Adrian O'Sullivan wins his 50th cap for Ireland in big win 76-70 over Azerbaijan

Ireland 76

Azerbaijan 70

Ballincollig's Adrian O'Sullivan won his 50th international senior cap as Ireland ended their FIBA EuroBasket 2029 Pre-qualifying campaign with a 76-70 win against Azerbaijan in Baku.

O'Sullivan helped Ireland recover from a 15-point first half deficit to give Michael Bree a first win on the road as head coach. 

Adrian O’Sullivan was incredibly proud of the contribution from the Irish rookies on a very special night for the Cork man.

“I’m really, really proud of all the younger boys on the team. It’s their first away win in their first or second cap,” said O’Sullivan. 

“I’m just really proud of their effort and their grit. There’s some great young players around and the future’s definitely bright. 

"If that’s it from me, then what a way to go out. I’m really happy for the staff and incredibly grateful for the opportunity as always.”

It has been an amazing year for O'Sullivan.  

With his brother Ciaran as his club coach, they both helped Ballincollig win the Super League and National Cup titles, with Adrian also earning his place on the end of season All-Star second team.

During the game, Ireland's Sean Flood caught fire in the second half to finish with a 25-point haul.

After going down by 15 points in the second quarter, Ireland dug deep to come away six point winners in Baku. 

Sam Alajiki followed up his 20 point performance against North Macedonia with a 19 point display against Azerbaijan, while Ben Stevens clocked 11 points from the post. 

The win is not enough for Ireland to advance to the next phase of FIBA EuroBasket 2029 qualifying, that fate was confirmed in Skopje on Thursday, but that will not take the gloss of an important win for the programme.

With so many new players introduced in this international window of three games, coach Michael Bree's squad is now much stronger and in a much better place it was in when he first took over last year.

Ireland: Max Amadasun (0), Rapolas Buivydas (0), Sean Flood (0), Sean Fitzpatrick (25), Sam Alajiki (19), Declan Gbinigie (0), Aivaras Uosis (0), Ben Stevens (11), Adrian O’Sullivan (0), Tiernan Stynes (11), Leeroy Odiahi (4), Victor Okojie (6) 

Azerbaijan: Emmanuel Agabason (9), Wesley Van Beck (21), Akbar Mammadov (0), Orhan Haciyeva (6), Ulas Turgut (4), Jabrayil Akbarov (13), Amil Hamzayev (2), Kamran Mammadov (11), Ercan Donat (0), Derin Berkoz (0), Endar Poladkhanli (0), Shirzad Shirzadov (4).