Portlaoise stopped short of Under 18 Men’s National Cup decider after loss to St Brendan’s
Portlaoise Panthers who lost out narrowly to St Brendan's Tralee in the U/18 Men's National Cup semi-final at MTU Arena, Cork on Saturday Photo: ©INPHO/Bryan Keane
St Brendan’s Tralee 78
Portlaoise Panthers 69
A DISAPPOINTING second half in which they were held to just 24 points saw the tables turned on Portlaoise Panthers as they came undone against St Brendan’s in Saturday’s Billy Coffey Under 18 Men’s National Cup semi-final at the MTU Arena.
The Laois side led by seven at the half-time recess, but saw that advantage wiped out in just over a minute into the third quarter.
And while they worked tirelessly to try and regain control, St Brendan’s had the wind in their sails, helped, no end, by Ryan Sheehy and the 16 points he chalked up in the second half.
That took his total to 22 by the full-time buzzer, and while Jayden Umeh did manage to equal that game-high tally for Portlaoise, and Desmond Ogedegbe and Jack Gilnagh also made it into double figures, it was not enough to see Panthers recover the lost ground down the stretch.
It was St Brendan’s who made the stronger start to this contest, Liam O’Rahilly draining a nice three just 12 seconds into proceedings before and Samson Abubakar converted from both sides of the arc to propel the Kerry side 8-4 ahead.
Gilnagh accounted for Portlaoise’s opening two buckets, which together with three quick scores from Ogedegbe levelled the game up at 10 points apiece.
And Jack Scully’s side continued on to string together a nine-point run that included inside scores from Ben Quigley and Ogedegbe either side of a Jayden Umeh treble to help see Portlaoise end the opening quarter with a 22-18 lead, Abubakar picking up a triple for St Brendan’s with just four seconds remaining in that period.
The second quarter opened with buckets from Sheehy and Rory Bowler for the Tralee outfit either side of a three for Portlaoise from Umeh as this titanic tussle continued.
A productive 40-second spell that saw Sheehy, Abubakar and Conor McGibney all deliver on the inside hauled St Brendan’s back into the lead by two.
But Panthers regained their poise and accounted for the game’s next nine points, as Echezona Onuorah struck from both outside the arc and in the paint to help open up a seven-point gap.
And they managed to hold on to that lead through to the end of the half, Umeh, Ogedegbe and Gilnagh all registering some timely buckets to leave Portlaoise 45-38 in front at the interval.
Yet St Brendan’s hit the ground running upon their return to the court after the break, Sheehy picking up a three, an two ‘and ones’ in quick succession to rocket the Kerry side back in front by two.
Gilnagh and Umeh arrested that run with scores down the lane and beyond the arc respectively, but St Brendan’s ended an enthralling third quarter with a three-point lead (63-60) after Daniel Spring, Paddy Lucid, Abubakar and Liam O’Rahilly cancelled out buckets from Ogedegbe, Gilnagh and Onuorah for Portlaoise.
With this game very much on a knife’s edge, it was Portlaoise who blinked first, as St Brendan’s hit seven unanswered points that started with a three from Brooklyn Conway.
It was to prove the decisive run in this battle, as the Kerry side managed to remain out in front all the way to the finish, Abubakar and Sheehy draining some important buckets down the stretch to help see them through to this season’s final where they will play Dublin Lions later this month.
For Panthers, this defeat marked their very first reversal in this season’s National Under 18 Cup competition, the Portlaoise side having won all of their games in the group phase back in November before they continued on to see off Neptune in the quarter-finals later that same month.
ST BRENDAN’S TRALEE: Liam O’Rahilly, Kevin O’Shea, Samson Abubakar, Rory Bowler, Brooklyn Conway, Ryan Sheehy, Daniel Spring, Conor McGibney, Paddy Lucid.
Top Scorers: Ryan Sheehy (22), Samson Abubakar (16), Liam O’Rahilly (11), Paddy Lucid (11).
PORTLAOISE PANTHERS: Senan O’Brien, Scott Davis, Jayden Umeh, Echezona Onuorah, Borna Jozic, Ben Quigley, Desmond Ogedegbe, Jack Gilnagh, Noah Barbour, Giovanni Osadalor.
Top Scorers: Jayden Umeh (22), Desmond Ogedegbe (17), Jack Gilnagh (12), Echezona Onuorah (9).
