Basketball NI would like to congratulate St Malachy’s and Our Lady and St Patrick’s College Knock (OLSPK) who have reached the All Ireland Schools League Finals 2017.
St. Malachy’s U16A boys secured their place in the finals with a 17-point win over Mercy Mounthawk. The Belfast boys will face tough competition against their opponents St Joseph’s Bis of Galway on Thursday 02/03/2017
OLSPK U19B Girls will join the St Malachy lads at the National Basketball Arena after closing out a 42 – 53 win over Loreto Crumlin in the Semi finals. The girls will face Presentation De La Salle (Co. Mayo).
Disappointingly St Malachy’s U19A Boys narrowly missed out on a finals appearance after they fell 72-75 to Pres Brothers Cork in the Semi Finals.
Below is the coach’s P McGaharan review of the St Pats game
After progressing on from the playoff stages in Galway, the U19 girls from OLSPCK reached the highly coveted semi final place against cup winners, Loreto Crumlin. It was clear both teams had to shake some nerves in the first quarter as it was very low scoring, with the score only being 6-6 after the first 6 minutes of play. However, once the girls settled, they were able to expose Loreto with a full court press which caused steals and opportunities for easy lay ups. Loreto showed great resilience as they battled the whole game but the OLSPCK girls managed to hold on to a comfortable lead throughout the second half. Some excellent shooting from Ciara McCrenaor, Doireann Sheridan and Lousia Donnelly allowed a nice cushion going into the fourth. Maeve Deery was assigned with a tough job defensively, guarding the MVP of the cup final and proved to be a real nuisance the whole game, making every basket she scored a very tough shot. The final score 53-42. OLSPCK will face off against a very tough side in Pres DLS Bagnelstown in the final on Thursday 2nd March at 12.30. All support welcome and live coverage on youtube provided