Dominos Mens Super League R14 Back Game
Garvey’s Tralee Warriors 77
Limerick Celtics 86
Garvey’s Tralee Warriors hopes for home advantage in the Super League playoffs were all but dashed on Saturday night as they went down by 86-77 to Limerick Celtics in Round 14 of the Domino’s Mens Super League played at the Kerry Sports Academy. Hoping to build on the impressive turnaround win the previous week away to Killester, the Warriors surrendered the early initiative to the visitors and despite drawing level early in the third quarter, they could not find the impetus to gain control of the contest. Limerick Celtics were full value for the win and have confirmed their place in the playoff quarterfinals later this month. The Warriors on the other hand must now regroup for their three remaining games, two at home and one away, to secure the highest possible placing in the final standings.
Limerick Celtics edged the early exchanges with Sean Hauser, AJ Williams and Ruairi Cronin combining to build an 11-8 lead with Daniel Jokubaitis and Eoin Quigley on the mark for Warrior. Major scores from Williams and Finn Hughes were negated by strikes from Jordan Perkins and Steven Bowler to see the sides level with three minutes on the clock but Celtics finished the quarter in some style with Abdul Wurie and a double from the dynamic AJ Williams building a 24-18 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Another double from Williams early in the second eased Limerick further ahead and threes from Philip Kearney and Hughes added to their cause. Jokubaitis kept the Warriors in gear with two trademark threes either side of Cian Sullivan and Dan Bowler both opening their accounts but the hosts still trailed by 6 midway through the quarter. Keelan Crowe produced two cracking back to back three pointers to cut the gap to a single score but Celtics went to half time break with a 42-37 lead when Matthew Barry was sprung from the bench to nail a major score with his first touch.
An Adbul Wurie basket opened the scoring in the third to push the visitors lead out to 7 but two stunning Jokubaitis threes levelled the contest with three minutes played. The scene looked set for Warriors to drive on but the momentum never materialised as scores from Williams and Kearney restored Celtics’ lead. A major effort from Perkins and a finish from close range from Dan Bowler brought Warriors to the 50 point mark but at the other end Wurie and Kearney combined to see the hosts take a 54-50 lead into the final quarter.
The Warriors needed a fast start to the final period but it was the visitors that shot out of the traps firing down the first five scores of the quarter with Kearney, Hughes, Williams and captain Eoghan Donaghy all in range to put 14 between the sides and effectively settle the contest. Perkins gave Warriors a lifeline with back to back threes but Limerick were given space and time for both Kearney and Donaghy to arc in a major score each to maintain their double digit lead.
The Warriors continued to chip away at the Celtics lead with the outstanding Jokubaitis hitting his 6th, 7th and 8th three pointers to hint at a late turnaround but out of a Limerick timeout their captain Eoghan Donaghy drilled a corner three that proved to be the insurance score. With Warriors in foul trouble late on, Wurie, Kearney, Williams and Hughes all helped themselves to scores from the free throw line to seal the 86-77 win in the end.
Scorers:
Garvey’s Tralee Warriors: Daniel Jokubaitis 27, Jordan Perkins 20, Iggy Hunte 10
Limerick Celtics: AJ Williams 22, Philip Kearney 19, Finn Hughes 11
Next up for Warriors is the visit of Energywise Ireland Neptune who are currently propping up the League and in imminent danger of relegation to National League Division 1. It is hard to believe that one of the marquee teams in the country could face the drop but a Warriors win next Saturday could seal Neptune’s fate. Tip off at the Kerry Sports Academy on Saturday evening is at 7.00pm.
Thanks to Liam Ryan for the images