A 31-point game from Declan Gbinigie sent Titans to their second U20 Men's National Cup final in three years, where they will face Neptune, who defeated Portlaoise Panthers 89-57 in the other semi-final on Sunday.
Both sides came out fast in the opening quarter, with the biggest gap being a six-point lead for Titans midway through the quarter. But it was the fast breaks that were making a difference for Titans, with scores from Fortune Igbokwe, Declan Gbinigie and Stephan Owede coming in transition to put Titans ahead by three going into the second.
It was Luka Mitchell for Titans in the second quarter that started grab the game by the neck as Mitchell would score nine of his 20 points in the second period. Mitchell and Declan Gbinigie managed to push Titans into a 14-point lead with just under four minutes left in the half. Seven points from Éanna managed to eat into the lead slightly, but Titans did enough to take a nine-point lead into half-time.
Titans would come out after half-time looking to really emphasise their pace advantage with several interceptions and fast breaks with a 28-point quarter and just three of their scores coming from outside the three-point line in the third quarter. Viktor Tashev and Fortune Igbokwe scored half of their individual points in the third, with Fortune getting six of his 12 and Tashev scoring five of his 10. The big swing in the third was the 13-3 run at the five-minute mark for Titans as the Galway side took a 24-point lead into the final quarter of the semi-final.
Éanna tried to eat back into the lead with scores from Adam Charles, Adam McCarthy and Dean Kiernan seeing them start with an 11-4 run in the fourth. After Titans came out of the timeout, it was more of the same as they would go on to preserve the 24-point cushion for the remainder of the game to send them to the final.
Titans go to their second final in three years after reaching the U20 National Cup final in 2024, but ultimately losing out to Limerick Celtics. They will be hoping to go one step further and win it all when they face Neptune in Tallaght in two weeks’ time.
Quarter Scores: Q1: 23-20, Q2: 21-15, Q3: 28-13, Q4:22-22
Game Scores: Q1: 23-20, Q2: 44-35, Q3: 72-48, Q4: 94-70
Titans BC:
Michael Smyth (0), Stephan Owede (6), Luka Mitchell (20), Luke Herrick (12), William Poland (DNP), Fortune Igbokwe (12), Noah Webb (DNP), Valentino Edobor (DNP), Viktor Tashev (10), Filip Rogowicz (DNP), Declan Gbinigie (31), Richard Grebstels (DNP), Nathan Gbinigie (3).
Éanna:
Adam McCarthy (3), Adam Charles (22), Gareth Hopwood (2), Conor Chambers (4), Patrick Walsh (10), Ryan Bell (8), Ross O’Neil (0), Max Geaney (5), Noah Dodson (0), Cillian Buttner (DNP), Sam Fearon (DNP), Dean Kiernan (13), Aodhan O’Neill (0), Harry Lynch (3), Sam Curley (DNP).
