DBS Éanna down Garvey's Tralee Warriors, Tradehouse Central Ballincollig still unbeaten

DBS Éanna got revenge for their InsureMyHouse.ie National Cup semi-final defeat to Garvey’s Tralee Warriors earlier this month, by defeating the Pat Duffy Cup champions 85-75 at Coláiste Éanna in the InsureMyVan.ie Super League.

The home side led at the end of each quarter and had a 16 point cushion going into the final quarter, eventually winning by 10. Stefan Zecevic scored 21 points for DBS Éanna, followed closely by Devin Gilmore, on 20, while Romonn Nelson had 13. Pat Duffy Cup final MVP Daniel Jakubaitis picked up another impressive points tally – 25, followed by Aaron Calixte (17) and Eoin Quigley (11).

 Devin Gilmore scored 20 points for DBS Éanna in their game with Garvey's Tralee Warriors at Coláiste Éanna.

DBS Éanna head coach Darren McGovern was pleased to keep up their momentum in the league, as they remain top of the North Conference. “It was a big focus for us, obviously we knew Garvey's would be coming in here on a high, being Cup champions is fully deserved, but we had a job to do - we want to stay top of our division. We're on a roll, I think it's four or five wins in a row for us in Super League. So that's what you want, you want to be ticking over, we want to be in the position where we can keep building. I said it to the lads afterwards, everything's a building block, we learned four or five good lessons tonight; we weren't capitalising fully on the positions we were in, we allowed Garvey's back into this, and we shouldn't have done that, but that's lessons learned and we're just happy to come out with the win. It's long, another eight to ten weeks of this, so it's whoever's there at the end. We just want to put ourselves into a position to try, just to be there competing. It's a long way to go so we'll just keep battling.”

Tradehouse Central Ballincollig continued their unbeaten league run, with a 90-73 win at Bright DCU Saints. After a tight opening half, which saw Kieran O’Sullivan’s side lead 40-34, they pulled away. Andre Nation topped scoring for the winners, on 24 points, while Keelan Cairns and Padraig Lucey chipped in with 16 and 14 points. Both Jeff Gordan and Kevin Lacey grabbed 19 points apiece for Bright DCU Saints, with Ben Durox on 15.  

Kieran O'Sullivan, Tradehouse Central Ballincollig head coach, was pleased to grind out yet another win. “To be unbeaten to date in the league is testament to the hard work and sacrifice the players have made. Tonight was not our best, but we got balanced scoring with key contributions from centres (Keelan) Cairns and (Padraig) Lucey, while Pau Cami, the Spanish dynamo, gave a terrific performance all through.”

Tradehouse Central Ballincollig head coach Kieran O'Sullivan

UCD Marian overturned a 39-37 half-time deficit to win 81-66 at C&S Neptune. American Jonathan Jean was to the fore in their win, racking up 31 points, while Serbian Srdjan Stojanovic had 15 and Conor Meany scored 13.

UCD Marian’s head coach Josko Srzic said: “It was well deserved win, the guys really pushed themselves to follow the game plan and maintain concentration until the end. I am happy that our younger players, who worked hard during last month to be able to help the team in rotation, were able to step in.”

C&S Neptune’s leading scorers were Miles Washington (12), Richaud Gittens (10) and James Hannigan (10).

NUIG Maree continued their unbeaten home record this season with a  87-77 success over Griffith College Templeogue. Deondre Jackson (20) Luka Krajlic (19) and Lovre Tvrdic (17) played key roles in the win. Two of Griffith College Templeogue’s Ireland internationals Lorcan Murphy and Neil Randolph scored 20 and 12 points respectively, while Darren Townes chipped in with 14 for Mark Keenan’s side.

Charlie Crowley, NUIG Maree head coach, said “Overall, a good win by all. Templeogue are a great side, so to get over the line against them is always a solid performance. We put tonight down to a good team performance. We now shift our focus to Neptune next week. They have got the better of us twice, but we’ll start our work on Monday to prepare for them.”

Killester head coach Brian O’Malley hailed his teams intensity as they won 95-71 at Team 360 Financial Killorglin. Tomas Fernandez Zerolo was in fine form at the basket, scoring 29, while Kason Harrell had 16 and Farouq Raheem 12. The Dublin club managed to restrict Killorglin’s potent American Simon Fransis to 17 points, while Isa Brandon had 11 and Allan Thomas 10 for the home side.

Brian O'Malley said: “It was a good performance from us, particularly in the first half. We had not been good on our travels and wanted to come out with the correct level of intensity, which I felt we did. We had some really good periods of play and then as the game progressed, we had some areas we'd be less pleased about. Plenty for us to work on for next week.”

On Sunday Belfast Star won 79-46 at Moycullen. Adrian Fulton’s side had a 26 point lead by the break, 45-19, and never looked back. Max Cooper picked up 21 points, followed by, Austin Beech (12) and Conor Quinn (11). There were eight points each for Moycullen’s Grant Olsson, Joseph Tummon and Ayberk Taylan

Belfast Star head coach Adrian Fulton highlighted the defensive aspect of their win. “Delighted with the result and also very pleased with our performance. It's as well as we have played defensively this year. We shared the ball well for the most part and knocked some shots down. It gives us something to build on now, as we have a stretch of games at home now. We need to keep winning to keep the pressure on the teams around us.”

In the InsureMyVan.ie Division 1 UCC Demons remain unbeaten, but had to overhaul a 49-39 half-time deficit at WIT Vikings to eventually win 101-95. Tobias Christensen (30) and Tala Fam Thiam 28 posted big figures for the InsureMyHouse.ie Presidents’ Cup winners, followed not far behind by David Lehane’s 22. For WIT Vikings Craig O’Neill top scored with 31 points, however it wasn’t enough to inspire a win on this occasion.

 UCC Demons improved their record to 9-0 in the InsureMyVan.ie Division 1

Drogheda Wolves, who lost out in the Presidents’ Cup final to UCC Demons, responded with two weekend wins, 70-61 at LYIT Donegal on Saturday and 68-41 at Ulster University on Sunday. Jubril Alade was Drogheda Wolves’ top scorer in each game, with 17 and 14 points, while Lucas Walford was second in the scoring both times, on 13 and 11.

Ulster had been due to play twice at the weekend, but their game with Titans on Saturday was postponed.

Limerick Sport Eagles also registered back-to-back weekend wins, they were 94-84 winners over city rivals Limerick Celtics on Friday, followed by a 97-77 win at Killarney Cougars. Manny Peyton was their leading scorer in both games, with 35 points and 27 points, while Jack Coyne scored 14 points in both games. Andre Wolford top scored for Limerick Celtics in Friday’s game, while Rich Dunham notched up 31 for Killarney Cougars in their loss to Limerick Sport Eagles.

Erin Bracken’s Abbey Seals Dublin Lions came from behind to win 76-68 in their Dublin derby at McGowan’s Tolka Rovers and move up to second in the North Conference. They trailed 45-40 at the half-time and 58-57 at the end of the third, before prevailing. Abbey Seals Dublin Lions’ scoring was evenly spread between Finn Hughes 15, Conroy Baltimore 14 and Jack Maguire 14, while Michael Bonaparte picked up 24 points in a losing effort for McGowan’s Tolka Rovers.

EJ Sligo All-Stars picked up a 81-62 win at Grand Hotel Malahide. Keith Jordan Jr. (27) and Zack Powell (23) and Oisin O’Reilly (18) were leading scorers, with Grand Hotel Malahide’s top shooters were Trevor Recio (14), Sean Daly (12), Darragh Timmons and Tariq Guebaili (both 9).

Godwin Boahen (32) and Emiliyan Grudov (24) were instrumental for Scotts Lakers Killarney, as they emerged as 80-72 victors over Fr. Mathews. Jonathan Garcia (29), Diego O’Herlihy (15) and Darko Bucan (11)

Sunday saw IT Carlow Basketball defeat Portlaoise Panthers 63-50 and move to a 7-1 record. Nate Shafer (21), Ben Kelly Flynn (15) and Armands Vaikuls (8) were their leading scorers, while for Portlaoise Panthers they had Davin McEvoy (13), Dylan Dunne (10) and Conor Byrne (9) top their standings.