Basketball Ireland Mens Super League Round 22
Garvey’s Tralee Warriors 82
Irish Guide Dogs Ballincollig 69
Garvey’s Tralee Warriors are still in the hunt for a top-two finish in the Dominos Super League after overcoming Ballincollig by 82-69 at the Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh Sports Hall at the Kerry Sports Academy on Sunday afternoon. The race for the playoff places heated up this weekend with UCC Demons win over Killester all but sealed top spot in the League for the Cork side, but second place is still to be secured and it will come down to a straight shootout between the Warriors and Killester, the reigning National Cup champions. The significance of a top two finish means the teams have home advantage in both the playoff quarter final and semi final if they make it through.
The Warriors opened up an early lead with Mark Stephens twice on the mark, Ryan Leonard in range and a three from Greg Adon putting them 11-4 up. A three from Ciaran O’Sulivan was quickly added to by Luke O’Sullivan, Joshua Tomaic and a double from the dynamic Jake Wolfe saw Ballincollig edge a point ahead. Daniel Jokubaitis struck for his first major score but the O’Sullivans Ciaran and Luke and Wolfe were on the mark again to give the visitors a 19-16 lead at quarter time.
The hosts were back in front when Adon and Rap Buivydas fired in from beyond the arc but Wolfe and Keelan Cairns replied in kind after Tomaic hit identical scores to quickly put 5 between the teams. Three quality baskets from the Virgin Media MVP on the day Ryan Leonard bridged the gap but Cairns and Luke O’Sullivan combined to keep the Cork side just ahead by 36-35 at half time.
Yet again the third quarter was the moving quarter and following an exchange of scores from Adon, Leonard and Buivydas with Quashawn Lane and Wolfe, the Warriors embarked on a decisive scoring blitz that yielded them an unanswered 17 points with Leonard, Adon and Stephens on the mark and majors from Buivydas and Josh Osayanrhion to spread the game and effectively settle the contest, going up 59-45 at three quarter time.
Tomaic and Wolfe attempted to kickstart a Ballincollig revival early in the fourth but Adon and another classic Jokubaitis major kept the sizable gap between the teams in place. Ciaran O’Sullivan, Jake Wolfe and Sean McManus loaded up from distance to pare the lead back to 10 but a determined effort from Buivydas, another three from Jokubaitis and fittingly the MVP Ryan Leonard brought his personal tally to 17 with the last Warriors score of the game to secure the 82-69 win in the end.
Scorers:
Garvey’s Tralee Warriors: Greg Adon 18, Ryan Leonard 17, Mark Stephens 13
Irish Guide Dogs Ballincollig: Jake Wolfe 23, Joshua Tomaic 16, Ciaran O’Sullivan 10
Next up for the Warriors is an away trip to Colaiste Éanna to take on Griffith college Éanna on Saturday next with tip off at 7.00pm before returning to the Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh Sports Hall at the Kerry Sports Academy for the final game in the regular season when they take on St. Vincent’s on Sunday afternoon with tip off at 5.00pm.
Thanks to Liam Ryan for the images.