Portlaoise Panthers U/18 men spring from the traps in All-Ireland League campaign

PORTLAOISE Panthers Under 18 Men's Team made a blistering start to their 2026/27 All-Ireland League campaign with impressive victories over Tipp Talons and Maree in their opening two games in Cork.

Despite missing key players in the likes of Senan O'Brien and Prince and Justice Iheme, Jack Scully's side got up and running at the first time of asking, as they ran out 75-49 winners over Talons.

Holding their opponents to single digits in both the first and fourth quarters of this tie, Panthers finished the game with three players in double figures, including Gio Osadolor on 16, with Noah Barbour and Sochima Onourah combining for a further 24.

Those contributions served to counter the efforts of Tipp's heavy hitter, Jamie Connor, who emerged as the game's top scorer on 23 points.

Portlaoise made the early running in this contest, racing into a 19-9 lead by the end of the opening quarter, as Osadolor, Barbour and Ben Quigley got in for some big buckets.

Tipp gained some traction in the second and managed to recoup a point but, heading into the fourth and final period, they still found themselves facing a 12-point deficit (53-41), and Portlaoise managed to shut the door tight on any hope of a comeback thereafter.

Indeed, a seven-point run that featured a nice score from the three-point line by Jim Hanamy effectively copper-fastened this victory for the Midlands side, leaving them on a sound footing for a quick turnaround against Maree later that same day.

Osadolor again delivered big for Portlaoise in that encounter with a game-high 21 points, while Barbour and Senan O'Connell each weighed in with a further 13 apiece to help see their side make it two from two after a 76-47 victory.

This contest proved a tight affair for the opening four minutes, at which point the two sides were deadlocked at 10 points apiece.

But two free throws from Darragh O'Loughlin ignited a six-point run for Panthers that also included buckets from the floor by the same player, along with Barbour, helping their side finish the first quarter with a 19-12 lead.

That advantage was pushed out to 11 points (36-25) by the half-time recess as Osadolor and Justice Iheme combined for 15 points in that eight-minute period alone.

But it was the third quarter that saw Panthers really exert a stranglehold on proceedings, as they outgunned their Galway rivals by a further 21 points. Barbour, O'Connell and Lucas Lumanlan all delivered scores from beyond the arc to help rocket Scully's team into a 63-31 lead.

And while Maree did serve up a solid fourth-quarter display, it was not nearly enough to trouble Portlaoise, who finished the opening weekend as one of seven unbeaten sides in the competition, leaving them in confident mood ahead of the next round of games in early November.

It was a great start for the team, who will be hoping to better their run in last season's competition when they made it as far as the quarter-finals, only to be undone by Limerick Lions.

Elsewhere, there was no such joy for Portlaoise Panthers Under 18 Women's Team when they made the trip to Castleisland Community Centre for the start of their All-Ireland League journey this season.

Indeed, only a solitary point separated them and Brunell in their curtain-raiser to the competition, as Portlaoise were pipped 54-53 despite a huge 26-point contribution from Ireland international Katie Rose Harrison.

And Simon Delaney's squad were denied a quick bounce-back as they lost out 41-29 in their second game of the competition against Tralee Magic.