Cork Basketball: Ballincollig, Brunell and Glanmire all bow out of Super League playoffs

A disappointing weekend for all three Cork teams on the road in the Men’s and Women’s Super-League quarter-finals with defeats for Irish Guide Dogs Ballincollig, Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell and The Address UCC Glanmire.

Ballincollig’s topsy-turvy season came to an end in the playoffs at Clontarf when they went down to Killester 82-74 despite a strong showing.

The opening quarter was pulsating with both sides going for the jugular with a Ciaran O’Sullivan basket helping them into a 6-2 lead in the second minute. Midway through the quarter the Cork side still had a two-point cushion and a late Keelan Cairns three-pointer saw them trail 25-24 entering the second quarter.

Killester then took control with a late Kason Harrell dagger outside the arc giving them a nine-point interval lead. With Paul Dick a constant threat they increased their lead to 16 points in the 27th minute.

Credit to Ballincollig they refused to lie down, and they reduced the deficit to 11 points entering the final quarter. Adrian O’Sullivan could only play for seven minutes as he was struggling with an ongoing ankle injury and Killester set up a final-four clash at home to Eanna.

DISAPPOINTING END

The season is also over for Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell as despite putting in a serious shift against Dublin side Killester they went down 88-80.

Brunell went into the game minus their injured American Deaja Richardson but showed true resilience in the opening quarter to lead 22-21. Captain Edel Thornton was outstanding and their intensity continued into the second quarter to go in at the break commanding a nine-point lead 46-37.

Killester responded in style and with American Samantha Haiby and Irish international Mimi Clarke leading by example they outscored Brunell 28-14 to go ahead by five heading into the final quarter.

Coming down the stretch Killester showed their experience and despite Brunell playing hard to the final buzzer the Dublin side eventually got over the line. It certainly was a disappointing end to the campaign for Brunell as missing a professional in a game of this magnitude was a major factor.

Brunell have some quality Irish players and next season with two solid professionals they could well make a bold challenge for Super League and National Cup titles.

It was also a disappointing end to the hopes of The Address UCC Glanmire, losing 88-66 to National Cup winners Liffey Celtics.

Glanmire were also restricted to one American after releasing Trinity Oliver and although putting in a battling first-half display they found themselves trailing by 13 points at the break.

In a rip-roaring third quarter the sides shared 58 points but coming down the stretch the Kildare side put the game beyond Glanmire’s reach with American Alexandra Navarette finishing with a game-high 26 points.

Hard to know the future of this Glanmire side as they have limited players coming through to play in the top tier and there will be some soul-searching done over the summer months as they look to the future.