Ireland U18 men’s head coach announces 24-man squad for Four Nations

Ireland U18 Men’s head coach Niall Berry has selected a 24-man squad for the Four Nations Tournament in April.

Ireland will compete in the competition alongside England, Scotland and Wales in preparation for this summer’s FIBA European Championship.

Five uncapped players are included in the squad. Shooting Guards Brian Malone-Navaro (UCAM Murcia, Spain) and David Dowling (Andrews Osborne Academy, Ohio), Point Guard Matis Ogle (BC Tauras), Phoenix BC forward Fiontan Rogers and 6’6 forward Ebenezer Ehigie (Westtown School, PA) will all appear at the tournament in Wales. 

There are plenty of familiar faces in the squad with Joshua Osayanrhion, Victor Okojie, Jakub (Kuba) Malecki and Declan Gbinigie all returning from Paul Kelleher’s FIBA European Championship squad of a year ago. Irish U17 3x3 internationals Harry Scully and Viktor Tashev also make the grade.

Adam Charles, Luke Seltzer, Darragh Horkan, Charles Marcoullier, Kieran Quinn and James Power step up from the U16 set up, while Finn Walsh, Conor Mac Criosta, Pharrell Osagie, Cillian O’Connell and Gustas Pocevicius also have international experience. 

“I am delighted to announce this extended squad of 24 players on behalf of myself, Emer, Trevor and all the staff of the U18 men’s programme,” said head coach Niall Berry. “We’ve been back and forth with evaluations and we are very confident we have left no stone unturned in our efforts to find the right players to move forward.

This was a challenging decision as we have 10 players for consideration based outside of Ireland and our goal at this time is to find the right balance in working with our Ireland based players and the players who will be joining the squad as we prepare for competition.  We are very excited with the group we have chosen and we are looking forward to preparing a pathway to put the best team on the floor in International competition, starting with the 4-Nations in April

There is always difficult decisions to make and we hope that players who aren’t moving forward will have taken some valuable experiences with them and use the knowledge gained as a catalyst to come back for future programs as so many top Irish International players have done in the past”. 

Ireland U18 Men’s Squad List

Adam Charles (Eanna BC), Cillian O’Connell (Portlaoise Panthers), Conor Mac Críosta (Dundalk Ravens), Darragh Horkan (Limerick Lions), Gustas Pocevicius (Dundalk Ravens), Harry Scully (Dublin Lions), Viktor Tashev (Titans BC), Fortune Igbokwe (Titans BC), Declan Gbinige (Titans BC), Fiontan Rogers (Phoenix Belfast), James Power (UCD Marian), Joshua Osayanrhion (Tralee Magic), Pharell Osagie (Neptune BC), Brian Malone Navaro (UCAM Murcia Junior A – Spain), Matis Ogle (BC Tauras), Luke Seltzer (Pierson High School, NY), David Dowling (Andrews Osborne Academy, Ohio), Ebenezer Ehigie (Westtown School, PA), Stanley Njekwe (Gill St. Bernard’s, NJ), Kieran Quinn (Gill St. Bernard’s, NJ), Jakub (Kuba) Malecki (Gill St. Bernard’s, NJ), Charlie Marcoullier (Christian Brothers Academy, NJ), Victor Okojie (Wesley Christian School, KY), Finn Walsh (Andrews Osborne Academy, Ohio).