Heartbreak for EJ All Stars as cup dream ends in Tallaght
THE remarkable Cup journey of EJ Sligo All- Stars came to a heartbreaking end on Saturday in Tallaght. Shane O’Meara’s young side battled right to the end against a momentous challenge from their opponents, BFG Neptune.
Fora team only formed at the start of the season, to reach the Hula Hoops President’s Cup final was a feat in itself for the Sligo side, who were without Cian Lally and Aidan O’Shea through injury.
BFG Neptune secured theirsecond National Cup of the weekend as they were victorious 97- 85 in a team effort overEJ Sligo All- Stars in the Hula Hoops President’s Cup Final. Neptune were lead by theirtalisman Sean Jenkins who finished with 32 points, along with Gary Walsh who made 5 three pointers at crucial times.
The game started off at a very fast pace with both teams getting scores in the opening thirty seconds. As it usually tends to be for teams that play in the Arena, it took a few minutes forthe nerves to settle forboth Neptune and AllStars. Sligo’s Oisin O’Reilly and theirAmerican, Kaylim Noel both got scores early while Gary Walsh made a bright start forNeptune. Noel began to turn up the intensity, showcasing his ability to drive at the defence and pull up forthree. Neptune’s Sean Jenkins made a statement of his intent by scoring 8 points in just four minutes on the court. Adam Drummond of Neptune made a three just before the buzzerto reduce Sligo’s lead to eight at the end of Q1; 21- 29.
Noel made another three to start the second quarter as well as he finished the first. Both Neptune and Sligo exchanged scores during the opening minutes of the second quarter. Noel made his fourth three of the half to give Sligo a ten point lead but after a couple of scores, Neptune’s American, Tanner Brooks, made a three to bring the lead down to four. Neptune scored another three to bring the lead to two in the last minute of the quarter. It was looking like Sligo All- Stars would lead going into the break until Neptune’s Gary Walsh made a huge three from half court to tie up the game; 49- 49.
Sean Jenkins scored a three at the beginning of the second half to give Neptune the lead for the first time since the first quarter. Neptune coach Paul Kelleher must have had some words of wisdom for the men from Cork as they built up a seven point lead, causing Sligo coach Shane O’Meara to call a timeout in an attempt to settle his players. Neptune began to build a lead and they had big shots from Sean Jenkins and Tanner Brooks. Brooks made a huge block to keep Neptune’s lead at 7 heading into the final quarter; 74- 67.
Lovely link- up play from Neptune’s Shane Duggan and Sean Jenkins lead to them keeping their lead. Luke McLoughlin made a layup on the fast break under immense pressure from the Neptune defence to claw at the Corkmen’s lead. Neptune began to build up an advantage again and it was the man of the hour, Sean Jenkins who made it his responsibility to get big- time scores.
The last couple of minutes were as tense as could be. Jenkins scored with 1: 40 left on the clock to put Neptune up 9. Neptune began to play with the clock until Gary Walsh made his fifth three pointer of the game to put Neptune up 10. Sligo tried to get back in the game but time was not on their side as Neptune secured their second cup of the weekend, winning 97- 85.
It was a valiant effort from the Sligo men, who showed their level of class and the future looks bright for basketball in Sligo. EJ Sligo All Stars: Oisin O’Reilly*( 15), Kaylim Noel*( 31), Philip Hamilton*( 2), Ronan McGarrity*( 17), Tobi Brockmann*( 10), Julian Jarmolowicz, Mark Chambers, Luke McLoughlin ( 6), Peter Papik ( 2), Lee Sherlock, Emmet Keogh, Conor Byrne ( 2). BFG Neptune: Gary Walsh*( 23), Adam Drummond*( 8), Tanner Brooks*( 14), Shane Duggan*( 6), Darren Cronin*( 1), Stephen Sheehan, Sean Jenkins ( 32), David Murray ( 6), Conor O’Sullivan, Adam Heaphy, Liam Chandler ( 2). HT: BFGNeptune49- 49EJSligoAll- Stars MVP: Sean Jenkins ( BFG Neptune).