Mhaigh Cuilinn basektball travel to Dublin on Saturday to face top Northern Conference side DBS Eanna who secured a big cup win over Neptune last weekend.
A win will be a tough ask for the Galway club with injuries still keeping James Loughnane, James Connaire and James Lyons out, along with Liam Maloney. However, after a first win over Blue Demons, they will go into this fixture with greater belief as they continue to find their feet in what’s an extremely strong league this year.
The return of American Grant Olsson from injury and the excellent point guard play of Mateo Liberatore are two key factors in CC Mhaigh Cuilinn’s renewed optimism. Liberatore has been a real find. His ability to score and create has added some desperately needed variety to the CC Mhaigh Cuilinn offense with opposition teams focused on chief scorer Olsson.
However, a return to CC Mhaigh Cuilinn’s trademark tight defensive structure has also helped, while team captain Joe Tummon has led the way on that front and Kyle Cunningham has picked up a series of tough defensive match-ups and delivered some excellent individual defence along with strong rebounding at both ends of the floor. Brother Dylan has rolled back the years bringing solidity and control, and Ayberk Taylan has begun to deliver with scoring and rebounding.
All will need to be at their best if CC Mhaigh Cuilinn are to have a chance on Saturday night. DBS Eanna is one of the most experienced teams in the league, with a number of solid import players, most of whom have multiple years of experience in Irish basketball. In Scotty Kinnevane, Neil Lynch and Mark Reynolds, they have three former Irish Internationals who are some of the longest-serving Irish players in the league, while Sean Jenkins from Cork has just returned from a four-year stint playing division one basketball in the US and he adds some youth and athleticism.
They are one of the best three point shooting teams in the league, which makes them tough to guard - thus Saturday night will be the ultimate test of CC Mhaigh Cuilinn’s improving defensive structure. If they can contain DBS Eanna’s fluid offence, they will hope for a big scoring effort across the board to lead them to their second win on the bounce.
