Basketball – U16 All Ireland League Playoff Results

Very few teams in the country can call themselves All-Ireland Medalists, however Captain Jimmy Gilligan (3rd Year) and his squad can do so in only their second year at this level. The potential of this group is clear and the future is bright for Basketball in Blackrock.

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St. Pats, All-Ireland finalists in the cup and winners of this group in the league, are a very strong side and ran out deserved winners. The scoreline doesn’t accurately reflect the effort we put into the game as the final quarter got away from the team and inflated the gap. ‘Rock gave their very best, won the third quarter, however St. Pats just had too much in the end. Ronin O’Halloran (3rd year) with 8 points kept the scoreboard ticking over for ‘Rock.

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We bounced back in our next game against St. Pats, Armagh. We started very well and held around an eight point lead for most of the game. However St. Pats stuck to the task and fought back in the final quarter to level the game with 19 second to go. In an exciting finish we secured a steal and Todd Blacklaw (4th Year) held his nerve for the winning basket with 5 seconds left.

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With the group having been won by St. Pats, Navan, the last game of the season was played without any pressure and the entire squad that had been so dedicated throughout the season got significant game time in what was a very enjoyable game played in superb spirit by both sides. Jimmy Gilligan shot three pointers in the final quarter in a brilliant display.

I thank our coaches Mr O’Neill, Calum Henry (Class of 2016) and Rob Somers (Class of 2017) for a great season.