Panthers pipped by Limerick in bid for U/18 National Cup quarter-final berth

PORTLAOISE Panthers were stopped agonisingly short of a place in the quarter-finals of the Billy Coffey Men’s Under 18 National Cup after they were pipped 70-67 by Limerick Celtics at home in Sunday’s Pool One semi-final.

With the two group finalists securing further passage through to the last eight of the competition, Portlaoise and Limerick engaged in a titanic battle that saw the lead swap hands five times in the closing quarter before the Munster side put together an eight-point run and remained out in front, if only just, right to the final buzzer.

Miguel Azzopardi proved a right handful for the Portlaoise defence, the Limerick player landing six attempts from downtown on his way to a game-high 20 points, while Hubert Gocek and Cillian Murphy also impacted the scoreboard significantly with a combined 36.

Portlaoise had their own threat from distance in Noah Barbour who totalled 17 points, of which 12 were sourced from beyond the arc, while Prince and Justice Iheme weighed in with a further 31.

An eight-point haul by Barbour in the first half went a long way to helping Portlaoise to a strong start that saw them open up a 22-12 advantage by the close of the first quarter.

But while they managed to hold on to that 10-point cushion by the interval, Limerick served up a big third-quarter display that saw them overtake into a narrow 50-47 advantage.

That set the stage for an enthralling tussle down the stretch, as the game swung back and forth before two trebles from Azzopardi and a deuce from Murphy propelled Limerick seven points clear with three-and-a-half minutes remaining.

Buckets from Sochima Onuorah, Prince Iheme and Darragh O’Loughlin reduced Panthers’ arrears to a solitary point with 43 seconds left on the clock, but Limerick held fast to clinch the win, helped by a late double from Hubert Gocek.

It was a gut-wrenching end to an impressive campaign by Portlaoise that had seen them win two of their three Pool 1A games the previous day.

Indeed, they started off with a convincing 89-62 victory over Titans, in which no less than five players finished in double figures, among them Prince Iheme on a game-high 18.

Barbour, Justice Iheme, Onuorah and O’Loughlin combined for further 55 points, as Portlaoise really cut loose in the third quarter, enlarging their seven-point lead at the halftime break to 23 by the start of the fourth.

Conor Potito and Darragh Dickson each put up 16 points for Titans, but it was not enough to see the Galway side seriously threaten Panthers’ hold on this game.

Portlaoise’s second outing against Dublin Lions proved a thriller, as Portlaoise came up just short with their fourth-quarter surge, Jack Scully’s side losing out 76-75.

Finding themselves nine points adrift (64-55) of their Clondalkin rivals at the close of the third period, Portlaoise fought their way back to within two of their opponents with as many minutes remaining.

But two free throws from Bentoy Monshengwo and one from Lewis Adjinakou proved just enough to propel the visitors over the line.

Prince and Justice Iheme served up another big performance for the Laois side with a combined 42 points, while Giovanni Osadolor hit a further 14, but even that was not enough to see their team prevail against a Lions outfit, for whom Majus Raziunas and Monshengwo each put up 22.

Still, Portlaoise were quickly back on track thanks to an emphatic 97-59 victory over Sligo All-Stars in their final Pool 1A game that saw them take all four quarters.

Ben Quigley was very impressive on the inside for Panthers, emerging with 21 points to his name, while Osadolor added a further 16 to the scoreboard.

PORTLAOISE PANTHERS: Senan O’Brien, Justice Iheme, Darragh O’Loughlin, Ben Heffernan, Jim Hanamy, Prince Iheme, Ben Quigley, Ibrahim Ahmed, Senan O’Connell, Evan Branagan, Sochima Onuorah, Noah Barbour, Giovanni Osadolor.