they emerged emphatic winners from this Under-16 ‘B’ All-Ireland Schools League decider at the National Basketball Arena last week.
While Galway opponents Colaiste Einde were hoping to scoop two All-Ireland titles this year St Oliver’s had drastically different ideas and from the start they took the reins of the game with a fast-paced, driving offense and a tenacious defense.
These two sides are no strangers to each other this season, having previously met in the Subway Schools Cup semi-final which Colaiste Einde won, and that was certainly a motivating factor for a well-drilled and in-form St Oliver’s side.
Superb displays from Wede Esajobar, Clinton Ofodile and Josh Ola for the Drogheda outfit sent them into the lead early on, as they chipped in some great scores to build a 10-point cushion (17-7) at the end of the first quarter.
They kept control in the second, limiting Colaiste Einde to just seven points, as they extended their lead, with Ofodile, Esajobar and Ola all increasing their tallies.
Another influential figure at this stage was Zain Timajo who worked brilliantly on defense to make some vital interceptions and the St Oliver’s lead had grown to 16 at half-time, with the scoreboard reading 30-14.
Colaiste Einde weren’t done, and they settled more into the game in the third quarter. Malik Thiam had a huge quarter, bagging eight points for the Galway team, while James Parnell, Ben O’Sullivan and James Webb were also prominent. Again, captain Ofodile, Mark Alao and Ola responded well at the other end, and St Oliver’s managed to stretch their lead back out as the clock ticked down - 4830 going into the last.
Time was not on Colaiste Einde’s side as the fourth quarter got under way, with St Oliver’s laying down a marker with six quick points from Timajo, Ofadile and Esajobar.
Thiam, Webb and Parnell continued to work hard at the other end, but the mountain was just too big to climb and St Oliver’s were crowned deserving All-Ireland League champions, following on from the St Mary’s DS Under-19s who won the ‘B’ title 12 months ago.
Fittingly, St Oliver’s captain Ofodile was named Most Valuable Player, leading by example from start to finish, and for coach Michael Friel there’s a sense of satisfaction at finally bringing a National title back to Drogheda.
‘I’ve been teaching in St Oliver’s for eight years now, so it took a little longer than I had anticipated to win the all-Ireland, but it’s great for the kids and for the school to finally get over the line!’ he said.
‘We have lost five all-Ireland semi-finals between the cup and the league in the last three years, so it was a great relief to win in our first final appearance. It speaks of our students’ strong character and resilience to keep going after it and keep picking themselves back up after heartbreaking defeats this year and previous years.
‘It has been my goal since starting in St Oliver’s to win the all-Ireland and to compete with the best basketball schools in the country. Winning the final at Under-16 was massive for us, but winning it so convincingly is a sign of things to come from this group.
‘Our players are young and full of potential and I believe over the next few years we will compete with top schools in the ‘A’ division.’ ST OLIVER’S DROGHEDA: Muhammad Saod, Zein Timajo 11pts, Wede Esjabor 19, Clinto Ofodile 15, Joshua Ola 8, Mark Alao 8, Damien Dooley, Emmanuel Ezumah, Brandon Barry, Adam Rooney, Sean Murray, Domantas Paulauskas, Graham Kingabor, Ciaran Nugent, Ibraham Alaga, Abiola Ibiyemi.