Laois men play their part in superb FIBA Open run for Ireland masters teams

SEVERAL basketball players from Laois figured strongly for various Ireland men’s teams in what proved to be a hugely successful run for the country in the 2026 FIBA Masters Open in Greece.

Portlaoise Panthers player, Gediminas Simkus was part of the Ireland M45 team that landed silver in the inaugural tournament, while his club mates, Greg and Anthony Dunne played their part in fourth-place finishes for the M50 and M60 teams respectively, with Ballyroan Bluestars competitor, Rody McEvoy also enjoying a run with the Over 50s that was, however, cut short due to an untimely injury three games in.

Ireland enjoyed a very impressive run in the M45 group stages, finishing joint top, level on points with Trede of Argentina, in a campaign they opened with an 80-63 triumph over DSA Lawyers of Athens.

Next up for Darren O’Neill’s squad was the challenge of Trede, and, despite a solid opening quarter in which they opened up a three-point lead, Ireland finished second best over the next three periods, losing out 59-51.

They did, however, bounce back quickly against Greek Titans, winning 67-46, before edging Australia Masters 59-52 and then putting another of the home teams, Hoopers to the sword 90-34, Simkus one of four players to finish on double digits for Ireland in that game with a haul of 15 points.

That impressive run, set Ireland up for a thrilling gold-medal clash with Trede, whom they trailed by four at the close of the first quarter, before a blistering second period saw them overtake into a seven-point advantage (33-26) by the half-time recess.

Trede steadied the ship with a solid third-quarter display in which they recouped a point before outgunning Ireland by eight in the fourth for a nailbiting 60-58 success, the South Americans stringing together seven unanswered points over the closing minute.

For Portlaoise man, Simkus, missing out on the top prize in Greece was tough, although he was hugely pleased to finish among the medals with his international team mates.

“If I’m being honest, we should have won the final,” he told the Laois Nationalist. “We controlled the game, but Argentina made a of couple shots just at the end, so we were a little sad that we lost that. But after coming through all the games, we were still very happy to get silver.

“The tournament was really good. It was very physical and there was never really a chance to relax. You always had to be ready, but everyone stepped up together and everyone supported each other.

“The support we had was amazing. Before us, the Ladies 45 team played, and after they had finished, they, straight away, came to our gym, supporting us and singing. It was just great,” he said.

Ireland’s M50 team opened up their campaign with a thriller against Spanish side, Maxiespana, against whom they fought back from 13 points down at the half-time break to edge a 52-51 win.

That was followed by a narrow 59-53 defeat at the hands of Italia Golden Players Marte and a 59-44 loss to Australia Masters, that left them third in the group and facing a quarter-final tie against Italia Giove which they won 59-51.

Australia Masters awaited them in the penultimate rounds, Ireland finishing second best in that contest 77-64 as they turned their attention then to a battle for bronze against Italia Marte.

In what was a thrilling clash, just a mere two points separated the two sides with just under six minutes remaining, but the Italians strung together a seven-point run and held out for a 55-47 victory, Portlaoise man, Greg Dunne carding six points in that closing game.

“We knew we had a decent team going out, but, as well as we performed, we also felt that we left one behind us,” admitted Dunne.

“We played six games in eight days and Rody McEvoy got injured in the third game, and Rick Leonard, our American, got heat stroke.

“So we were running on 10 players, and when you're down your main ball handler and one of your big inside guys, that definitely would be a factor. But that's not to make excuses. Everybody else stepped up and gave it their all.

“We knew, going out, that we were in with a good shout, and if little things had gone our way and we had a small bit of lady luck, we definitely would have got it across the line,” he insisted.

While Rody McEvoy’s involvement in the tournament was cut short through injury, the Ballyroan man still relished the experience of competing for his country.

“It was a very enjoyable tournament. I think it's the first time an Irish 50s team has hit the top four, and we possibly could have taken the bronze. We probably didn't perform as well as we could have.

“Personally, it was a little bit disappointing for me. We played the first two games against Spain and Italy and then I got a bang in the leg against Australia in the third game, so that put me out for the rest of the week.

“I played no part in the last three games which was fairly disappointing after all the prep work and traveling out to Greece. But the experience itself was brilliant,” he stressed.

Ireland’s M60 team, meanwhile, finished up third in their group following a run of two wins and three defeats, those victories coming against Puerto Rico (63-43) and Italia Golden Players (50-48), with Greg Dunne’s brother, Anthony carding 12 points against the former.

Their pool run was enough to earn them a third/fourth place play-off against Italia Golden Players, but they fell just short of the medals, losing out 63-45.

“It was an absolutely fantastic experience to actually put on the Irish jersey and step out on the court at 60 years of age,” said Panthers man, Anthony Dunne.

“It was great to be able to play with players who would have represented Irish basketball at all stages and all levels and all ages over the years.

“I think the team performed exceptionally well, considering the conditions. We were playing in anything from 32 to 35 degrees heat.

“We got into a play-off for third and fourth position, which was exceptional, because in years previous, we did well to even win a game, so we're making a lot of progress.

“It was lovely to have all the Irish support there. I would have had family there and a lot of other players would have had a family there, so it was great to have that support behind you.

“My son actually flew us out and he was able to say a few nice words in relation to the Irish representation on the way out.

“That was a nice little touch from both him and Aer Lingus, just to acknowledged the fact that we were actually representing Ireland,” he said.