Titans BC defeat Maree to reach Domino’s Men’s Division One Final

Titans BC grabbed another upset victory, defeating Maree 80-55 to reach the Domino’s Men’s Division One final. Umar Rachid was the standout for Titans, scoring 23 points and getting 13 rebounds for Titans. Declan Gbinigie and Fortune Igbokwe put on good showings as a supporting cast, scoring a combined 30 points and totalling 26 rebounds between the pair. Maree’s Isaiah Taylor and Rinor Dragusha had 39 points together out of Maree’s 55 in the defeat.

Titans made it a fairly comprehensive victory from the opening period, allowing just six points from Maree in the first quarter in a strong defensive showing. The second quarter is where Titans offensive quality shone through, with Rachid getting 10 of his points in the second and bringing Titans in at half-time with a 24-point advantage.

Maree went on a run midway through the third to reduce the deficit, cutting the lead to 18 after three quarters with the score at 53-35 heading into the fourth. Titans players got on the scoresheet across the board in the final quarter, with six different scorers in the final minutes giving them a 27-point quarter to secure the win and book their spot in the National Basketball Arena in two weeks.

Limerick Sport Eagles will await Titans in the final, after defeating Drogheda Wolves 88-64 in what was billed as a MD1 National Cup final rematch. Alex Carlisle shone the brightest when it mattered for Eagles, scoring 38 points, accompanied by a season-high 16 points from Sean Ryan in the triumph. For Wolves, it was the duo of Vernon Jackson and David Oputa that tried to keep their hopes alive, combining for 30 of their points in the loss.

Wolves started the brighter of the two sides, with Jackson and Oputa both having their highest scoring quarters of the game come in the first. It was a rough start from Eagles, shooting 4-14 from the field in the opening period, finding themselves behind 17-11 at the end of the first. But Eagles responded in a major way, with Carlisle scoring 15 points in the second quarter, going 3-4 from three as Eagles scored 33 points in the second to take a commanding 15-point lead into the half-time interval.

Carlisle would hit another pair of threes in the next quarter as Eagles momentum seemed to be relentless, winning the third with 28 points to Wolves’ 12. Carlisle capped off what was a sensational performance from three with two more in the final quarter to end the day 7-9 from beyond the three-point line and send Eagles through the Domino’s Division One Final.

Limerick Celtics made it back-to-back Domino's Women's Division One Playoff finals appearances, defeating Limerick Sport Huskies 82-70 in their derby semi-final at Crescent College on Saturday. It was one of the more hard-fought fixtures of the weekend with the lead changing eight times during the game. Sidney Richards continued to lead Celtics with a 21-point showing, Irish U18 international Laura Buckley continued her stellar shooting form, going 4-5 from three on her way to 18 points and Sabhbh Edwards Murphy posted a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double. For Huskies, Clara Gomez left it all on the floor, scoring 32 points and getting 14 rebounds, with Orlaith Woods getting 10 boards with her 15-point showing.

Both sides traded blows early on, with very little separating them in an electric atmosphere in Crescent College. Celtics edged the first quarter and led 20-17 after one. Huskies responded well in the second, with Gomez scoring 12 of their 19 points to give them what they thought would be a one-point lead at half-time. However, Irish U18 international Meabh Purtill managed to secure an offensive rebound and score the putback on the buzzer to give Celtics a 37-36 lead at half-time.

After the break, both sides came out with shooting struggles, with Huskies shooting 2-14 in the third quarter and Celtics a slightly more positive 6-17 from the field. Edwards Murphy had a strong third quarter, scoring half of her points tally in the third alone. As did Amy Buckley, who had four of her eight scored in the third period.

In the final quarter, Celtics started to light up the net, shooting 10-12 from the field, with Laura Buckley going 3-3 from three before being subbed out after her first technical of the season. Sidney Richards led from the front to close the game, shooting a respectable 4-6 in the fourth quarter as Celtics defeated Huskies for the second consecutive year at the semi-final stage to go back to the National Basketball Arena in hopes of promotion.

Limerick Celtics will face the number one seeds Cleveland Rockets in the final in two weeks, after Rockets edged Templeogue 67-61 in Lisburn. Templeogue duo Sofia Paska and Hannah Murphy were doing everything they could to get Templeogue over the line, scoring a combined 43 points and totalling 26 rebounds together. For Rockets, it was Irish U18 international Aoibheann Donnelly and Alyssa Jimenez leading the way, with Donnelly scoring 20 points along with Jimenez’s 19 in the win.

Templeogue came flying out of the traps in the game, with Paska scoring 12 of Templeogue’s 24 points in the first quarter, as they opened up a 13-point advantage to begin the game. Rockets came roaring back in the second, allowing just nine points from Templeogue in the second quarter, who went 3-17 from the field in that quarter. Donnelly scored nine in the second quarter, as both sides went in locked at 33-33 at half-time.

Rockets came out in the third eager to build a lead, with Maeve Deery scoring all seven of her points across a five-minute span in the third quarter as Rockets won the third 18-8 to open up a 10-point gap in the scoreline. Despite a spirited effort from Templeogue in the final quarter, where they managed to reduce the lead to five points, Rockets managed to hold on late and secure the win and set up a final against Limerick Celtics, a side they have split the season record with, having both sides won their respective home fixture.

Celtics against Rockets and Eagles against Titans will both take place on Saturday 11^th April and will be shown live on BITV.