“We’re a team that doesn’t care who scores, so long as we play together and play to win” 

ND Audit Portlaoise Panthers guard, James Phelan applauded the spirit and tenacity of the players around him after they weathered a huge test from Titans in Parochial Hall in Cork on Saturday night to secure a 67-55 victory and, with it, their first ever appearance in the President’s National Cup final.

Jack Scully’s side were 12 points in arrears with just over seven minutes played, but delivered a stunning second-quarter performance that helped see them turn that deficit into a two-point lead by the half-time recess.

And while Titans edged back in front for a very brief period early in the third, Panthers regained the initiative and held on to it right to the final buzzer to set up a mouth-watering clash against Limerick Celtics in next weekend’s decider in the National Basketball Arena.

Looking back on Saturday night’s victory, Phelan told the Laois Nationalist: “There was just a feeling of pure joy and relief at the end really. The only thing that matters is the win.

“It was just a great feeling, especially when the whole club was there behind us, supporting us, so it was great to get it over the line, both for us and for them.

“Titans got out quick on us. Their defence had us on the backfoot at the start, but I think we all just kind of understood that this was their run and we just needed to roll with the punches and that we’d have our chance to fight back.

“We didn’t produce our greatest performance in my opinion and yet we were ahead at half-time, so that gave us a lot of confidence, just knowing that we didn’t do the greatest job and yet we were still in front.

“Gary [Morrissey], Davin [McEvoy] and Alek [Kovacevic] stepped up in a huge way in that second quarter and really helped us push on.

“Gary had one of his best games in my opinion. He just gave us that spark everywhere to get scores on the board, play defence and put Titans on the backfoot,” said Phelan, who himself put up a game-high 17 points on the night.

Not for the first time this season, Panthers were able to demonstrate an exceptional level of composure, both when they found themselves playing catch-up in the opening quarter and when they were trying to protect a narrow lead from a Titans side snapping at their heels throughout much of the second half.

Talismen like Eric Anderson and Xabi Arriaga may not have been afforded the opportunity to put up the big numbers they’re normally accustomed too, but they still inflicted severe damage on Titans by way of their defensive intensity and composure in the heat of battle, the two players combining for 18 rebounds on the night.

“Players like Xabi or Eric, if they’re not scoring, they’re contributing in ways that might not show up, like rebounding,” stressed Phelan.

“I thought Xabi played excellent defence on their American all night. I thought Eric rebounded the hell out of the ball, blocked shots. I mean they do everything that we need them to do. We have nine or ten guys who can play at a really high level, both in terms of maturity and skill.

“We’re a team that doesn’t really care who scores or gets what numbers, just so long as we play together and play to win. It was just great resolve from the boys, just to be able to concentrate and get over the line to see us into the final,” he smiled.

Both Portlaoise Panthers and Limerick Celtics will now be putting their unbeaten records on the line when they go head-to-head in Saturday’s hugely-anticipated cup decider in the National Basketball Arena.

Limerick successfully negotiated a very tough assignment against Moy Tolka Rovers in their semi-final on Saturday night at MTU Arena, winning out 85-78.

Both Finn Hughes and Ariyon Williams turned in another big performance for the South Conference leaders, putting up a combined 55 points and 17 rebounds to help their side secure further passage through to the final.

Phelan appreciates the huge challenge he and his Portlaoise team mates face in taking the final step on the road to National Cup glory, but is confident that they have the ability to inflict on Limerick their very first loss of the season.

“If we perform the way we can, then we have a great chance of winning the game and I’m sure Celtics will be feeling the same, so it’s set up to be a great match,” he said.

“Both teams are undefeated. You just wouldn’t want it any other way for a cup final. It’s just about another good week of practise now, really concentrate on locking in on everything and getting our game plan down.

“Once we do all that, we just have to realise that it’s just another game. We’re playing a good team, but they’re playing a good team too.

“We’ve got to make sure we don’t play the event, just play the match. We’ve just got to concentrate on our own performance, do what we do, and play together. If we do that, I think we can be successful.”