Griffith College Éanna win first InsureMyVan.ie Super League title

Griffith College Éanna won their first ever InsureMyVan.ie Super League title, thanks to a 93-61 win over Pyrobel Killester in the final at the National Basketball Arena.

They led from start to finish in this contest, establishing a 10 point advantage at the end of the first quarter, 31-21, Sean Jenkins and Josh Wilson making excellent starts with 14 and 12 points respectively.

 Sean Jenkins in action for Griffith College Éanna

Kason Harrell closed the gap to five points with three and a half minutes to go in the second quarter. Griffith College Éanna kicked on in the closing stages of the second quarter, three’s from Kristijan Andabaca and Matthew McClain, either side of Gregorio Adon put back for Killester, had them 42-33 up with two minutes to go. MVP Jenkins then downed a beauty from long range to get the Éanna support off their feet, they were ahead 45-33 at that stage and would hold a 49-33 lead by half-time. 

 Paul Dick defends a Killester attack 

Paul Dick started with third quarter with five points to help close the gap to 51-40 two minutes in. But it looked to be Griffith College Éanna’s day with everything seeming to land, including Stefan Desnica’s shotclock buzzer beater with four minutes to go in the quarter, which put them 59-42 up. They were 23 points ahead by the end of the third quarter, a fast break and layup from Josh Wilson made it 69-46.

What's head coach Jonny Grennell saying to turn around this deficit in the 4️⃣th?

Griffith College Éanna lead by 23pts with 10 minutes on the clock. #LeagueFinals24 | #IrishBasketball pic.twitter.com/nXI4zdC2Qy

— Basketball Ireland (@BballIrl) April 14, 2024

Pyrobel Killester suffered a blow when Paul Dick bowed out early in the fourth quarter after he picked up his fifth foul, they were 70-48 down at that stage. Éanna’s shooting was exemplary, Matthew McClain’s three was followed by another long range one from Jenkins, to put them 82-50 up by the midpoint of the quarter and they’d close it out to win 93-61.

"I can't believe it, I am sort of lost for words. Consistency was probably the reason why we've won it. We've been here, we've practiced really hard, consistently really hard over the last 10-15 weeks. Credit to the players, they were absolutely exceptional today, every task, every defensive assignment I just thought they were unbelievable and credit where credit is due."

"I think we were 50% from the three point line at half-time and that was a big factor in us having that lead and I thought we also started attacking the rim a bit better in the second half. But yeah, we've got guys who can shoot that ball, so credit to them, they've worked hard all year, shooting sessions they come in and take it seriously, they don't go in and mess around, I just can't thank them enough."

"On a first Super League title for the club, McGovern added: "This is what we've been working for, whether it was this (Super League) or the Cup, I didn't really care which one it was, as long as we got something in the door. We won our Division One the first year we were there, but we needed to kick on and win one of the big one's and to be honest this is probably the bettter one, because it is harder to win."

- Darren McGovern, Griffith College Éanna Head Coach

Never get in the way of a team trying to celebrate with the crowd 💀#LeagueFinals24 | #IrishBasketball pic.twitter.com/cYttzHoIHg

— Basketball Ireland (@BballIrl) April 14, 2024

Griffith College Éanna 93-61 Pyrobel Killester

Quarter Scores: Q1: 21-31, Q2: 49-33, Q3: 69-46, Q4: 93-61

Griffith College Éanna:

Cathal O’Sullivan, Romonn Nelson, Mark Reynolds, Viktor Lovic, Kristijan Andabaca, Stefan Desnica, Neil Lynch, Sean Jenkins, Joshua Wilson, Matthew McClain, James Gormley, Nathan Comerford

Head Coach: Darren McGovern  

Top Scorers: Sean Jenkins 24, Joshua Wilson 18, Matthew McClain 17

Pyrobel Killester:

Andrew McGeever, Jobst Knief, Alan Casey, Paul Dick, Troy Simons, Gregorio Adon, Farouq Raheem, Ciaran Roe, Yanis Lahgazi, Kason Harrell, Tomas Fernandez Zerolo, Eoghan Kiernan

Head Coach: Jonny Grennell      

Top Scorers: Kason Harrell 14, Gregorio Adon 13, Paul Dick and Troy Simons (both 9)