Neptune U20s stun Portlaoise with superb performance to reach National Cup final

Neptune 89 

Portlaoise Panthers 57 

Neptune produced a season best performance to topple favourites Portlaoise Panthers in the Men’s U20 National Cup semi final at the Neptune stadium on Sunday morning.

Make no mistake, this was a statement of intent from the Blackpool side who were simply magnificent from start to finish.

Plenty of heroes for Neptune whose leading scorers were Pharrell Osagie (27), Sean Noonan (21), Wesley Delany (11) and Dylan O’Rourke (11).

A lot of credit must go to the Neptune coach Adam Drummond who had his well prepared and although they will be underdogs going into the final against Titans they are sure to pose any side problems with a repeat performance.

After a couple of careless possessions from both sides Desmond Ogedegbe and Jayden Umeh were on hand to nail consecutive three pointers for the Panthers.

Neptune after a slow star began finding their rhythm and with Wesley Delany and Sean Noonan showing their shooting skills beyond the arc it gave them a 15-10 lead midway through the quarter.

The home side were really showing true grit in defence and when Dylan O’Rourke went coast to coast in the sixth minute his basket gave them a seven- point cushion.

Portlaoise looked to be struggling to break down the Neptune defence such was the intensity the home side were showing.

A couple of poor Neptune turnovers got the Panthers back in the game and entering the second quarter the lead was reduced to two points 21-19.

On the restart the tempo increased but Neptune looked well organized and consecutive baskets from Pharrell Osagie gave them a 27-22 lead in the 13th minute.

Sean Noonan son of the Neptune stalwart Ger was showing his father’s touch in the manner he was finishing as his side commanded a nine- point lead midway through the quarter.

The Panthers looked intent in shooting outside the paint and with their shots not dropping it was no surprise Neptune continued to dictate proceedings with four minutes remaining to the interval.

Amazingly the Panthers continued to self-destruct in the offence court with their shooting options bordering on the ridiculous as Neptune courtesy of consecutive Wesley Delany three pointers surged into a 16- point lead with two minutes remaining to the interval.

Delany was simply awesome in the shooting department and entering the final minute when he produced a neat jumper it gave his side an 18- point lead.

A shrewd time out by Neptune saw Dylan O’Rourke drain a long range three pointer that ensured they went in at the break commanding a 50-28 lead.

The Blackpool outfit went into this game as underdogs but looking at them in the opening 20 minutes they made a joke of their pre-game tag with some explosive basketball.

Noonan took his tally to 16 points with a monstrous three pointer on the restart as the home side looked to be brimming with confidence.

The home side continued to play with confidence and when Dylan O’Rourke made a stunning shot outside the arc in the 24th minute it increased Neptune’s advantage to 25 points.

It was baffling in the manner the Panthers continued to approach the game as they continued to choose silly shooting options as when they took the ball to the hoop they seemed to making more baskets.

Credit to Neptune when Portlaoise threatened to get back in the game they showed maturity with Dylan O’Rourke and Sean Noonan showing tremendous composure as they took a 23- point 72-49 lead into the fourth quarter.

On the restart Neptune stayed in control as the Panthers simply couldn’t match their firepower on a great day for the Blackpool club.

Scorers for Neptune: P Osagie 27, S Noonan 21, D O’Rourke 11, W Delany 11.

Portlaoise Panthers: D Ogedegbe 14, L Omijade 9, J Umeh 7.

Neptune: L Walsh, D O’Rourke, K O’Rourke, W Delany, O Tobin, N Vaickonis, P Osagie, W Carmody, S Noonan, S Emukperuo, A Coker, B O’Connell, E Lauryn, Davicius, D Brusevics, O Ensko.

Portlaoise Panthers: R Comerford, J Umeh, D Ogedegbe, L Kavanagh, J Fennell, D Booth, L Omijade, B Muldowney, B DeSouza, E Onuorah, I Agayev, S O’Brien, J Gilnagh.

Referees: Catriona White (Dublin), Tara Dunphy (Dublin), Niamh O’Donovan (Cork).