UCC Demons coach Danny O'Mahony left frustrated after defeat to Killester

The disappointment on the face of UCC Demons coach Danny O’Mahony was clear to see after watching his side go into a total meltdown in the final quarter against Killester in the Pat Duffy Men’s National Cup final at the National Basketball Arena.

So where did it all go wrong for the reigning champions?

“I think there was a lapse of concentration and although we were rolling in the third quarter Killester made a few substitutions and nailed back-to-back three-pointers it gave them a huge boost,” O’Mahony said.

Coach O’Mahony believes his teams preparations included a game plan that worked for long periods of the game.

“When you look it was probably Paul Dick’s lowest-scoring game of the season and with Kason Harrell also had a low average of scoring we were doing okay in defence.

“Defensively I thought we did well what we needed to do but there is this a myth out there that Killester are small, but they are a very aggressive side that get away with some calls in defence,” added O’Mahony.

Make no mistake Demons had plenty of chances to win but coach O’Mahony a man not to criticise players believes sometimes that happens on big occasions.

“We had a number of good looks but missed them and that was unusual for us as we are usually good in finishing.

I called a time-out early in the third quarter because I felt we were just swinging instead of landing a punch, but we just couldn’t get the baskets we needed to see them off.” 

The Demons boss praised the contribution of the MVP Isiah Dasher for his display.

“In fairness, Dasher is a great player that took over the game in the final quarter and he eventually got his side over the line."

The average scoring of Demons' Americans was well below what they have been producing all season with their three professionals only contributing 34 points in this final.

“Look nobody goes out to play poor in a final and with Pat Robinson coming off a Player of the Month averaging 29 points a game and Elijah and Toby not firing it was always going to be a tough task for us.

“On the other side of the coin, Killester had a game plan to shut our professionals down and it worked but Elijah at the start of the game was hoping that the referees would blow some fouls on Killester but in this game, it simply didn’t happen.” 

POSITIVE

However, coach O’Mahony was upbeat as he reflected on the championship win 12 months ago.

When we won the cup last season we were in a relegation battle but now we are second in the league and chasing Killester so there is still lots of basketball to be played.” 

Coach O’Mahony took time to praise his players for their effort.

“Looking losing any final is tough to take and my players are gutted but look they gave their all and, on the night, it wasn’t good enough, but I have a resilient group of players that will bounce back.”