It was a disappointing night for Titans who fell to a dominant Limerick Sport Eagles in the Dominos Men's Division One League Final on Saturday night.
Despite putting in a brave performance, it would be the Eagles who would prevail 82-63 at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght.
Eagles Alex Carlisle was the star of the show, scoring 41 points to earn the MVP award.
Limerick Sport Eagles led from start to finish in this contest and raced to an early 12-0 lead four minute in after Carlisle’s basket. Titans got into their stride and Umar Rashid’s score with the final play of the quarter reduced the deficit to 19-11.
Titans got within six points, 29-23, after Comhghall McCormack’s three and Fortune Igbokwe’s basket and additional free throw. Limerick Sport Eagles would lead by 11 points by half-time, 36-25, Carlisle with the final points of the quarter and he had 22 points at that stage.
Limerick Sport Eagles stretched the lead to 17 points after a five point run from Carlisle - a three and a layup - to make it 47-30 three minutes into the third quarter. Ryan Leonard, who recently made his FIBA EuroBasket debut for Ireland, landed a three with a minute to go in the third quarter, which saw Limerick Sport Eagles 61-42 up. A Nathan Gbinigie’s layup followed for Titans, but the last word of the quarter went to Carlisle, who landed his third three of the contest and it was 64-44.
Limerick Sport Eagles didn’t relent, a Carlisle two-pointer and a Leonard three extended their lead further in the early stages of the fourth quarter. At the defensive end Tobias Christensen put in a huge block on Gbinigie. A Carlisle layup and an Ajay Walsh dunk had Eagles 73-51 ahead by the midpoint of the quarter. Niall McDermott’s side kept Titans at arm’s length after that to seal promotion.
Adrian O'Neill Reports.
John Mulligan spoke to both Head Coaches after the game.
He first spoke to Limerick Sport Eagles Head Coach Niall McDermott who was really proud of his team.
John then spoke to Titans Head Coach Erin Bracken who was understandably disappointed with the loss but first paid tribute to their opponents on their win.
Quarter Scores: Q1: 19-11, Q2: 17-14, Q3: 28-19, Q4: 18-19
Game Scores: Q1: 19-11, Q2: 36-25, Q3: 64-44, Q4: 82-63
Limerick Sport Eagles:
Jake Moore (0), Daniel Shahab (0), Kirill Yakovlev (0), Ryan Leonard (16), Fryderek Klimas (3), Darragh Horkan (5), Stephen King (0), Ajay Walsh (5), Sean Ryan (3), Ronan Cregan (2), Alexander Carlisle (41), Tobias Christensen (7)
Head Coach: Niall McDermott
Titans:
Joseph Coughlan (5), Viktor Tashev (13), Stephan Owede (DNP), Fortune Igbokwe (8), Ben Powell (0), Comhghall McCormack (3), Eoin Coughlan (3), Umar Rashid (21), Declan Gbinigie (6), Matthew Sweeney (0), Nathan Gbinigie (4), Ben Kelly (0)
Head Coach: Erin Bracken
