KILLESTER GO DOUBLE TOPS
■Killester 75 Waterford 50 DECLAN KING reports
KILLESTER once again showed their mettle as they made it a double and three trophies in less than a year and a half as they saw off SETU Wildcats 75-50 in the Champions Trophy final at the National Basketball arena.
Mark Grennell’s Killester came out with all guns blazing and went into a 24-6 lead in the first quarter thanks to sterling performances from Claire Melia, Mimi Clarke, Keke Walters, and Jiselle Thomas.
Leilani Turner notched back to back baskets as Clarke, Thomas, Melia and Ieva Bagdana vicienne continued to dominate the game and they went into the break 48-18 up despite the best efforts of Sarah and Kate Hickey and Deegan. Whatever Tommy O’Mahony said to his players during the break it certainly seemed to work as Kate Hickey and Maria Sanroma Gomez brought the score back to 19 points.
Grennell steadied the ship in the fourth as Keke Walters and Melia dominated the boards.
Wildcats’ excellent American Johnson picked up her fifth foul midway through the quarter and it was over as a contest as Grennell ran his bench for the remainder of the game.
Delighted
After the game, Grennell who was delighted with his team:
“It was a great performance and it was almost perfection in the first half.
“They came back at us in the third quarter and brought it back to 29 but we got ourselves sorted and ran our bench.”
MVP Claire Mealy was quick to praise her team mates: “I am really thrilled for Mimi (Clarke) and the Grennell Family,,
“It was also great for our younger players to get a good run on the big stage.”