Portlaoise Panthers looking good after reaching pre-season tournament decider

Head coach, Jack Scully was very encouraged by the performance of his Portlaoise Panthers Men’s National League team in their big pre-season tournament staged in St Mary’s Hall last weekend.

The three-day competition, which involved a total of eight teams, saw the host club win all three of their group fixtures before carding another emphatic triumph over Dublin Lions in the last four on Sunday.

And, while they were eventually undone by Tolka Rovers in the decider later that day, Scully put that defeat largely down to fatigue.

“We got to the final after having won our three group games and semi-final, but we just ran out of steam in the final” Scully told the Laois Nationalist.

“We won four games by near to 20 points or more, so we were happy with that performance,” he said.

Panthers tipped off their tournament with a 79-42 victory over Tipp Tallons on Friday night, before recording a 73-54 win against Titans on Saturday morning.

An 88-61 triumph over Limerick Sport Eagles in their closing group match set them up for a clash with a Dublin Lions team that has been bolstered this summer by the return of Aidan Harris Igiehon and Kevin Anyanwu.

Yet it was Portlaoise who prevailed in that encounter, as one of their own new recruits Aleksandar Kovacevic chalked up a haul of 32 points to help Panthers storm to an emphatic 92-67 victory.

That, however, was to prove the high point for Scully’s men in this tournament, as they ran out of steam in the decider just a couple of hours later, losing out to Tolka Rovers 79-59.

For Scully, one of the most encouraging factors this season is his squad depth which was clearly evident over the weekend, despite the team still awaiting the return of several key players like Benny Carroll, Davin McEvoy and the newly acquired Kevin Donohoe.

Indeed, other core players like Liam Kinsella and Cillian O’Connell, together with new signings Xabi Arriaga, Kovacevic and American, Eric Anderson, all turned in quality performances throughout the three days of competition.

“We have a deep squad and we’re able to rotate lads,” said Scully. “The squad was fresh game to game, especially heading into the semi-final.

“It really was about having that deep squad and having loads of options. That was the difference from last year.

“I was really happy with our new players. They settled in and played very well.

“They seem to be very humble young fellas and they got on really well with the lads. They worked hard.

“I was really impressed with Eric. He’s a real all-rounder - inside, outside, rebounding passing. He’s good around the team, no ego. I was really happy with him.

“Xabi, with just his size at 6’9”, he’s very impressive. He’s a shooter and he has that experience of being around the league. He’s just another mature head which is great to have around the team.

“Aleksandar is the find of the century for us. He’s a real shooter and he had 32 points in the semi-final against Dublin Lions.

“It’s nice to know where we’re actually at and that we’re really competitive and we still have a month to go before the start of the season, so we’ll just drive on,” he added.

Certainly the performance of Portlaoise in last weekend’s tournament leaves them on a sound footing ahead of their next pre-season competition in UL on Saturday 21 September.

Following that, they will have a two-week break ahead of their National League curtain raiser at home to Dublin Lions on Saturday 5 October.