UL Eagles 91
A focused and avenging UL Eagles team proved too much for the undersized Moycullen outfit during Saturday’s SuperLeague action in Galway.
Fresh from suprising back-to-back losses, defending Nivea For Men’s SuperLeague champions UL Eagles came to Kingfisher Arena determined to stop a young Moycullen team sink them to three on the trot.
Setting the tone from the outset, Eagles pounded the ball inside to Jason Killeen who willingly passed out to shooters when Moycullen double teams arrived.
The principal beneficiaries from this were Neil Campbell and Rob Lynch for Eagles who knocked down open shots consistently throughout the game, helping their side to an impressive 91 point total.
While Moycullen managed to reduce the deficit to a 10-point margin with four minutes remaining, the home side were always playing second fiddle to an excellent Eagles performance that sent a clear message to the rest of the league that the road to the title still passes through Limerick. In the form they showed on Saturday, Eagles would beat any team in Ireland.
While Moycullen struggled to contain the scoring of the men from Limerick, head coach Salva Camps was happy his side managed 73 points and probably played better than in recent wins.
“Eagles are a very good team. They are a lot bigger than us, at all positions and they played very well today,” said Camps.
While they were pushed around physically for much of the contest, Moycullen’s youngest players once again shone with Rory Gilson impressing on his debut, connecting with a three-pointer within minutes of his introduction.
As usual, Moycullen u-18 stars Patrick Lyons and Dylan Costello, fresh from a week of international duty against Scotland, carried a burden far heavier than that asked of most their age at this level.
U-18 cup semi-final
The Moycullen faithful will be hoping the experience this duo have gained throughout the season - as well as that earned by the less regular but important appearances of fellow u-18 players Stephen O’Brien, Sean Candon and Mark Rohan - will stand to the squad who play a highly-anticipated National Cup semi-final this weekend in Cork.
Their opponents on Saturday will be the mighty Neptune who have a budding SuperLeague star in 6’ 7” Mattie Rudak. Moycullen will need an exceptional performance to secure passage to a first u-18 National Cup final for the club playing in front of passionate Neptune supporters.
A supporters’ bus is travelling to the match and reservations can be made by contacting Gerry Nihill 087-7994904. Further details are available on moycullenbasketball.net
