THE LAST WEEKEND of the first month of the new year means two things. The end of ‘Dry January’ and the Hula Hoops National Cup basketball finals.
The men’s final sees Pyrobel Killester take on Griffith Swords Thunder at 8pm this evening.
The last time these two sides met in the Men’s Super League was on New Year’s Eve, with Swords coming from behind in the fourth quarter to power through and ease home by 21 points in the end.
It is a second cup final in a row for Swords, having suffered an agonising defeat at the hands of Templeogue in last year’s decider.
Once more, Isaac Westbrooks will be leading the charge from the point, but will need support from key players Jose Maria Gil Narbon, Justin Goldsborough, Kevin Lacey and Alex Dolenko to try to overcome an extremely determined Killester.
Killester, meanwhile, are looking forward to being back on one of the biggest stages in Irish basketball and will be hoping they can put the ultimate crown on their club’s 50th anniversary celebrations tonight.
They will be looking to players such as Jermaine Turner, Cian Nihill, Peder Madsen and Ciaran Roe to bring their experience and skill to the fore on the night.
“The big storyline in the men’s final is a Killester team that has been together for a number of years and it’s amazing that Jermaine is in his 40s and still playing at such a high level,” says Conor Meany – player with UCD Marian and analyst on TG4′s coverage of this weekend’s events.
Emmet Ryan, who’ll join Meany on TG4 over the course of the weekend, is also full of praise for the 42-year old.
“Jermaine turns 43 this year and he went for 15 points and 28 rebounds in the semi-final against UCD Marian which are just stupid numbers.
“He’s not even that big for a centre, he’s the same height as Kieran Donaghy, 6’5″, but he’s just so smart and physically athletic and, even though he’s an old man, he doesn’t play old man ball. He’s just such a competitor.”
The other player Meany says to look out for is Narbon, whose credentials are very impressive:
“It probably has been the best year of recruitment by Swords yet,” he says.
“They’ve brought in a fantastic Spanish player in Narbon — formerly of the Real Madrid academy — who played on the Spain U20 team with Nikola Mirotić who now plays for the Bulls and he’s been the best player I’ve seen in the league in years and in the game against Templeogue in the Arena he was virtually unplayable.
“From an Irish point of view, a lot will ride on the match-up between Ciaran Roe and Issac Westbrooks.
“Westbrooks used to play for Killester so it’ll be a big deal for him to play against them but he’s the leader for Thunder and, when they’re rolling, everything comes through him.
“Ciaran has been playing really well recently and, in order for Killester to have success, they’ll need a couple of their guards to support Turner in terms of shooting the ball well.”
Ryan, who also runs the BallinEurope website, agrees.
“Last year, Westbrooks had a chance to tie it up at the end of regulation but just missed and Templeogue won so, for him, it’s a huge one. He really wants this.
“The weak spot for me for Swords are the two American imports. They alternate at the centre position and have a lot of off nights together this year and it’s the likes of Narbon who will really have to step up to the plate.
“Swords also have an issue with disappearing in the middle of games. The semi-final should have been over at the half. They were up 42-29 and Moycullen looked dead. Then Swords went asleep in the third quarter.
“If Killester keep it close at the half, they’ll give Swords an awful fright. But they know that if Jermaine doesn’t go off in the this game, they’ve no chance.”
Meany also feels it will be close, but just edges Swords too.
“Thunder will be the favourites, they have more scoring power but, if Killester can keep it close, particularly into the fourth they’ve a great chance but I just slightly favour swords.”
The42′s preview of the women’s National Cup final will be live from 9am on Sunday, 29 January.
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