Dominos Mens Super League R4
Limerick Celtics 90 Garvey’s Tralee Warriors 93
Garvey’s Tralee Warriors were made to work all the way to the final buzzer before delivering their third win in a row with a 93-90 win over Limerick Celtics in UL on Friday night.
Limerick Celtics had the better of the early exchanges in what was a scrappy opening quarter with Eoghan Donaghy and AJ Williams helping the hosts to an 11-8 lead with Keelan Crowe, Iggy Hunte and Jordan Perkins in range for the visitors. Celtics’ new recruit Zac Hudson opened his account before Williams struck again with a step back three to ease his side 20-13 up but Hunte was busy in the paint and his close range effort was followed by a buzzer beating finish dropped in by Cian Sullivan to cut the Limerick lead to 20-17 at quarter time.
Ruairi Cronin fired the hosts further in front early in the second and despite scores from Eoin Quigley and Daniel Jokuabitis, Cronin nailed a corner three before Williams hit his third from distance to put Celtics 5 up. Warriors countered effectively with a 10 point haul with a Jordan Perkins double either side of a signature Jokubaitis three and a basket each from Hunte and Olaf Michalczuk to see the Warriors flip the score and go 5 up. The elusive Cronin along with Martin Frawley were on the mark from outside but in between Olaf Michalczuk struck for a cracking score from beyond the arc and Warriors captain Eoin Quigley stepped his way to the Limerick board in the final play of the half to edge the Tralee side 42-41 up at the long break.
Eoghan Donaghy and Finn Hughes sparked up with a three each early in the third for Celtics but Iggy Hunte was getting plenty of return close to the board and a hat trick from him levelled the game at 50-50. AJ Williams then threatened to blow out the contest with three identical strikes from outside and when Abdul Wurie chipped in with a finish off the board the hosts were suddenly eight points up. Jokubaitis responded for Warriors but a double from Hughes had the gap out to 8 again. However, Warriors finished with a quick flourish and Jokubaitis and Hunte combined to cut the Celtics lead back to 68-65 at the end of the third.
Jordan Perkins lit up for Warriors at the start of the fourth with a quickfire seven points but Limerick continued to threaten from the field and when Hughes and Williams swished for threes the hosts were back in front. Zac Hudson who was carrying four fouls struck for seven points before finally succumbing to his fifth offence but Hughes quickly added with his third major to leave the Warriors chasing a six point deficit with 3 minutes remaining. Three scores from Hunte, and one each from Jokubaitis, Michalczuk and Quigley sparked the Warriors drive to the line and despite another finish from Williams the Tralee side were one point up with just over a minute remaining. Quigley, in true captain’s style, landed a tough finish to keep his side in front and Perkins calmly dispatched a fast break score to secure the win despite Eoghan Donaghy rimming out with a shot to tie the game right on the final buzzer.
Scorers:
Limerick Celtics: AJ Williams 26, Finn Hughes 18, Ruairi Cronin 10
Garvey’s Tralee Warriors: Iggy Hunte 34, Jordan Perkins 20, Daniel Jokubaitis 12