| |
| 24 Nov 2008 |
Under 14's lose out by a single point in tournament semi-final |
This years Under 14 tournament was made up of 12 teams in 4 pools, with only the winner of each pool going through. This meant two wins would be required over our pool opponents Carrigaline and Limerick Cougars.
The Carrigaline game had a 09.00 tip off, and the early start certainly didn't help our sharpness. Neptune got off to a relatively decent start, with Emmet Keohane scoring 4 to help push us into an 11 - 4 lead at the end of the first quarter. Neptune's defense fell asleep in the second quarter and allowed Carrigaline to close to 11 - 10, with Brian Coffin chipping in a couple of lay-ups and an assist for Carrigaline. Brian finished the game as Carrigaline's top scorer with 8. Zach Urbanek steadied the ship for Neptune with 3 free throws and a lay-up to push Neptune ahead again. The first half ended with Neptune ahead 20 - 13. Neptune's defense tightened up in the second half, and 10 players got themselves on the scoresheet as we ran out 42 - 22 winners.
Limerick Cougars were up next. Limerick certainly had no shortage of good athletes, and it looked like this would be a tougher proposition. Solid defense and rebounding though held the Cougars to just 4 first quarter points, and Emmet lead on the offensive end with 10 points in the quarter to give us a 14 - 4 lead. More stout defense from everyone who came in kept Limerick from making any runs to close the gap., and the guys coming off the bench kept the score board ticking over. Eric McCarthy hit consecutive baseline jumpers in the third quarter and Colm Dennehy dropped another long jumper from the other side to put Neptune well in the lead. Emmet finished with 18 as Neptune won 33 - 14.
Ballincollig were marked down as our semi-final opponents after an impressive win in their decisive pool game against Claregalway. Ballincollig had already beaten this Neptune side in the league, albeit we were missing a couple of players, so there was no question that a high quality performance would be needed to advance.
Neptune opened meaning business, scoring off the tip with a fine pass from Evan Lordan to Emmet Keohane for a lay-up. Emmet and Zach combined well in the first half, and the addition of Evan at guard helped to break down the zone that Ballincollig had sat in for the whole league game. Jamie Beadle did a fine job of chasing down Declan Manning, who is the centre of Ballincollig's offense. He was held to just 3 points, and the disruption this caused to their offense meant Neptune lead 8 - 3 at the end of the first quarter. The five point lead should have been much more though, given the number of offenses that ended in one or more missed lay-ups. The game opened out slightly in the second and Ballincollig slowly clawed back into the game. The score was 16 - 13 at the half.
In the third quarter Neptune cranked up the defensive intensity, holding Ballincollig to just 2 points. Zach scored 5 in a big quarter for Neptune and the third period ended with Neptune in front by 26 - 15. In the fourth though Ballincollig turned up the heat and began forcing turnovers and creating scores. Declan Manning broke out, scoring 6, and Cian O'Shea, scoreless to that point, chipped in 6 as well. With Neptune struggling to get off decent shots Ballincollig continued to catch up, and with 10 seconds to go Diarmuid McDonald scored the go-ahead basket for a 30 - 31 Ballincollig win.
The 0 - 0 tie at the start only lasted a few seconds, so added up, Neptune had lead for 23:45 of a 24 minute game, but failure to get a vital stop and secure a couple of rebounds at the end cost us what would have been a well-deserved final appearance. Zach Urbanek was Neptune's top scorer with 14, which was equalled by Declan Manning for Ballincollig.
In the final Moycullen, who had stormed past Fr. Mathews by 49 - 30 in the other semi final, took the trophy with an impressive 42 - 33 win over Ballincollig.
The manner of the defeat certainly leaves the Under 14's looking forward to the next league meeting with Ballincollig and gives plenty to build on for the rest of the year. Thanks to everyone who came up to support the team on the day and helped out with the table officials as well. |
|
|
|
|
More...
New Website
Neptune Nippers Academy tips off for 2009/10
Open Day A Huge Success
Allihies Photographs
Pat Price announced as new Head Coach
Each One Teach One coaching seminar, July 15th - 18th
Photo's from France trip in new Gallery section
Under 14 Clubs All Ireland
Trophé Val d'Europe Team
|
|
