Ballincollig reach Domino’s MSL National Cup semi-finals with 83-79 victory over Belfast Star

Ballincollig managed to grab a convincing 83-79 victory over Belfast Star on Saturday to make it into the semi-finals of the Domino’s MSL National Cup. 

Latavious Mitchell had a relatively quiet night by his standards with just eight points. But Josh Steel stepped up when he needed to with 25 points, including a lead-taking three with just under 30 seconds remaining after Rapolas Buivydas managed to tie up the game for Star after being down by as much as 22 points during the game. The win for the Cork side sees them into the last four, with the draw taking place at 11am on Monday morning. 

The return of Robert Braswell was a huge boost for Killester; however, it was not enough as Garvey’s Tralee Warriors defeated them 89-75. In a game where there were 11 lead changes, it was the duo of Jordan Perkins and Daniel Jokubaitis that carried quite a bit of the load after combining for 46 points of Tralee’s 89 points. Braswell managed to score 21 for Killester on his return to action, along with three other players in Paul Dick, Josh Wilson and Andrew McGeever, all scoring in double digits. The 2022 champions, Tralee Warriors, continue their hunt for a fourth title as they knock out the current champions, Killester, who will look to the league to bounce back from their third consecutive defeat. 

Joshua Reynolds hit five threes on his way to a 24-point performance for UCD Marian as they overpowered Flexachem KCYMS in an 81-75 win in Kerry on Saturday. Ioannis Liapakis’ men led by as much as 16 during the game, but Killorglin managed to pull themselves back into the game at 69-69 during the fourth quarter, but scores in the final minute from Sean Fitzpatrick and Daniel Conway secured Marian’s progress to the next round in the cup. With their second win this season over Killorglin, UCD Marian remain in the chase to end a 14-year National Cup title drought.

Limerick Celtics managed to get revenge on St. Vincent’s after a Domino’s Men’s Super League defeat just a few weeks ago. Celtics scored a season-high 112 points on their way to a 112-89 victory to enter the final four of the Domino’s MSL National Cup. Celtics came flying out of the blocks with 60 points by halftime on 53% shooting from beyond the three-point arc. AJ Williams managed to drop 34 points in 38 minutes of play, along with a 25-point, 11-rebound performance from Finn Hughes, who continues his fine resurgence of form. William Thomas had a strong showing for Vincent’s, with 23 points on an efficient 11-18 shooting. The win is another notch for the promoted side, after Celtics overcame UCC Demons in the first round recently. 

In the Domino’s WSL National Cup, defending champions FloMAX Liffey Celtics grabbed a big win on Sunday as they defeated Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell 82-80 in Brunell. Liffey had three players within the 20-point range, with Destinee Brusch scoring 24, including the game-sealing free throw, Katie Williamson had 21, and Brooke Kane was just shy with 19, along with 12 boards. The game featured 18 lead changes, with the sides tied on only six occasions. Irish international Edel Thornton led the way for Brunell with 20 points, with Brailyn Joseph and Maddie Clue adding 36 combined points as they suffered their second agonising defeat to Liffey this season after Celtics defeated them by a single point in the Domino's Women's Super League. 

Both Samantha Haiby of Killester and Alyssa Frescas of SETU Waterford Wildcats recorded 30-point games in the matchup of the two sides. Still, Haiby and Killester ultimately prevailed with a 95-75 victory in Waterford on Saturday night. Outside of Haiby, Audrey Roden had a 16-point, 12-rebound double-double along with 22 points from Ieva Bagdanaviciene to ensure the 20-point win. Both sides managed to build double-digit leads, with Wildcats leading by as much as 14, but Killester managed to build a 23-point lead that could not be caught. The four-time champions now advance to the semi-finals in search of a fifth title after defeating a Wildcats side whose 25-year wait for National Cup glory continues after a first-round elimination.

In a rematch of an opening fixture of the Domino’s Women’s Super League season, history repeated itself as Trinity Meteors knocked out McEvoy’s Cavan Eagles in a 67-52 victory for the Dublin side. For Trinity, Irish international Hazel Finn and Kylie Horstmeyer combined for 44 of Meteors’ 67 points to keep their cup run alive as they hunt for their first title since 1996. For Cavan, 15 points from Mazatkan Harris wasn't enough to get them back into the game after they fell behind in the second quarter and couldn’t pry the lead away from Trinity, as Meteors progress to the final four of the competition.

UCC Glanmire were the final side to complete the four-team lineup in the semi-finals as they defeated Midlands Park Portlaoise Panthers 81-53 in Cork. Glanmire saved their biggest lead for the end of the game, as the 28-point gap was the largest of the game. Glanmire did not surrender the lead after the opening quarter, with Viane Cumber leading the way for the Cork side with 24 points. In comparison to Portlaoise, whose leading scorer was Jessica Fressle with 12 points. Portlaoise kept pace with Glanmire in the first quarter, but a 21-9 second quarter in favour of Glanmire, mixed with 5-28 shooting from behind the three-point line, made them lose grip in the game, and they couldn't recover.

All sides in the National Cup Semi-Finals will learn their fate at 11am on Monday, when the draw for all four Domino's National Cups takes place live on basketballireland.tv.