Glanmire coach Mark Scannell is thrilled with treble haul for the season

TO complete the treble in one season is a remarkable achievement and for The Address UCC Glanmire coach Mark Scannell it was another night to savour at basketball headquarters on Saturday when they defeated Singleton's SuperValu Brunell in the Champions Trophy final.

Although Glanmire were the dominant side in the first half when commanding a 25 point interval lead they went into meltdown in the third quarter when only amassing seven points.

Brunell upped their defensive intensity and that knocked the champions out of their stride.

For coach Scannell it was a frustrating second for his side.

Scannell said: “To be honest I thought my team couldn’t manage the physicality in the second half as Claire Melia was punished with two early fouls and after scoring 24 points in the first half we were forced to sit her down for the majority of the second.” 

The Glanmire believes the game was put to bed in the first half and his team basically never came out for the second.

“It happens as my players switched off and Brunell hit a number of shots that hurt us but when you come out cold teams can punish you and credit to Brunell,” added Scannell.

"They are a proud team and while we were getting cold in the dressing room at half time and cooling down, they were always going to come out fighting in the second half and credit to them, they did that and we stopped scoring."

It has been a memorable season for Glanmire and coach Scannell paid tribute to his players.

“They are a wonderful group who don’t know the meaning of defeat and today is another addition to the wonderful history associated with this club.

“We have a number of great volunteers associated with the club that make things happen and without them this couldn’t happen and many thanks to all of them.” 

The smile on the face of captain Aine McKenna summed up another wonderful season for her club.

McKenna one of the best players in the Super League this season believes the club can build on this season.

McKenna said: “We have great camaraderie and I think that’s important to our success as a team and it has been an honour over the last decade to play with such a magnificent club.

“Credit to Brunell they put in huge effort today and as we saw in the second half they have great heart and I have no doubt they will be a threat next season as they have some quality players.”

For Tom O'Halloran and his team it's a case of so near and yet so far.

What went so badly wrong in the first half?  How and why did they play so poorly?  And then why were they so good in the second half?  These are the questions that will drive O'Halloran and his assistant Malcolm Thompson crazy over the next few weeks.