Hartas inspires St. Kilian’s German School to All-Ireland Under 16C Boys title

A colossal performance by captain, Sebastian Hartas hauled St. Kilian’s German School to a thrilling 50-49 victory over O’Carolan College in the All-Ireland Under 16C Boys Schools Cup Final in the National Basketball Arena on Thursday.

Hartas made all, but one, of his 17 free throws on his way to a huge 45-point total by the close of proceedings, but while the St. Kilian’s skipper will undoubtedly grab the headlines with his MVP-winning performance, huge credit must also go to the Dublin side’s defence that worked the zone so well in the third quarter to restrict their opponents to five in that period.

O’Carolan College certainly played their part in an enthralling final, their own captain Lukas Pocevicius putting up an impressive 24 points on the day.

But, while they enjoyed both a strong start and finish to this game, they struggled to contain the irrepressible Hartas, who proved lethal in the paint.

It was bucket for bucket throughout the opening three minutes of this contest, after which O’Carolan College began to open up a little breathing room as a result of their intense defending.

Indeed, they capitalised on a number of turnovers with Pocevicius and Daithi McGovern combining for 10 points to leave their side 18-11 up by the end of the first quarter.

Hartas was doing his utmost to keep the Dublin side in contention, the St Kilian’s captain accounting for all 11 of his team’s first-quarter total.

O’Carolan made the early running in the second quarter, Pocevicius and McGovern again getting in to push the Meath team 13 points clear.

But St. Kilian’s were not going away and strung together a five-point run, Hartas proving so efficient from the floor and free-throw line as he took his tally to a stunning 28 points and his team back to within three of their opponents (31-28) by the half-time break.

That narrow gap remained in place for much of the third quarter, Hartas continuing to prove a massive headache for the O’Carolan defence, while Ali Abdelkader also weighed in on the scoring for the Dublin side.

A delightful three from Joris Pintukas saw St Kilian’s take the lead for the first time in the game with just under three minutes to go in the penultimate period, and they continued on to enlarge that advantage to five (41-36) by the end of the third, Hartas’ deadly accuracy showing no sign of abating.

Having managed just five points in the third, O’Carolan needed to find a way of unlocking a St Kilian’s defence that was starting to make the stops and soaking up a lot more under their board.

A superb three and two inside buckets from Pocevicius, together with an Oisin Gilsenan deuce, nudged the Meath team back in front with just over three minutes remaining.

But the lead would swap hands three more times in a gripping finale as Hartas demonstrated ice-cold composure from the free-throw line to clinch a dramatic victory for his team.

“Sebastian was amazing for us today, but the work that all the other boys have put in for us these last few years has been phenomenal. I’m just so proud of them all” said St. Kilian’s head coach, Conor Larkin.

“We only started this schools basketball team almost two years ago to the day and to get to an All-Ireland C Cup Final and win it, it’s just phenomenal” he exclaimed.

Quarter Scores: Q1: 11-18, Q2: 28-31, Q3: 41-36, Q4: 50-49

St. Kilian’s German School:

Ben Richey, Ben Rauch, Joris Pintukas, Barra Muzellec, Ali Abdelkader, Sebastian Hartas (capt), Ricardo Curci, Andy Tauchert, Prosper Andrews, Vojin Djordevic, Alex Collins, Maxim Afonin.

Top Scorers: Sebastian Hartas (45), Joris Pintukas (3), Ali Abdelkader (2).

Head Coach: Conor Larkin

O’Carolan College:

Denas Briedas, Darragh Doggett, Alex Murray, Lukas Pocevicius (capt), Oisin Gilsenan, Mark Boland, Milo Stafford, Daire Lynch, Tadhg Shannon Smith, Daithi McGovern, Darragh Cooney, Eoin Gillespie, Michael Finnegan, Joseph Sheridan, Adam Kelly.

Top Scorers: Lukas Pocevicius (24), Daire Lynch (8), Daithi McGovern (8).

Head Coach: Jonathan Irvin

MVP: Sebastian Hartas (St. Kilian’s German School)