The Tralee Warriors U20s travel to the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght this weekend in a bid to defend their National title they won with a hard fought victory over Titans of Galway twelve months ago. This year it is Éanna that stands between the Warriors and back-to-back U20 titles.
Tralee Warriors U20 Squad that overcame Limerick Celtics in the semi-final pictured above.
Back Row L to R: David Lucid, Joshua Osayanrhion, Olaf Michalczuk, Brian O’Leary, Phoenix Costello, Donal O’Sullivan, Gary Lynch, Andrew Wallace
Front Row L to R: Eoin Creedon, Eddie Sheehy, Eli Fitzgerald, Evan Boyle
The Tralee side secured their place in Saturday’s decider after a last gasp win over Limerick Celtics in a thrilling semi-final played at Moyderwell. The Warriors turned around an early deficit to take control of the contest but had to withstand a final flourish from the Limerick side before securing a 77-76 win in the end. It was a brilliant game of basketball from start to finish and the Warriors young guns were given a proper test of their championship defending credentials before prevailing by the minimum to set up a final showdown with Éanna who got the better of Titans who were also looking for back-to-back finals in the underage grade decider.
The Warriors got their campaign off to a flying start with a comprehensive win over local rivals Killorglin and followed that up with a 91-87 hard fought win over Blue Demons from Cork. In a thrilling contest just before Christmas the Warriors were given a reality check with an overtime loss to Limerick Lions after overtime. They got back to winning ways at home to Neptune and away to Ballincollig to top their Group and progress to a quarter final meeting with Templeogue. They survived a proper test of their mettle and had to come from behind in the final quarter to secure a 68-63 win to make it through to the last four.
The Tralee side then faced a formidable examination of their championship defence with in a cracking semi-final against Limerick Celtics in Moyderwell. The game was played at a frantic pace throughout with both teams having their periods of dominance. However it was a solid third quarter display from the Warriors that set up the win despite a late run from Limerick Celtics that threatened to derail the bid for back-to-back titles. In the end the Warriors just about edged home by 77-76 in what was as entertaining a game of basketball as you could wish to see and saw the defending champions set up a final showdown with Éanna from Dublin in Saturday’s decider.
The Mens U20 National League Final between Tralee Warriors and Éanna gets underway in the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght next Saturday with tip-off at 3.30pm.