Busy weekend of Munster Finals for Nenagh Warriors Basketball

St. Munchin’s College in Limerick will play host to two days of action-packed basketball this weekend, with the North Munster Juvenile Cup Finals taking place.

Nenagh Warriors Basketball Club will be strongly represented, with the club contesting no less than seven of the fifteen finals.

The first final on Saturday morning will see the Warriors Under 12 Boys White team compete in the clubs first Division 1 final since reforming in 2016. There, they will take on the recently crowned league winners and Basketball Ireland Club of the Year, Limerick Celtics, who they have faced in three challenging encounters so far this season. Celtics have won those three previous games, but the Warriors have shown enough in those games to suggest that an upset could be on the cards. The boys have had a memorable season and have garnered the attention and plaudits of many in North Munster, so a win for the boys would be so richly deserved.

Separately, the Under 12 Boys Red team have also progressed to the Division 2 Final, where they will take on Glen Cruisers from Newport. The Reds have had a very mixed season, struggling to win games early on but have found a rich vein of form lately, winning four of their last five, including their last three. They overcame the odds to defeat the league winners in waiting, Celtics Panthers, in the semi-final by a single point, so will be hopeful that they can continue this form into the final.

League form suggests that this will be an evenly matched game, with Newport beating Warriors by two points in Newport, while Warriors reversed this with a three-point win in St. Mary’s.

The Warriors White & Red Under 14 Boys teams will also both be in action during finals weekend.

The White Team will take on Glen Cruisers in the Under 14 Boys Division 1 Plate Final, with the clubs having finished the season in third & fourth places, respectively. The season had started strongly for the White team but results after Christmas failed to go their way, as they dropped from second to third in an extremely strong league, with Limerick Lions & Limerick Celtics, two teams who made the last eight in Ireland, cementing their places at the top.

Meanwhile, the Under 14 Red team share many of the same traits as the Under 12 Red team. They began the season very slowly and hovered around the bottom of the league table for a large part of the season. However, there has been a major improvement since the Christmas break and this has led them to finish second in their league and progressing to the Division 2 Cup Final, after a nail-biting but thoroughly deserved semi-final win.

In the final, they will face Limerick Lions Orange team, who won the league title, with a 100% record intact. This will be an extremely challenging final for the Warriors but with the improvement of late, there is the potential for this to be an enthralling game of basketball.

While four of the Nenagh Warriors boys’ teams have qualified for the finals, all three of the clubs’ girl’s teams have reached their respective finals, which is a fantastic achievement.

The first of these in action on Saturday, will be the Under 12 Girls. They have recently completed their league season with a nine out of ten record, so hopes will be high on Saturday. The girls had an outstanding semi-final victory in St. Mary’s against their league title rivals Morning Star and will face either Springfield from Dromcollogher or Limerick Celtics in the final. This has already been an outstanding season for the girls, and we will have everything crossed for them during Saturday’s final.

Also on Saturday, the Under 14 Girls will seek to do the league & cup double, as they take on Glen Cruisers in the Division 2 Cup Final. The girls recently completed the league season with a 100% record and will seek to finish out their season with a second piece of silverware.

The girls have been outstanding representatives for the club over the last two seasons, winning back-to-back league titles and narrowly losing last season’s cup final to Glen Cruisers. A victory on Saturday would be the cherry on top for the team before the majority of the players move up in age grade from next season.

The last of the seven finals will be on Sunday evening, when the Under 16 Girls team take on Glen Cruisers in the Division 2 Final.

The girls defeated the odds, when they snuck past Limerick Sport Huskies in the semi-final, overcoming injuries and players being fouled out before prevailing by three points. That victory has given the girls great confidence, as they head into what is certain to be an end to end final. The two teams will be very familiar with each other from over the last few seasons, when there has never been much between them.

Best of luck to all of the Nenagh Warriors teams competing this weekend. Hopefully, there can be some silverware brought back to the town.