Double delight for Ballincollig basketballers against Killester in Super League final
DOUBLE DELIGHT: Ballincollig players celebrate with the Super League trophy in Tallaght. Picture: Paul Phelan/Sportsfile
Ballincollig produced a solid display to secure a historic double against Killester in the Domino’s Men’s Super League final at the National Basketball Arena on Sunday.
In a season where they have already lifted the National Cup for the first time and finished first place in the regular season, Ballincollig proved they were undoubtedly the best team throughout this memorable campaign. It's their second Super League, having also secured the big prize in 2023, some going for a club that only joined the national league in 2017.
Many heroes on the day with the professional trio of Latavious Mitchell, Latrell Jossell and Josh Steel all excelling with the game’s MVP Adrian O’Sullivan (17) and Dylan Corkery also playing superbly in this final.
The opening exchanges with both sides missing easy tips before Latavious Mitchell opened the Ballincollig scoring with consecutive baskets. Baptise Chazelas looked to be the go-to Killester man coming up with three unanswered baskets that tied the game in the third minute.
Ballincollig were playing a press zone defence with Killester gradually began exposing them. When Paul Dick went outside the paint midway through the quarter, it gave his side a three-point lead, 11-8.
Killester were asking plenty of Ballincollig’s defence despite a Latrell Jossell three-pointer giving them a 16-15 lead in the seventh minute. Dick picked up his second foul and had to be substituted before returning in the final minute.
In the closing possessions, both sides fluffed numerous tip-ins before a late Josh Wilson baseline jumper ensured the sides were tied at 17 each entering the second quarter.
Wilson came up trumps again on the restart for Killester with a neat banked shot as Ronan O’Sullivan came in for Mitchell, who had picked up his second foul at the end of the opening quarter. Credit to Killester, they did a good job in shutting down the various Ballincollig threats with Jossell struggling to get clear looks.
However, a three-pointer from Josh Steel was followed by a superb Adrian O’Sullivan basket and suddenly they had a five-point lead, 34-29, midway through the quarter. There is little doubt the Ballincollig revival was helped by the introduction of player-coach Ciaran O’Sullivan, who got his team moving with some notable assists.
In a two-minute period, both sides played some scrappy basketball. With Ballincollig leading 31-24, Killester called a time-out with Adrian O’Sullivan going to the line for two free throws; he made one with 3.40 remaining to the interval.
The reintroduction of Mitchell saw him immediately finish in style with consecutive baskets. In the final minute, Steel waltzed through for an unchallenged lay-up and suddenly Ballincollig had a nine-point lead.
That’s the way it stayed until the break, with Ballincollig going in with a 39-30 lead with neither team operating near their best.
The Ballincollig half-time stats read they made 10/18 inside the arc (56%) and outside the paint it was 5/15, 33%. Killester’s 30-point haul wasn’t helped by the fact, they only made 1/14 outside the arc, a paltry reading of 7%.
Three turnovers saw the third quarter off to a slow start, but Mitchell showed his class with consecutive baskets with Dick responding with a couple of baskets. Braswell showed his class with a stunning three-pointer that cut the Ballincollig lead to six points in the 23rd minute.
It was noticeable Dick was posing Ballincollig problems, but a superb Adrian O’Sullivan basket was followed by a cheap Killester turnover that yielded a Steel bucket and suddenly it was a nine-point game again.
The shooting of Steel was a major factor in this quarter, and entering the fourth Ballincollig had a 12-point cushion.
On the restart, Killester, helped by the brilliance of Paul Dick, cut the gap to six.
The closing minutes were frantic but credit to Ballincollig when questions were asked, they had the required answers on a day when they completed the elusive double at the top tier of Irish basketball.
L Mitchell 18, A O’Sullivan 17, L Jossell 17, J Steel 16, D Corkery 5.
R Braswell 23, P Dick 19, J Wilson 11, B Chazelas 10.
A O’Sullivan, J Steel, L Jossell, D O’Herlihy, A Rodriguez, C O’Sullivan, R O’Sullivan, C Blount, L O’Sullivan, D Corkery, K Cairns, L Mitchell.
A McGeever, J Wilson, C O’Reilly, D Sheridan, P Dick, T Byrne, M McGrath, F Raheem, K Yang, R Braswell, B Chazelas, J Rawdon, R Farouq, C Roe.
M Nazimek (Dublin), E Perry (Dublin), A Wickham (Dublin).
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