Young Portlaoise team bow out in last eight of Billy Kelly Tournament

PORTLAOISE Panthers’ U/17 Boys team made it as far as the last eight of the 2025 Billy Kelly Tournament in Cork, losing out to eventual champions, Oblates 55-36 in Parochial Hall on Saturday morning.

It was an impressive campaign by this young Panthers squad who were shorn the services of several key players for this competition, including Desmond Ogedegbe, Scott Davis and Mark Delaney.

Victory over Dublin Raiders in their opening Pool F game on Friday was followed by a narrow four-point defeat at the hands of eventual finalists, Tolka Rovers.

It meant Jack Scully’s side would have to face Éanna in the last 16 later that day, and they appeared to be on their way out of the competition at that stage as they headed into the closing four minutes 17 points down.

Yet the Laois side managed to dig in and, led by Jayden Umeh, put together a 17-point run that saw them emerge with a dramatic 50-47 victory, setting them up for a date with the highly-rated Oblates in the quarter-finals the following morning.

However, it was not to be for this Portlaoise side, as they lost out 55-36 to their Dublin rivals who continued on to capture the coveted prize after seeing off Dublin Lions (66-58) in the penultimate rounds before edging out Tolka (59-55) in the decider.

Portlaoise head coach, Jack Scully remained very much upbeat after his team’s quarter-final exit, telling the Laois Nationalist: “Oblates were one of the favourites going into this tournament.

“We went down with 13 players and only three of them were actually Under 17. We had three Under 17s, three Under 15s and then the rest were Under 16s, so to get to a quarter-final and be really competitive was hugely pleasing.

“We were also missing Desmond Ogedegbe, Scott Davis and Mark Delaney, who are three of our stronger Under 17s. They were away on a school trip.

“So, overall, it was a hugely pleasing weekend and I’m delighted with the way it turned out” he said.