Basketball Ireland Mens Super League Round 20
Flexachem KCYMS 87
Garvey’s Tralee Warriors 91
Garvey’s Tralee Warriors edged out keen rivals Flexachem KCYMS by 91-87 in a pulsating local derby played out at the Killorglin Sports Complex on Wednesday night.
The Warriors were on the board early through Rap Buivydas and Mark Stephens but a statement hat trick of threes from Jordan Blount saw Killorglin edge ahead. Stephens and Ryan Leonard helped the Warriors to level but three quality scores from Beni Fungula had Killorglin 21-15 up. Daniel Jokubaitis struck for his first three of the night but a late Jeffrey Okeke major gave the hosts a 24-20 quarter time lead.
Okeke was on the mark with an early double in the second before Killorglin’s advantage blew out to 14 when new signing Kani Glover heralded his arrival with an 11 point haul that forced a Warriors timeout. Out of the break Jokubaitis snapped the Killorglin momentum, lighting up to fire down a stunning hattrick of threes before Stephens and Buivydas combined for 10 points to level the contest. Jokubaitis and Glover finished off their personal duel with a major each to keep the sides deadlocked at 47-47 at half time.
The sides were still tied after Okeke, Fungula and Blount exchanged scores with Brandon Mahan and Buivydas but scores from Fungula from inside and Okeke with a three point score eased Killorglin 59-54 ahead. The Warriors set about wearing down the lead and with Stephens flawless from the line, a double from Leonard, a brave finish from Jokubaitis and a major score from Buivydas late on, the Warriors took a valuable 4 point advantage at 70-66 into the final quarter.
Jokubaitis continued to torment the Killorglin defence as he struck again from distance early in the final quarter but Blount replied in kind to keep the lead to 4. A quickfire double from Stephens and a two point effort from Buivydas gave the Warriors their biggest lead of the game at 83-73 up. Killorglin set about pegging back the Warriors and Okeke, Fungula and Blount chipped in with 5 from 7 from the line to halve the 10 point gap. In a frantic finale Killoglin found a way to land major scores from former Warrior Ron Elksnis, Fungula and Okeke to keep the Warriors honest and the contest alive right down the stretch. However, the hosts needed to foul to hold the clock in check allowing the Warriors four trips to the free throw line that saw Stephens, Jokubaitis and Leonard all knock down clutch free throws to see out the win by 91-87 in the end.
Scorers:
Flexachem KCYMS: Jeffrey Okeke 22, Beni Fungula 21, Jordan Blount 20
Garvey’s Tralee Warriors: Daniel Jokubaitis 24, Mark Stephens 22, Rap Buivydas 19
Next up for the Warriors is a trip to Neptune Stadium to take on the Pat Price coached Energywise Ireland Neptune on Friday night before returning to the Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh Sports Hall at the Kerry Sports Academy where they will take on Ballincollig on Sunday afternoon.
Thanks to Liam Ryan for the images