Basketball Ireland Mens U20 League Final
Titans 95
Garvey’s Tralee Warriors 65
Garvey’s Tralee Warriors quest for a three in row of U20 National League titles came unstuck when they were overpowered and outplayed by a dynamic0 and determined outfit from Titans who drove their way relentlessly to be crowned League champions for 2025 at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght on Sunday. A devastating first five minutes of the opening quarter laid the groundwork for the Galway side’s win and despite a second quarter fight back from the Warriors, they were powerless to deny Titans their day in the sun and retribution for their defeat to Warriors in the competition two season ago.
Titans literally blasted out of the traps with a relentless offensive assault on the Warriors firing their way to a 19-2 lead by the midway point of the quarter. Before they had a chance to settle into the contest the Warriors were reeling as the Galway side scored at will through Luke Herrick, Declan Gbinige, Fortune Igbokwe, Eoin Potito and Viktor Tashev with the Warriors only resistance coming from a score each from Olaf Michalczuk and Josh Osayanrhion. Michalczuk struck from distance to spark a Warriors response and when Brayden Pierce, Paddy Lucid and Michalczuk again on the mark, the Tralee side had somehow cut Titans quarter time advantage down to 22-14.
The sides traded scores early in the second with a hat trick from Gbinige cancelled out by another major from Michalczuk and a floated effort from Osayanrhion. Osayanrhion then chose his time to light up to fire down a stunning hat trick of three pointers to close the gap to 33-30. Just when the Warriors had built up some momentum Titans swung the pendulum back their way with Jason Nwose, Igbokwe and Potito with a double, restoring their 8 point lead. Evan Boyle opened his account and David Lucid knocked down a three to keep the gap in check but a Potito three stretched the Titans lead out to 46-35 at half time.
Titans repeated the dose they administered in the opening quarter again in the third and with another barrage of scores coming from all angles through Herrick, Igbokwe, and the outstanding Gbinigie, they charged their lead to 65-37 with 3’00’’ still left of the clock. The Warriors were again limited to a handful of scores as defensively Titans were equally impressive as they were on offence. Michalczuk, Osayanrhion and a three from David Lucid did not make any real impact on the scoreline and by three quarter time the game as a contest was as good as over with the Galway side 73-51 up.
Titans saw out the win in some style with Tashev, Igbokwe, Potito and Gbinigie all in range again in the final quarter. Osayanrhion and Lucid again struck from beyond the arc to add a little more respectability to the scoreline. However a double from Stephen Owede was added to by a three from captain Sam Cassidy much to the delight of the sizable Titans support. Valentino Edobor dunked in the final seconds to kickstart the Titans celebrations as they sealed the 95-65 win and with it the National League title.
Scorers:
Titans: Declan Gbinigie 24, Fortune Igbokwe, Luke Herrick 12
Garvey’s Tralee Warriors: Josh Osayanrhion 18, Olaf Michalczuk 15, David Lucid 14
Thanks to Liam Ryan for the images