A dominant Ireland performance saw them claim a 96-76 away victory against Luxembourg in their FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Pre-Qualifier on Wednesday.
Aidan Harris Igiehon and Taiwo Badmus finished as joint-top scorers with 20 points apiece. Igiehon sparkled throughout and was heading for a 100% conversion rate from the floor, only for a late three point attempt not to drop, the Clondalkin man also had five rebounds and a steal.
There were several fine performances, including from guards CJ Fulton and Sean Flood, who slotted 16 and 12 points respectively. Head coach Mark Keenan said he was "very proud" of his players, adding: "We got a great contribution from the whole team, not just our starters, our bench was superb."
Ireland began with intent, a Badmus dunk put the first points on the board in the opening minute. His layup had Ireland 7-6 up at the midpoint of the first quarter. Aidan Harris Igiehon wasn't in the starting five, but once introduced with three minutes to go in the first he made an immediate impact with eight points in the quarter, including his three point jump shot in the final seconds, to put Ireland 23-18 up. He’d have 10 points by half-time, landing all four of his attempts at the basket.
The visitors continued to keep their noses in front in the second quarter and had a 40-37 lead at the break.
𝙁𝙐𝙇𝙇-𝙏𝙄𝙈𝙀 ⚡️
— Basketball Ireland (@BballIrl) July 26, 2023
See you all at a 𝙎𝙊𝙇𝘿 𝙊𝙐𝙏 National Basketball Arena this Saturday on @SportTG4. #Greenmeansgo ☘️ | @InsureMyVan_ie pic.twitter.com/o1K3dqiVLX
Igiehon had a strong start to the second half, including two dunks, the second of which saw the pumped up forward roar in celebration, as Ireland went 51-40 up three minutes into the third quarter. Luxembourg duly responded with a 10-point run, finished off by Bob Melcher’s layup.
Mark Keenan's side didn’t panic and rattled off a nine-point run of their own, a layup from Flood, a three-point jump shot by Matt Treacy and a pair of layups from Badmus and Fulton saw Ireland 60-50 ahead. Flood had a fine quarter, his driving layup in the final seconds handed Ireland a 70-59 advantage going into the final quarter.
Ireland started the fourth quarter with a pair of layups, from Neal Quinn and Lorcan Murphy, to stretch the lead to 74-59. The Ireland coaching staff warned their players of a Luxembourg response during timeouts, but it didn’t materialise in the fourth. Igiehon came back onto the court and landed a layup and two free throws either side of a long-range three from Fulton to put Ireland in control, 84-66, with 4’15 left on the clock. Fulton certainly had his eye in and landed his fourth from the three point line shortly afterwards.
Conor O’Sullivan came on with two minutes remaining to make his international debut. Meanwhile the away supporters, who were vocal throughout, sang olé, olé, olé with victory in sight. John Carroll’s layup in the final minute completed a 96-76 win.
Ireland’s next game is against Croatia at 2.30pm on Saturday at the National Basketball Arena, followed by the return contest with Luxembourg on 5 August.
