St Joseph's College, The Bish, boasts a strong tradition in basketball success, and the latest addition to the school's fine record is this year's U16 A boys who won the All Ireland Schools League.
The Bish overcame St Patrick's College (Cavan ) by 49-44 in the NBA Tallaght on Monday with a composed finish in a close final quarter.
Both teams had entered the contest with confidence - The Bish, having beaten the cup champions Malahide Community School and the U14 champions from last year, PBS Cork, in the quarter and semi-final respectively, while St Pat's had beaten the Bish in the cup semi-final by a score in the last 30 seconds.
St Pats led at the end of a slow first quarter with a score of 13- 8, but it was St Joseph's turn in the second quarter. Tony Ezeonu and Brian Clifford started to break down the zone of St Patrick’s, and with the Bish’s defensive intensity going up a couple of levels, they quickly reeled in the deficit and pushed on to lead 19 -16 to the Bish at the half.
Foul trouble started to creep in for the Bish, with Ezeonu and Clifford picking up their third and fourth fouls in this quarter. Daniel Philpott, Brian Mitchell and Donogh McDonogh rotated to ease the pressure on Ezeonu and Clifford, while Rory O'Sullivan hit two super three pointers at crucial times in the game. However, St Patrick's Daniel Oyeleye and Cillian Moran worked hard to keep it close before Ezeonu showed his wide range of skills, hitting two threes to put more daylight between the teams. Ciaran O’Brien and Moran kept the scoreboard ticking for St Patrick’s leave it at a six-point deficit 26–32.
The Bish piled on the pressure at the start of the fourth with Kento O’Connor, and Ezeonu to the fore. With just under three minutes to go and a 12-point lead, it looked like an easy win for the Galway school. However Arnoldas Juska stepped up and went on a scoring spree, cutting the lead to three leave it at three with just under a minute to go.
Neither side was willing to give up easily, St Pats having already lost the Cup final to Malahide CS, and the Bish, having won the U14 All Ireland last year and back-to-back BIPPS Inter Regional U15 All Ireland titles. In the end that experience stood to them when composure was needed down the stretch. MVP Ezeonu steadied the ship and saw out the last 30 seconds to leave it 44-49 for St Joseph’s.
In the U19A final St Malachy's College Belfast beat Pobail Scoil Sliabh Luachra, Rathmore to become National Champions.
St Joseph’s College The Bish: Tony Ezeonu 23, Brian Clifford 14, Kento O’Connor 6, Alex Gordan, Brian Mitchell, James Fallon, Daniel Philpott, Rory O’Sullivan 6, Aengus McBrierty, Adam Byrne, Donagh McDonagh, Robert McNulty. MVP: Tony Ezeonu (St Joseph's Bish, Galway ).
