Letterkenny Blaze finish well at All-Ireland Club Championships

Last weekend saw the end to club action when both Letterkenny Blaze Under 16 Girls and Under 16 boys competed in the All Ireland Club Championships having qualified out of the North West to represent the region.

The 16 girls were hosted by the Kilkenny/South East Area Board.  Their opponents in the pool were Tralee Imperials and Longford Falcons.  First up was the Tralee game which was a fast paced and closely contested game.  The girls worked hard and maintained their full court press which eventually wore down the Kerry side and saw our girls get the win 39-32.  Later in the day the girls faced the Midlands side Longford Falcons.  With all girls getting to play their part in this game, the Letterkenny girls took the win here also in a game which ended 41-22.  Having topped their pool, their next game was to be the semi-final against Blackwater Steelers from Monaghan.  This was played on Sunday morning.

This game was another high paced affair with the Letterkenny girls creating many opportunities but their finishing let them down.  Steelers were quick on the break and scored well from a number of turnover opportunities.

The result was 36-26 and the loss was seen as a missed opportunity.  The final game of the weekend was for 3^rd/4^th place and was played against Kiltimagh Giants.  The girls played well however exhausted they seemed but saw the game out to claim the victory for 3^rd place on a score line of 32-25.

The 16 boys were hosted by the Kerry Area Basketball Board.  The opponents in the same pool were KCYMS Killorglin and Kilkenny Stars BC.  Their first game was played against KCYMS who come from a strong tradition of basketball and proved too strong for the lads ending in a score line of 41-13.

Next up was Kilkenny Stars, the result of this game was 39-24.  For the 3^rd game of the day the Letterkenny boys faced Parish Panthers from Co Clare.  The boys worked really hard during this game and took the win easily 40-30.  The final game for 9/10^th spot was played on Sunday morning where the boys played their old rivals Andersonstown Tigers, Belfast from the BNI league.  The tigers took the win and our boys finished 10^th overall for the weekend.

Two weeks ago our U14’s girls and boys got their turn to compete also.  The U14 girls travelled to Limerick to play in the All Ireland Club Championship on the 8^th & 9^th April. The girls were included in Pool 2 with Waterford Wildcats and Longford Falcons. First on court saw Letterkenny Blaze girls battle it out in a very close contested game with Waterford Wildcats.   Wildcats edged out as eventual winners of this game (and overall tournament winners) with a close score line of 30 pts to Blaze 28 pts.

Next, saw the Letterkenny girls take on Longford Falcons.  This was another close game with very little between the two teams up until the final quarter.  For the final 6 minutes, the Letterkenny girls dominated both ends of the court and finished out winners with a 9 point advantage (Letterkenny Blaze 35 points, Longford Falcons 26 points).  Finishing second in their pool resulted in Blaze girls playing Gneevegilla, who also finished 2^nd place in their respective pool. Working hard to continue their earlier winning form Blaze girls dominated the game from the start and claimed an early substantial lead which prevented their opposition gaining any game control.  The final score line Blaze 31 points and Gneevegilla 14 points.

Playing for 5^th / 6^th table position saw Blaze take on Kilmitagh Giants. Unfortunately, the winning streak of the Letterkenny girls was not to continue despite the fact that they lead the game up until the final seconds. Blaze dominated in the 1st, 2^nd and 3^rd quarters but the Giants put in a huge performance in the dying seconds to claim winners of the game with a 2 point lead over Blaze. Kiltimagh 37 points. Letterkenny Blaze 35 points.   Overall, a great performance from all Blaze girls and all are looking forward to getting back on court in the new season to gain qualification for further tournaments to cement Letterkenny Blaze Basketball Club on the national basketball map.

The 14 boys didn’t have as far to travel as they competed in the AICC’s A division in the Foyle Arena in Derry.  The standard of play was really high here with teams from the various strongholds of basketball participating.

They went on to lose their game to Titans Galway, Blue Demons Cork and St Brigid’s Kerry.  It was a great learning curve for the boys who no doubt will be back to contest the B division next year.