Neptune NICC team rue second quarter collapse which costs them a place in the National Cup final

Neptune 77

Phoenix 84 

Despite a battling second-half Neptune display it wasn’t enough as Phoenix secured a place in the Men’s NICC National Cup final following a highly charged semi final at the Neptune stadium on Sunday.

The Blackpool side gave their all but Phoenix’s ability to execute baskets at crucial times coming down the stretch proved the difference between two committed sides.

Gary Walsh rolled back the years to nail a monstrous three pointer in the second minute that had the home fans in rapture.

The Belfast side went into the game as favourites but they looked nervous in the opening exchanges and when Walsh produced a second three pointer Neptune extended their lead to seven points.

After going four minutes without a score the northerners got up and running courtesy of a Richard Berzins basket and bonus.

As the quarter matured it was evident the Phoenix outfit were getting used to the surroundings at the Blackpool venue and a nice drive to the hoop from Dominic Lynn gave them a 15-12 lead in the seventh minute.

Sean Carroll did manage to execute consecutive three pointers and suddenly Neptune had a three- point lead with 1.30 remaining.

The closing exchanges were competitive with a Shane Duggan buzzer beater basket reducing the deficit with Phoenix commanding a 24-23 lead entering the second quarter.

Duggan produced another deft drive to the hoop on the restart, but the game was still tight with neither team giving much away in defence.

Richard Berzins was posing the Neptune defence problems and when he drained a long range three pointer in the 14th minute it gave his side a 36-29 lead.

The Neptune scoring dried up in this period and with two minutes remaining to the interval they trailed 43-32 with Phoenix playing solid man to man defence.

Dominic Lynn was posing Neptune all sorts of problems with his physical presence in the offence court and with a minute remaining to the interval his brace of free throws gave his side a 12- point lead.

Kevin Garcia was on hand to nail a three when the game threatened to run away from Neptune but a stunning buzzer beater from Maks Dimitrov ensured Phoenix led 51-39 at the break.

The home side rallied on the restart but midway through the quarter a second three pointer from the Phoenix guard Diminitov stretched their lead to 13 points 61-48.

In fairness Neptune continued to rally and with 2.44 remaining the deficit was reduced to eight points.

There were a few errors in the closing minutes, but Phoenix still commanded a nine- point lead 64-55 entering the fourth.

Coming down the stretch Neptune continued to press their opponents but their inability to get vital stops when reducing the lead to four points came back to haunt them.

In the end, Phoenix held firm as they can now set their sights on a final clash with Killester.

Scorers for Neptune: S Duggan 19, G Walsh 18, , S Carroll 12.

Phoenix: M Dimitrov 26, D Lynn 18, D Lavelle 15.

Neptune: P Keenan, E Sheehan, J O’Callaghan, D Varma, E Fitzgerald, B O’Neill, S Duggan, S Carroll, E Barrett, K Garcia, P Cashman, G Walsh, C Mulcahy, C Leahy.

Phoenix: D Lynn, P Lalov, P Corr, G Murphy, R Berzins, M Dimitrov, J Byrne, J Lynn, B Lynn, C Mason, D O’Gorman, D Lavelle, P Ferguson, C Mullan, N Mullan.

Referees: Jamie Dooley (Portlaoise), Andreas Pauliukenas (Dublin), Ellen Garvey (Dublin).