Ballincollig basketballers back on track with derby defeat of Neptune
Ballincollig's Latavious Mitchell scores unchallenged against Neptune during their Men's Super League clash at Neptune Stadium. Picture: David Keane.
Ballincollig produced a season best to secure their first win of the season in the Domino’s Men’s Super league when overcoming local rivals Energywise Ireland Neptune at the Neptune Stadium on Saturday.
In a game dominated by the Ballincollig professionals Latavious Mitchell (38), Latrell Jossell (23) and Josh Steel (18), they had too much firepower for a dismal defensive showing from the home side.
The home team gave a debut to Bosman Greg Adon, the former Killester and Tralee Warriors ace and if he can produce the basketball he is capable of, he will be a key signing for them yet.
After a scrappy start Latrell Jossell nailed a monstrous shot outside the arc in the second minute, only for Cameron Glover to respond with a neat jumper.
The Ballincollig shooting was posing the home side problems and second three-pointer from Joshua Steel surged them into a 10-4 lead with Neptune immediately calling a time out just three minutes into the game.
On the restart, Neptune nailed a three much to the delight of their fans. The shooting of Jossell continued to hurt them with his third three-pointer midway through the quarter that edged his side into a 16-13 lead.
The overall play was scrappy, but Ballincollig got a run and extended their lead to 13 points with 1.45 remaining with the defence struggling big time.
A big Eli Lenihan three-pointer helped Neptune reduce the deficit, but they trailed 30-21 entering the second quarter.
A superb Adrian O’Sullivan basket gave the visitors the perfect start and following a Michell basket and bonus, the Ballincollig lead extended to 15 points in the 13th minute.
There was no shape to Neptune at either end of the floor as they looked like a team waiting for something to happen. The substitutions continued in earnest for both teams with the Neptune fans waiting for their team to find their shooting rhythm.
It got worse for Neptune midway through the quarter when player-coach Ciaran O’Sullivan finished a fast break, it suddenly it extended their lead to 23 points.
At this stage, Neptune couldn’t buy a basket. Coming up to the interval, the game turned into a scrimmage. With 59 seconds remaining, Ballincollig had a number of fringe players on court and commanded a 20-point lead, 62-42 at the break.
The half-time stats didn’t look bad for the home side as they had 6/13 inside the arc but outside the paint, they averaged 7/18, giving them a 39% rating.
The main stat showed they had given up 62 points in 20 minutes of basketball and they needed a huge improvement to get back in this game. Joe Junior Mvuezolo and Adon nailed a three-pointer each in the opening minute that gave their disgruntled fans a ray of hope.
There was little doubt Neptune looked to have increased the tempo and three minutes into this period, they had reduced the lead to 17 points. It got better for Neptune as they chipped away and entering the final minute, the gap was down to 11.
Trailing 82-71 entering the final quarter, Neptune needed to maintain the pressure but after four minutes, Ballincollig still held a 14-point lead.
Coming down the stretch, Ballincollig saw out the game with relative ease as Neptune 0/3 still await their first win of the season.
G Adon 20, J Junior-Mvuezolo 20, Z Dobbs 13, C Glover 11.
L Mitchell 38, L Jossell 23, J Steel 18, A O’Sullivan 11.
K O’Donoghue, Z Dobbs, C Heaphy, N Power, E Linehan, J Scannell, S Noonan, C Glover, D O’Rourke, A Heaphy, E Nelson, J Junior-Mvuezolo, P Osagie, G Adon.
A O’Sullivan, J Steel, L Jossell, D O’Herlihy, R O’Flynn, A Rodriguez, C O’Sullivan, C Blount, L Mitchell, K Cairns, D Corkery.
Maciej Nazimek (Dublin), Paula Gisbert (Limerick), Jacek Malysko (Portlaoise).
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