Preview: Ballincollig and Garvey's Tralee Warriors target Domino's MSL National Cup success

Garvey’s Tralee Warriors captain Eoin Quigley feels his team go into the Domino’s MSL National Cup final as “underdogs” against Ballincollig, who are currently joint-leaders of Domino’s Men’s Super League. The Kerry club are seeking their second Pat Duffy Cup, having lifted the trophy in 2021/22, a season where they completed the double.

Speaking at the Domino’s National Cup Finals Media Day on Tuesday, Quigley said: “I think we are coming into the game as underdogs, they are top of the league and have beaten us in the league already, we are acutely aware of all of that. It is going to be a big challenge, but we relish the opportunity and on Saturday, hopefully we can show up and bring the game to them.”

It has been a very mixed bag for Garvey’s Tralee Warriors this season. A record of 7-5 in the league, with no real run of wins and losses, has seen the side from the Kingdom struggle with consistency. But in the cup side of things, John Dowling’s men have managed to pull out some big wins on their way to the final in the National Basketball Arena. An opening eight-point victory over Neptune set up a meeting with Killester which saw Tralee run out 14-point winners to set up a semi-final berth with UCD Marian. Tralee would then pull out an 86-74 win in a nail-biter of a game with seven lead changes. Tralee’s duo of Irshaad Hunte and Jordan Perkins have put on huge displays this season with Hunte averaging just short of 21 and Perkins just under 22 points per game.

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Ballincollig, losing finalists in 2023/24 against UCC Demons, are targeting a first ever Domino’s MSL National Cup. They had a 10-game winning run in the league ended at the weekend, edged 86-85 by St. Vincent’s, however Ciaran O’Sullivan’s side have only lost three times all season.

Latavious Mitchell said: “We dropped our very first two, and then we had a meeting as a team and we all got on the same page. We used that to overcome tough moments night in and night out. Not every game was a cushion, we did have a few nail-biters this year but having trust in another guy with the same jersey gave us a way to figure it out.”

A lot of Ballincollig’s success this season has been put down to the strong offensive performances from their “big three” in Latrell Jossell, Josh Steel and Mitchell. Mitchell is eager to pick up silverware in his first season as a pro.

“It’s a nice opportunity for us to win our first Cup, we’re so excited. I have so much excitement inside me to come here (to the National Basketball Arena) to get it done for the first time, put it into the history books and it being my first year as a pro, getting something done, accomplished for myself on a personal note is going to be a great experience being here in Dublin (for the final).”

The Domino's MSL National Cup final tips off at 8pm at the National Basketball Arena on Saturday and is live on TG4 from 7.45pm.