Emporium Cork Basketball blitz Sligo in the third quarter to get playoff bid back on track
Luke O'Sullivan with a reverse past from Sligo All-Stars' Christian Williams. Picture: Eddie O'Hare
A CRUCIAL win for the hosts in the battle for the Super League playoffs, turning a four-point halftime deficit into a victory with a 30-point third-quarter showing.
American guard John Dawson and Spanish forward Jose Jimenez showed their class to the delight of the crowd at Ballincollig Community School as they shared 55 points, while captain Adrian O'Sullivan set the tone throughout with his intensity and drives to the rim.
Ronan O'Sullivan was a powerful presence in the paint and his eight points didn't reflect how impactful he was, especially defensively.
Kealan Cairns and Pau Camí Galera had four and five points respectively but were integral to that slick third quarter which ended with Ballincollig 73-61 up and in total control. Player-coach Ciarán O'Sullivan hit five points coming down the stretch as they continued to dominate, holding Sligo to six fourth-quarter points and just two buckets from the field.
A highlight for the Ballincollig fans was rookie Luke O'Sullivan swishing a jumper from outside the arc and getting fouled in the process, converting from the line for a four-point play.
Christian Willamson and Tom Child were impressive at times for Sligo, the former a smooth finisher, while young gun Oisin O'Reilly had 15 points, including three three-pointers. Even they struggled to get on the scoresheet in the second half however when Emporium upped the tempo and switched continuously on D.
Sligo (7-10) still have a chance of getting into the Super League quarter-finals as fourth seed in the Northern Conference while in the stronger Southern section, Ballincollig, now 10-6, are in a three-way battle with Neptune and Tralee Warriors for two spots.
Collig have a game in hand but it's away to Killester next weekend as part of a double-header which also sees them visiting Éanna, their conquerors in the National Cup semis.
They'll get nothing easy on the road but at least know they have the tie-breaker with Tralee on scoring difference if the clubs finish level. They would be expected to beat struggling St Vincent's at home in the last regular season match on March 11 but first they've to get a result in one of the two away ties.
John Dawson 28, Jose Jimenez 27, Adrian O'Sullivan 10, Ronan O'Sullivan 8.
Christian Williams 23, Tom Child 20, Oisin O'Reilly 15, Jamie Hayes 7.
Adrian O'Sullivan, Dylan Corkery, Andrew O'Connor, John Dawson, Sean O'Flynn, Pau Camí Galera, Ciaran O'Sullivan, Ronan O'Sullivan, Luke O’Sullivan, Padraig Lucey, Jamie Cotter, Jose Jimenez, Keelan Cairns.
Mark Chambers, Sean Snee, Cam King, Aidan Lockhart, Tom Child, Oisin O'Reilly, Josh Henry, Jamie Hayes, Christian Williams.
Catriona White, Tara Dunphy, Adam Wickham.
