Bord Gais Neptune stunned Southern Conference champions UL Eagles to earn a place in next Sunday’s Nivea For Men’s SuperLeague final against the might of reigning champions 11890 Killester, who came through their clash with Belfast Star.
UL have reached their first IrishSport.TV Women’s SuperLeague final in four years and will meet the holders Team Montenotte Hotel Cork after they saw off the challenge of DCU Mercy.
Neptune head coach Pat Price heralded his side’s post-Christmas form as his charges upset the odds to defeat UL Eagles by 90-88 in a thrilling contest at the UL Sports Centre.
Price was understandably elated by Neptune’s performance, and highlighted his side’s focus as a key factor in victory.
‘We are thrilled. Limerick is a tough place to go. This is the result of the momentum that has been happening. I have spoken about the importance of consistency and since January we have been playing better basketball,’ he stated.
Neptune trailed by six points at the halfway stage, but showed impressive resolve to turn around the deficit, and advance to an unlikely final berth against 11890 Killester.
Neptune enjoyed some heroic displays from the likes of Ger Noonan, who contributed 11 points in the third quarter, while Michael Bonaparte’s accuracy from the free-throw line in the closing stages ensured the win.
Price believes certain members of his team have been rejuvenated in the second half of the season, but is acutely aware of the threat and strength posed by Killester.
Price said: ‘A lot of our key players have had a better second half to the season. Part of what we are is that we are not overly reliant on any one man. I have great belief in the squad.
‘In some ways I wonder are we ahead of schedule reaching the final. The club has had some great challenges and for us to be in a final in the second year of this programme is exceptional.
‘Killester are the team to beat in the SuperLeague. They have a very good coach in Mark Keenan. They have big-game experience and they are not going to give up the trophy lightly.’
Nonetheless there is a sense that Neptune have a momentum that should stand them in good stead in next week's final. ‘We will need to be at our best for forty minutes. We are not going there to just fulfil a fixture,’ continued Price.
In the other play-off semi-final, reigning champions 11890 Killester secured their return to the National Basketball Arena with a devastating 96-67 win at home to Belfast Star.
Coach Mark Keenan admits his side were well tested by the Ulster outfit, but felt their big game experience was a key factor in their eventual triumph.
Keenan said: ‘They put it up to us in the first half. It was a tight game at half time, but I was keen to stress to the lads at half-time that we had what we needed to win. We had a number of huge performances from some of the lads. It’s great that we came through as a team.’
Keenan was keen to stress that his side won’t be underestimating the challenge that Neptune pose: ‘There will be no complacency on our part. We were very lucky to come away from there with a result.
‘They have pushed us hard and we know that if we are not on our game, we’ll be caught out.
‘They very nearly beat us earlier in the year, so there is no question that we will be preparing properly for the game and be ready for the challenge,’ said Keenan.
Jermaine Turner was back to his usual best with 32 points, while Killester’s defence were almost impossible to breach, particularly in the final quarter. Four points from Clayton Longmire was all that got past the stubborn 11890 Killester during this spell.
Team Montenotte Hotel Cork are one game away from successfully completing the defence of their Women’s SuperLeague crown after a dramatic 75-71 win over DCU Mercy.
Mercy claimed the cup honours at the expense of Montenotte in January, but it was the Cork side who atoned for that defeat with Claire Rockall producing another big scoring display with 26 points.
Montenotte’s preparations were looking bleak earlier in the day when Ireland international Marie Breen was forced to pull out with injury.
‘It was an amazing effort considering we lost Marie (Breen) before the game,’ said Montenotte head coach Mark Scannell. ‘I was very annoyed that we were trailing at the break considering the way we had played.
‘This is as good as it gets and to get to a cup and league final in the one season particularly with all the movement of players during pre-season is exceptional. We are unbeaten at home, which is another phenomenal story of this season.
‘We will be up against at it in the final, but we will work hard this week, but overall I’m just delighted with what this team has already achieved this season.’
UL head coach James Weldon was in buoyant mood after steering his side to their first National League final in four years following their 72-30 semi-final win over Black Forge Oblate Dynamos.
‘I am delighted to get to the final,’ said Weldon. ‘It has been a long hard season but the players deserve huge credit. They are amateur players doing a professional job.
‘We are excited at the prospect of next week’s final and I believe we will be the underdogs as it is a while since we have been at this stage.’
Despite their 42-point win, Weldon believes Dynamos offered a lot more than on the previous occasion the sides met on the final weekend of the regular season.
‘Oblate performed a lot stronger defensively and they have made great progress since returning to the top flight of Irish basketball,’ added Weldon. ‘We were also fantastic defensively and to hold them to just seven points after the first 17 minutes set the platform for us to go and win.’
Rachel Vanderwal and Michelle Fahy provided the ammunition for UL with 18 and 15 points respectively to help them to an astonishing 11th consecutive league win.
