Ballincollig 104-77 Garveys Tralee Warriors
Two years after a searing defeat to their Cork neighbours UCC Demons, Ballincollig exorcised the painful experience with a 27-point rout of 2024 winners Tralee Warriors in a one-sided Domino's MSL Cup final at the National Basketball Arena.
The pattern of the game was largely determined by the whirlwind of three-pointers by the Cork side in the first quarter, with Lattrell Jossell racking up 18 points in the opening eight minutes, landing six out of his seven attempts.
Keelan Cairns and Josh Steel were also on the mark with two apiece as a staggering 30 out of Ballincollig's 34 points in that opening period rained in from outside the arc, giving the Cork men a 14-point lead at the first interval.
Quarter two was strewn with errors on both sides until a frantic closing sequence saw Ballincollig build to a 60-41 advantage at the half-time break as Tralee fought hard to stay in the game, but without showing enough composure to indicate that they could temper the storm raging around them.
While Jossell was quieter in that period, Josh Steel and player-coach Ciaran O'Sullivan stepped up, combining for 14 points as the Cork side took the second quarter 26-21, giving them a 60-41 half-time advantage.
Tralee opened the second period with the first two scores, but their heavy deficit was a burden that forced them into half-executed plays and consequent errors as Ballincollig remained composed, never relenting in both their accuracy and self-belief that this was to be their night.
When Keelan Cairns landed the last score of the third quarter almost on the buzzer - his fourth three-pointer of the game out of five attempts - it was effectively over for the beleaguered Kerry men as they found themselves all of 25 points adrift entering the final 10 minutes.
As the game plodded towards an inevitable conclusion in a final quarter devoid of any shred of intensity, there was no denying that this was a ruthless plan, brilliantly executed on the court by Ballincollig and one secured effectively with that first-quarter vortex, initiated by game's top scorer and MVP Lattrell Jossell, who finished the game on 31 points.
