National Cup

Dec 03 2023

Abbey Seals Dublin Lions edge closer to successfully defending InsureMyHouse.ie Division One Cup while UCD Marian battle back to reach InsureMyHouse.ie President’s Cup semi-finals

Abbey Seals Dublin Lions took another step on the road towards successfully defending their InsureMyHouse.ie Division One National Cup after they beat Moy Tolka Rovers 81-60 in Saturday’s quarter-finals, while UCD Marian secured their spot in the last four of the InsureMyHouse.ie President’s Cup after edging out Drogheda Wolves 76-68.

Head Coach Rob White applauded the resilience of his Abbey Seals Dublin Lions team as they secured their place in the penultimate rounds of the InsureMyHouse.ie Division One National Cup at the expense of Moy Tolka Rovers, winning out 81-60 in Carroll Arena on Saturday.

The holders had to battle their way back from 14 points down to secure the victory and preserve their hopes of defending the coveted prize.

“It was a good win for us” said White. “Tolka are a good team and they made us work hard.

“They got off to an amazing run and went up 14-0. We were struggling badly, but Sophia Widmeyer was phenomenal for us with 31 points and Sydney Kin was amazing on rebounds

“The eight other players that we fielded all did something valuable in this game, so we were delighted with them too” he added.

McEvoy’s Cavan Eagles proved too strong for SETU Carlow in their quarter-final match-up, winning out 107-65 in the Virginia Show Centre.

Emilia Sexton and Destiny Robinson spearheaded Cavan’s offence with a combined tally of 63 points while Jahnae Gyles proved Carlow’s most clinical scorer with 27.

Oblate Dynamos carried the winning form they have mustered up in the league over recent weeks into knockout competition on Saturday as they surmounted the challenge of Phoenix Rockets 69-57 in Inchicore.

Lucy Devoy carded 31 points as Limerick Celtics booked their place in this season’s semi-finals at the expense of Templeogue whom they beat 74-64 at Crescent College.

In the InsureMyHouse.ie Presidents’ National Cup quarter-finals, UCD Marian had to battle back from 13 points down in the third quarter to eventually see off Drogheda Wolves 76-68 in UCD Sports Centre.

UCD Head Coach, Ioannis Liapakis was full of praise for the perseverance of his team who confined their opponents to just five free throws over the final quarter as they battled their way to the penultimate rounds.

“We’re very proud and delighted with our performance and the result” he smiled.

“Drogheda went 13 points up, but we tied the game again at the end of the third quarter, and, in the fourth, we did an amazing job defensively as Drogheda didn’t score a single point from free play.

“We’re really excited to reach the semi-finals and we can’t wait to travel down to Cork” he added.

Mater Private Malahide served up a 90-66 defeat to Joels Dublin Lions in Malahide Community School while Moy Tolka Rovers prevailed 109-100 after overtime against Limerick Celtics in Carroll Arena.

InsureMyVan.ie Division One South Conference leaders, SETU Carlow saw their Cup run draw to a close after they lost out 94-85 to Limerick Sport Eagles at Barrow Centre.