Preview: Pat Duffy National Cup Final Four

The race to become the 40^th team to lift the Pat Duffy National Cup will be cut to two this weekend as the final four, UCC Demons, EJ Sligo All-Stars, Killester BC and Griffith College Éanna collide at Neptune Stadium.

Holders UCC Demons are no strangers to National Cup repeats. If they manage the feat this season, it will mark the third time the club has held the prestigious silverware for successive campaigns (2002/03, 03/04, 2013/14, 2014/15), a record not lost on head coach Danny O’Mahony: “It’s a goal of this group every year to be playing for trophies. The club is rich in history when it comes to National Cup having won it eight times previously and this group tasted the champagne last year, so we definitely want that feeling again.”

Standing in their way on Saturday afternoon at 14:30 on basketballireland.tv are a team aspiring for a shot at etching their name on the Pat Duffy National Cup for the very first time. “This weekend is huge for our club,” said EJ Sligo All-Stars head coach Shane O’Meara. “We've never been to this stage of the competition and it obviously brings huge excitement for the team and club members. The game is growing year on year in Sligo and reaching the final would be amazing.”

The solitary meeting between the teams in the Men’s Super League this year ended in a 99-92 win for Sligo on the road in Cork, however O’Meara believes that the Leesiders record in the competition should give them the favourites tag. “We are fully aware that Demons are cup specialists and bring all the experience and tradition to the clash,” he added. “We will be massive underdogs in many people's eyes, but that brings its own benefits.”

That sentiment isn’t denied by the defending champions, but they are under no illusions on the test that lies ahead of them. “Sligo will prove a difficult having beat us earlier in the season,” concluded O’Mahony. “They have a wide spread of scoring so we will need to be at our best to get back to the final at the National Basketball Arena next weekend.”

The second semi-final is a Dublin derby between Killester and Griffith College Éanna that’s sure to bring some intensity to the cool air of Cork’s northside on Saturday night. 

Five times champions Killester are in the midst of a 13 game unbeaten run in league and cup this season, last tasting defeat in the middle of October. Kason Harrell is proving electric in his second year with the club, while Irish international Paul Dick has been able to find some of his best form to provide a potent one, two punch for the orange and black. 

A special weekend for the club will see their women’s team compete just hours earlier in the final four of the Paudie O’Connor National Cup, while they also send teams to the later stages of the U20 men’s, NICC men’s and Irish Wheelchair Association National Cups. 

“A lot of hard work goes in behind the scenes from the committee and volunteers to get us to this point,” said Killester head coach Jonny Grennell. “We would love to repay their faith and advance to the finals, but there's a lot of other clubs who have made it this far, put in the same work and want that place in the decider.”

When it comes to the game itself, Grennell is expecting a very tight tussle with the side who defeated them to win the Men’s Super League last April. “From my perspective,  we have a really difficult task in getting past Éanna. Over the past five years they've shown themselves to be the best team in the country, constantly winning big games with their intelligence, skill and fight. We know the task in front of us and league records certainly go out the window this weekend, but we've built up the confidence over the past three months to get the job done.” 

Griffith College Éanna retain six of the roster which reached the final of this competition two years ago and come into the game having won three of their last four in the Men’s Super League.

“We had two excellent performances in the previous rounds against Belfast Star and Killorglin just to get here, so I am really hoping we can draw on that consistency to give us a good chance of staying in the game,” said head coach Darren McGovern.

“Killester are on red hot form and probably go in as favourites based off their that. They play an excellent, entertaining style with a ferrous defence led by experienced players and quality coaches. If we can get into some early rhythm, I will be expecting us to be in with a fight come the end of the game.”

One thing McGovern does not want to be doing is chasing the game. Killester have scored over 100-points in four of their last five outings. “Playing catch up will be difficult, but I have the faith we will be ready on the night,” added McGovern. With the experience of players such as Neil Lynch and Mark Reynolds in their ranks, it’s unlikely that the Rathfarnham side will be going into this one undercooked.