Cork U14 basketball squad visit City Hall before jetting off to Barcelona

THE Cork U14 basketball team got an ideal send-off from Deputy Lord Mayor Cllr Damian Boylan at Cork City Hall before flying out to Barcelona this weekend for a prestigious tournament.

A panel of 15 players from seven clubs jetted off to compete in the Euro Youth Basketball Cup on Friday morning where they will meet teams from England and Finland in the group phase before moving into the graded knockout phase. The tournament runs until Sunday and on Monday they'll enjoy the sights in Barcelona before returning to Leeside.

Cllr Boylan paid tribute to those involved in the trip for promoting basketball: "I've always been an avid fan of basketball, going to the North Mon there were sports that mattered: hurling and basketball. 

There were great days in the 1980s in Cork basketball and it's fantastic to see basketball doing so well again, at underage level and in the Super League.

"It's an honour to represent Cork internationally and huge credit is due to the mentors, the officials and the sponsors for making it happen." 

Cork County Board secretary Willie McCarthy explained they decided to provide more opportunities for young basketballers to take part in international competitions to develop and maximise the growth in the sport in recent years.

They signed a three-year deal Vive Sportswear to supply gear for Cork's three representative sides, at U14, U17 and intermediate men's levels, while Cork-based Petrochem Group provided vital sponsorship.

"They've trained very hard to prepare for the trip, getting together every week and the players making a huge effort to travel from all over Cork to attend sessions. We're hugely grateful to Petrochem for their contribution and also a number of local businesses and the players' clubs and families," explained McCarthy.

Crosshaven's James McSweeney is the coach with Ballincollig Super League-winning captain and Irish international Adrian O'Sullivan as assistant coach. Bantry, Ballincollig, Mallow, Crosshaven, Kanturk, Blue Demons and Fr Mathew's are all represented.

"They've played in tournaments as well and it's been a brilliant experience for all the lads even before we head over. They've got great training from James and Adrian and they've all improved as individuals and as a group."

Last summer, in conjunction with Cork City Council, an U15 panel was in Coventry at the International Children's Games.

CORK U14 SQUAD:

Tom Conlon (Bantry);

Isaac Dimitru (Ballincollig);

Daithí Murphy (Ballincollig);

Oscar McMahon (Ballincollig);

Éanna Ó Hurnaí (Ballincollig);

Conor Carroll (Mallow);

Charlie Casey (Mallow);

Fionan McSweeny (Crosshaven);

Diarmuid Kelly (Crosshaven);

Fergus Murphy (Crosshaven);

Cameron Reardon (Crosshaven);

Edmund Burke (Blue Demons);

Sam Lynch (Kanturk);

Alex Jocewicz (Fr Mathew's);

Pablo O'Reagan (Fr Mathew's).

Coach: James McSweeney (Crosshaven); Assistant coach: Adrian O'Sullivan (Ballincollig).