National League

Apr 10 2025

Preview: Domino's Men's Division One Final 2025

The Domino’s Men’s Division One Final pits the two most complete teams in the league against one another for the third time this season, with the ultimate prize of promotion on the line.

Limerick Celtics have come out on top on both previous occasions they faced ND Audit Portlaoise Panthers, most notably a 72-60 success when both sides met as unbeaten teams in the Presidents’ National Cup Final at the National Basketball Arena in January.

It took a fourth quarter flourish to get the job done through and with both teams priding themselves on their defence, another tight encounter is expected on Saturday at 8pm on basketballireland.tv from the National Basketball Arena.

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“We’ve been looking forward to this rematch since losing in the cup,” said ND Audit Portlaoise Panthers forward Xabi Arriaga ahead of the game. “We knew that if we made it to the championship game, it would be against Limerick Celtics.”

On what they can do to change the outcome, Arriaga is preaching a closer attention to two players defensively.

“I think we know that we need to focus more on Finn (Hughes) and Ariyon (Williams) – they’ve been the best players in the league for them - but also having Abdul (Wurie) and Chima (Obikwelu) as the big guys, it makes it a very tough matchup. We will definitely be doing something differently though because we lost the last two games against them so we have to.”

“We’ve definitely gotten better (since the loss to Limerick Celtics three months ago), we’re playing better basketball offensively and defensively, so hopefully that will lead to a different outcome on Saturday night.”

ND Audit Portlaoise Panthers Xabi Arriaga ahead of the Domino's Men's Division One Final.

Both clubs are known as great family environments, something reflected immediately by Limerick Celtics Abdul Wurie. “It’s my first finals in a long time, so I’m really looking forward to it. My family are coming over from London to watch, which makes it even more exciting for me.”

Prior to the men taking the court, Limerick Celtis women will compete for the Domino’s Women’s Division One title. Wurie is proud of what the club have been able to achieve in both competitions this season.

“It’s been a special season for both the men and women’s team,” said Wurie. “It’d be crazy if both teams could reach the Super League next season.”

One of the most exciting offenses in Irish basketball this year, Limerick Celtics have been near impossible to stop for the majority of sides, averaging 98 points per game with a league high offensive efficiency rating of 109.5. Ariyon Williams, Finn Hughes and Wurie have struck up a great connection, but what does he put that chemistry down to?

“We train every day so just knowing what one another is going to do, knowing that we are all going to work hard on both ends of the floor and just getting on with one another outside of the court too. It really helps.”

“We’re 2-0 against Portlaoise this season,” emphasises Wurie when asked about their opponents on Saturday. We won’t be getting carried away though. We know what we have to do and just how hard we’ll need to work defensively if we want to take the win for the Limerick Celtic fans. The whole community has been great all season so looking forward to hearing their support again one more time.”

Path to the final

Panthers have made it by Maigh Cuilinn 82-73 and survived a late fightback against Moy Tolka Rovers to reach this point with a 97-94 success in St. Mary’s Hall having secured the number one seed in the North Conference during the regular season.

Limerick Celtics finished the regular season with a 21-1 record, giving them the one seed in the South Conference, before home wins over Drogheda Wolves 112-71 and Ulster University 73-65 to get to this stage.

WuriePreview

 Limerick Celtics Abdul Wurie poses with the Domino's Men's Division One trophy.

Key Players

Eric Anderson earned Domino’s Men’s Division One First Team All-Star honours following a standout season that has seen him post 21.3 points per game alongside 9.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists. Anderson is active defensively too and holds his own from behind the arc, shooting 43.6% from three on the season.

Ariyon Williams will be in the running for Domino’s Men’s Division One MVP when it comes up for discussion, averaging 28 points per game and 7 assists per game with a 29.1 efficiency rating during an outstanding campaign. His quickness off the dribbling makes him difficult to match up with and he has been the standout player alongside Finn Hughes offensively.