Maigh Cuilinn enter this weekend’s Basketball Ireland Superleague matchup in the rare position of being favourites away from home when they travel to Dublin to face St. Vincent’s of Glasnevin.
While Vincent’s are one of the most storied clubs in Irish basketball, they are having a few down years and this season in particular look vulnerable for relegation, having won just one game to date. They also have the worst overall score difference of any team in the league.
With Maigh Cuilinn playing in the Southern Conference and St. Vincent’s in what is widely regarded as the weaker Northern Conference, this will be the only meeting of the teams. Maigh Cuilinn will bear the tag of favourites and did win the solitary meeting between the sides last year, but the result this Saturday is far from a foregone conclusion.
That win for Maigh Cuilinn against Vincent’s last year came after a thrilling back and forth contest that saw 10 lead changes and Maigh Cuilinn had to come from behind with only 40 seconds remaining to seal what was in fairness a well deserved victory but one they very nearly threw away down the stretch.
Perhaps the most difficult hurdle for Maigh Cuilinn this weekend will be shaking off of rust. By the time the ball is thrown up on Saturday, it will have been almost three weeks since their previous competitive fixture after having a bye-week last week and having had the Galway derby versus Maree the weekend before cancelled due to issues at the University of Galway Sports Arena.
St Vincent’s on the other hand had a superb outing last weekend and were just a single score away from causing what would have been the shock of the season before losing out 87 to 84 against Tralee Warriors in the National Cup quarterfinal down in Kerry.
In terms of scouting, Maigh Cuilinn head coach John Cunningham will undoubtedly have spent a significant amount of time on recent St. Vincent’s signing Justin Sylver out of Cleveland, Ohio in the United States. The 6 foot 8 inch forward exploded onto the Irish Superleague scene in November with outings of 30 points and 26 points in losing efforts against Belfast Star and Ballincollig respectively.
A versatile scorer who brings plenty of energy, Maigh Cuilinn will have to throw a few different bodies at him over the course of the game with James Connaire or Grant Olsson perhaps the most likely candidates to shoulder the brunt of workload defensively in that assignment.
The sparkling play of returned homegrown pro Patrick Lyons, fresh from several years plying his trade in the leagues in Germany has added massively to Maigh Cuilinn and if they can get a win Saturday in Dublin, the men from Connemara will have every chance of putting together a strong finish to 2023 to move clear of the relegation zone.
The game is at 7pm in St Vincent’s famed historic home in Glasnevin, Dublin on Saturday night (9 December ).
