Ireland head coach Bill Dooley has praised his team following last night's 85-77 defeat to Germany in the opening game of the European Championships semi-final round. "I am proud of our guys' gutsy second half performance. To scratch it back like that against a team of Germany’s calibre is incredible," said Dooley.
A superb second half comeback saw Ireland come within five points of the Group C favourites with five minutes to go, but the team ranked fourth in Europe managed to hold on to register their first win of the tournament.
Mike Mitchell and former NBA star Marty Conlon were Ireland's top scorers in Munich with 25 points apiece, while Gareth Maguire surpassed Mark Keenan's caps tally with a record 70th international appearance. The next game for the semi final debutants is against Croatia on Saturday at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght, Dublin.
Filed by Greg McKevitt
