Unbeaten Portlaoise survive Eagles threat to make winning start to 2025
PEEK-A-BOO - These Portlaoise Panthers strain to see if Ravell Moody found the basket at St Mary's Hall earlier in the season Photo: Paul Dargan
Limerick Sport Eagles 89
ND Audit Portlaoise Panthers 90
By Stephen Leonard
ND Audit Portlaoise Panthers, again, made it abundantly clear that they’re not about to surrender their unbeaten record in Men’s Division One without a hell of a fight after they survived a colossal challenge from Limerick Sport Eagles that took them to overtime in UL Arena on Saturday afternoon.
After a slow start to this opening game of the new year, Jack Scully’s side hauled themselves back from 12 points down late in the first quarter to lead by nine heading into the fourth.
But Limerick demonstrated a tenacity of their own, fighting their way back down the stretch thanks in no small part to a late 12-point salvo by Alexander Carlisle that helped take his tally to a massive 38 on the day.
That went a long way to forcing overtime, during which a combined seven points from James Phelan and Xabi Arriaga proved just enough to see Portlaoise prevail.
Those same two players combined for a total of 34 points in this thriller, while Eric Anderson weighed in with a further 22 that helped see the visitors move to 12 and 0 at the top of the North Conference.
“Limerick played very well and it was great to win a tough game like that,” Portlaoise’s James Phelan told the ******Laois Nationalist******.
“While I don’t think we had our best performance at all, to be able to just pull together and carve out a win like that is very important for us.
“And it all comes from the leadership of players like Eric and Xabi who are just excellent. The leadership they bring and the sense of poise they give us, it makes it so much easier for us to be able to handle games like that,” he added.
It was Anderson who served up the game’s opening basket, but Limerick responded with the next 11 points that include scores off the three-point line by Carlisle, Darragh Horkan and Nikola Ivkovic.
While the visitors managed to reduced their arrears to five by way of buckets from Aleksandar Kovacevic, Cillian O’Connell and Anderson, both Horkan and Carlisle again got in to see Limerick lead 27-18 at the close of the first quarter.
A seven-point run, that included scores from Phelan and Davin McEvoy helped Panthers close the gap to just a solitary point with just under three minutes gone in the second quarter.
Limerick did get motoring again as scores from Horkan and Carlisle pushed their lead back out to seven, only to see Portlaoise storm back with a 10-point run helping them overtake into a 46-42 lead by the halftime break, Morrissey and Liam Kinsella striking from the floor while Arriaga drained a brace from the free-throw line.
It was the hosts who struck first in the second half by way of a Sean Morrissey three, but Portlaoise accounted for the next five points compliments of Arriaga and Anderson.
And, while Limerick managed to keep themselves well in the reckoning, a six-point run at the close of that period saw Portlaoise take a nine-point advantage (66-57) into the fourth.
Still, Limerick were far from done, and big downtown scores from Sean Morrissey and Horkan along with additional buckets on the inside from Ignacio Folgueiras and Carlisle dragged them back on to level terms at 75 points apiece almost midway through the final period.
Again, Portlaoise dug in to move six points clear before Limerick closed the gap, Ajay Walsh, draining one of his two free throws with 29 seconds remaining to make it 83-83, ultimately forcing overtime.
The tug-of-war continued throughout the additional five minutes with Limerick edging ahead before Portlaoise regained the initiative following a free-throw and three-pointer from Phelan.
Once again, Eagles restored parity at 89 points apiece when Folgueiras went to the free-throw line, but Arriaga responded in kind for the visitors when he drew a foul and landed one of his two shots to clinch another thriller for the Laois outfit.
Keeping their unbeaten league run intact is a major boost for this Portlaoise team who will now be focusing all their energy on this Saturday’s President’s National Cup semi-final against Titans in Cork.
And while they did beat their Galway rivals by 31 points back in November, Phelan insists they can ill-afford to take this weekend’s test lightly.
“In cup, anything can happen,” he said. “It’s nice to know that in a battle of minds that we did beat this team and that we are very capable of beating them.
“Some teams might run the risk of getting complacent which we’re determined not to do. Cup is a different monster in itself and anything can happen,” he warned.
LIMERICK SPORT EAGLES: Sam Morrissey, Nikola Ivkovic, Obinna Josephs, Darragh Horkan, Alexander Carlisle, Kirill Yakovlev, Ajay Walsh, Ronan Cregan, Ignacio Folgueiras.
Top Scorers: Alexander Carlisle (38), Darragh Horkan (21), Ignacio Folgueiras (10).
ND AUDIT PORTLAOISE PANTHERS: Cillian O’Connell, Dylan Dunne, James Phelan, Eric Anderson, Davin McEvoy, Kevin Donohoe, Gary Morrissey, Xabi Arriaga, Kyle Burke, Aleksandar Kovacevic, Liam Kinsella.
Top Scorers: Eric Anderson (22), James Phelan (21), Xabier Arriaga (13).
