Maigh Cuilinn 77 (41)
Ballincollig 90 (42)
A visit by the reigning Superleague champions was always going to be a tough task for Maigh Cuilinn. Doing it essentially without the services of their star man and top scorer Grant Olsson should have been near impossible.
Rather than surrender without a fight however, Maigh Cuilinn put in an absolutely herculean effort and looked good odds of causing a major upset on the University of Galway Sports Arena hardwood Sunday.
It took a stunning 38 point individual display from Ballincollig’s Shawndale Jones Jr to eventually dig out what was in fairness probably just about a deserved victory for the visitors 77 v 90 but boy did they have to sweat it out more than anyone thought.
Olsson, suffering with a nagging injury, togged for the game but was ultimately rested when warm ups failed to go as well as hoped. Not to be unduly deterred, Olsson’s Maigh Cuilinn teammates outworked their talented opponents and dominated the offensive rebounding to create second chance points, unsettle the Ballincollig fastbreak and generally inspire the home faithful.
In what was a first half of runs, with neither team being able to establish true dominance, a few trends did emerge. Firstly, Shawdale Jones Jr for Ballincollig was almost unstoppable. This was evident from the outset when he netted 10 points in the first quarter. Despite being a guard, his brute strength and deft touch allowed him to score some sublime post up and physical driving attacks to the extent that Maigh Cuilinn were to double him in the second half.
Secondly, Maigh Cuilinn were the quicker, better shooting team and in a game where they connected on 14 three pointers, they always looked capable of putting together a run of momentum that could keep things close.
A third trend was the Ballincollig frustration, both with referees and with how the contest seemed to be going. A hotly contested first half saw the influential brother duo Ciaran and Adrian O’Sullivan both sidelined for the men from Cork. Ciaran was ejected from the arena after an unsportsmanlike foul on Maigh Cuilinn’s Patrick Lyons while Adrian sat much of the first half in his own foul trouble.
In the second half, Ballincollig’s second American, and a walking highlight waiting to happen, André Nation fouled out of the game.
This turbulence seemed to unsettle the reigning champs enough to give Maigh Cuilinn a gap through to a potential upset and when Joseph Tummon thundered down a dunk in the closing seconds of the first half right before Kyle Cunningham stole the ensuing Ballincollig pass and nailed a sublime floater on the buzzer to make it 41 v 42 – the Galway support roared with a belief that a win was possible.
There were plenty of times in the second half when it looked like Maigh Cuilinn would cash in on that belief. While generally Ballincollig held a steady lead, it never got, until the dying minutes, to double digits and was down to as little as one basket with six minutes to play.
Maigh Culinn threw everything at it, even rolling the dice with a hobbled Grant Olsson who played his first minutes of the game late in the fourth quarter to try and get the team over the line (Olsson in fact nailing a three with nearly his first touch).
It was not enough ultimately however and when Ballincollig needed a bucket their inside out combination of the stout Jones Junior and the colossal NIkola Rossa had the answers, combining between them for 52 points in a masterclass display.
The final score of 77 v 90 was harsh to Maigh Cuilinn but the actual result of a Ballincollig win was in fairness a true reflection of the visitors being just that bit better overall.
A valiant effort from Maigh Cuilinn however who also got to give minutes to Superleague debutant Cian Carroll, who stepped onto the floor in the top tier of Irish basketball for the first time Sunday.
Next up is a welcome trip west to Leitir Móir’s excellent Spórtlann Mhichael Mhóir and the visit of Neptune from Cork on Sunday (11 February) – 3pm tip off.
Maigh Cuilinn Scorers: James Connaire 13, Patrick Lyons 11, Aitor Perez 11, Kyle Cunningham 10, Josiah Laracey 9, Ivan Basic 9, Antonio Molina 5, Kevin Nugent 4, Grant Olsson 3, Joseph Tummon 2, Liam Moloney, Cian Carroll