More Silverware for Nenagh Basketball Warriors
North Munster U14 Boys Division 1 Plate Final
Nenagh Warriors White 45
Glen Cruisers Newport 26
Nenagh Warriors White team took on Glen Cruisers Newport in a rearranged North Munster Final last Thursday in St. Munchin’s College in Limerick.
Warriors went into this game in a buoyant mood, having beaten their opponents in both of their previous encounters this season. However, Glen Cruisers tore up the script early on and built up a healthy first quarter advantage. Warriors slowly clawed this back the deficit with great baskets from Alex Ley & Lucas Lumanlan to leave the game evenly poised heading into the second quarter.
The second quarter is where Warriors took total control, as captain Cathal O‘Brien put in a true leader’s performance, driving through the defence on several occasions before nailing a wonderful three pointer to pull Warriors away.
Warriors maintained their advantage into the third and fourth quarters and continued to pull away from their opponents, with great baskets from Ethan Connolly & Matthew Walsh making it a comfortable victory in the end.
Panel: Cathal O’Brien, Matthew Walsh, Lucas Lumanlan, Harry Gannon, Jakub Warmusz, Tommy Powell, Jayden Tucker, Jack O’Toole, Donal Ryan, Arsenij Gurjanov-Chantemirov, Harry Gannon, Alex Ley & Harry O’Gorman. Coaches: Patsy Farrell & Jim Gannon
North Munster Senior Men’s Division 2 League Semi-Final
Nenagh Warriors 67 Phoenix 62
This semi-final on Saturday was always going to be a close encounter, with tight margins having been the theme of their previous encounters this season. Phoenix finished ahead of Warriors in the first stage of the league, so were favourites to advance to the final against Shannon Jets.
Warriors showed they were ready to cause an upset early on, as Janis Zarins fired in a three pointer within seconds to open the scoring, before Dorin Girlea added a basket to put Warriors 5-0 up. Phoenix stormed back in a pulsating first quarter to go 5-6 up before Jim Clancy & Charlie O’Gorman restored the lead. Phoenix found themselves 10-12 ahead, heading for the end of the quarter before Zarins popped up with another three pointer to give Warriors a slender one-point lead.
The second quarter continued to be evenly matched with Justus Sadauskas & Janis Zarins once again keeping the scoreboard ticking upwards for Warriors in a quarter that Phoenix won 18-19 to leave the scores tied 31-31 at halftime.
The third quarter is where Warriors hit fifth gear, as Dorin Girlea & Charlie O’Gorman both knocked in two three pointers, along with one from Dawid Sek. Jim Clancy & Justus Sadauskas contributed several baskets each, as Warriors took the quarter 27-14.
The final quarter saw Phoenix stage a comeback, as Nenagh ended up in foul trouble midway through the quarter. Sadauskas was already fouled out of the game at this point, as the Warriors tried to cling on against a tide of Phoenix baskets. Phoenix went on to take the final quarter 09-17 but it wasn`t enough as the Warriors advanced to the final on a 67-62 scoreline.
North Munster Senior Men’s Division 2 League Final
Nenagh Warriors 53
Shannon Jets 47
Warriors went into the final on Sunday as massive underdogs against a Shannon team that went 15 wins from 15 games in the first part of the league season. Despite that, Warriors were the only team to have taken Jets to overtime, in their final league encounter back in March.
The opening quarter was a very tense and tentative affair early on, with the lead switching between the two sides. That was until Justus Sadauskas & Dorin Girlea popped up with two three pointers to give Nenagh Warriors a commanding 15-6 lead.
Shannon stormed back in the second quarter and really found their groove, winning the quarter 20-12, despite the best efforts from Janis Zarins & Charlie O’Gorman. Warriors held a slender 27-26 lead at halftime.
The third quarter was another cagey and even affair, but it was Shannon who managed to get themselves into a 35-39 lead.
The final quarter was absolutely outstanding from Warriors. Immense performances from Dorin Girlea, Janis Zarins & Charlie Cavanagh helped the team to retake the lead before powering away to win 53-47, with Jim Clancy nailing two free throws in the dying seconds to put the icing on the cake.
The result makes Warriors the first team to beat Shannon in the league this season and earns promotion to Division One of the North Munster League.
This was a thoroughly deserved win on the day for Warriors, who finally showed what they are capable of. Despite a mixed season with some very disappointing results, they never gave up as they stunned the crowd in St. Munchin’s.
Panel: Dorin Girlea, Jim Clancy, Janis Zarins, Charlie O’Gorman, Charlie Cavanagh, Dawid Sek, Dawid Sado, Igor Gurjanov, Piotr Niemiec, Ross Carty, Justus Sadauskas, Eimantas Varzevicius. Coach: Patsy Farrell.