Arriaga insists Portlaoise need to be at their all-round best to unhinge Limerick in Division One final

XABI Arriaga insists ND Audit Portlaoise Panthers will have to be at their best at both ends of the court if they are to surmount Limerick Celtics at the third time of asking this season, with the two sides set to meet again in the Domino’s Men’s Division One final in the National Basketball Arena on Saturday night (8pm tip-off).

After making the move to the Laois side last summer, the Spanish shooting guard has played a huge part in a season that has seen them reach the Presidents National Cup decider, top the North Conference in the regular season and, most recently, secure their place in this weekend’s Division One showpiece following a nail-biting 97-94 victory over Moy Tolka Rovers in the penultimate rounds.

Yet Arriaga is in no doubt Panthers face their biggest challenge to date when they take on a Limerick team that beat them 72-60 to lift the National Cup in Tallaght back in January, before later racking up a 26-point win when they locked horns again in the league the following month.

That said, the Spaniard is adamant Portlaoise have the form and potential to finally turn the tables on the South Conference winners when they battle it out for the Division One crown and, with it, promotion to the Domino’s Men’s Super League.

Indeed, since losing to Limerick in that league fixture in early February, Portlaoise have won all of their following nine games, including their playoff quarter-final against Maigh Cuilinn and their last four encounter with Tolka in front of a packed St. Mary’s Hall.

“It's exciting to be able to go back to the Arena to play a final, especially after losing in the National Cup final and then losing a couple of games right after that,” Arriaga told the Laois Nationalist.

“It felt like we had to go through that to get to where we are now. Limerick are clearly favourites for the Division One final. They beat us by near to 30 in the league, but, at the same time, us not being favourites, and because we already lost to them twice, we have to try different stuff to beat them.

“And we do play differently to what we used to play, say three months ago, especially defensively.

“We're a way more solid team on defence, but our offense has also really clicked in too over the last two months.

“We haven't lost a game since we lost to them, and we’ve probably been one of the best, if not the best offensive team for the last month or so.

“I think, when looking at Celtics, the National Cup final is more where we want to be, because in the last five minutes there, it was just a one-score game. We just have to be better offensively.

“We only scored 60 points in that game and we cannot be a 60-point team on Saturday. We have to be at 80-plus points.

“We know we can do it on defence and we know we can do it on offence. We just have to show up on the day and get that big momentum.

“But at the same time, we know Celtics are really good in third quarters. They can blow out everybody in the third quarter. They did it to us in the league and they did it to Drogheda in the playoff quarter finals.

“We have to keep them to a 70-point game and I feel we can do that for sure. We did it before and we've seen other teams doing it so, yes, it’s possible.

“I think we're the best, if not the second best team defensively in the league, and we've proven that with all the teams, like Tolka and Titans in the league and Celtics in the Cup final. I think we can do it again this week,” he insisted.

While the likes of Arriaga, Kevin Donohoe and American power forward, Eric Anderson are well capable of dominating the boards, James Phelan and Davin McEvoy can also rack up big numbers from both sides of the arc for Portlaoise.

It is that diversified threat that makes Jack Scully’s side so difficult to contain, but Limerick have some serious weapons of their own, none more so than AJ Williams, Abdul Wurie and Finn Hughes, the former having amassed 55 points over the two games his side have played against Portlaoise this season.

Panthers’ cause will not have been helped by the loss of Gary Morrissey to an untimely injury in their playoff semi-final against Tolka, but Arriaga is hopeful Portlaoise have the depth to absorb such a setback.

“Gary has been one of the main guys of our team, particularly on defence, and he’s going to be a great loss for the final,” sighed Arriaga.

“But having the likes of Eric, Davin, James, myself, we can all go for 20 points in any game and that really helps.

“And you can add Kev’ into that conversation too. Over the last few games, he's been phenomenal, especially on the offensive boards,” he added.

Arriaga may have been one of the new arrivals to Portlaoise last summer, but the importance of Saturday’s game to the club is certainly not lost on him.

Indeed, securing promotion to the Super League ranks, where the club’s women currently compete would place Panthers among an elite group.

“There's been only a handful of clubs in the history of Basketball Ireland where both their men and women are competing in Super League at the same time,” said Arriaga. “Being part of that small group just shows you that the club is heading the right way.”