In The Men’s Champions Trophy, a newly established competition for National League Div 1 ;Cup and Premiership Winners, the National Cup Div 1 Winners Jm&L Titans were drawn against a Strongly favored Bord Gais Neptune side who had placed a close 3rd in the 2014 Premiership Tiitle race.. Now, by way of adding context to this Story…Our Maree peers who had won the Div 1 Title this year had drawn the lower seeded D.C.U. Saints Premiership side and been demolished on the previous evening by a score of 83-63 on their home court. Similarly, Moycullen had been well beaten on both outings against this Neptune side this season, by 20 and 33 points.
Meanwhile, The JM&L Auctioneers Titans, had been coming off the back of a Strong Win against the Mighty Swords Thunder last weekend had nothing to lose and all to win in this Champions Cup Quarter Final played in front of their Biggest crowd of the season at Cappagh Park Knockcarra.
The Titans started the better against a lackluster and maybe overly confident Cork side, full of pedigree and confidence. Ginteras and Mitkus owned the Defensive Boards and hit the runners Fabricious and Peldzius who were filling the lanes with speed and finishing consistently in the opening quarter. Coaches Freeman and Carolan weren’t afraid to go deep along the bench and when Murphy, Saah,McNairney and Hynes were sprung..nothing was lost on the defensive end and Coyne and Mitkus continued to run at the Cork side with Flair and abandon. With the Cork side reeling from the home sides quickness and speed, the score at the end of the first quarter was 28-12 Titans..Game-On!
In the second quarter,Chris Coyne with some great assist play from Emmet Murphy tortured the Neptune side with a resplendant display of outside shooting. Murphy stepped in for a couple of 10 footers hihself and Ginteras continued to impress with some baby sky hooks, a hitherto dying artform..Neptune began to pound the ball into their own Big American Import- Townes, who finished to great effect from in close.., narrowing the gap by outscoring the Titans by 31-21, and leaving the score 49-43 to the Titans at the Half.
In the third quarter, The Lithuanian Triad of Mitkus, Ginteras and Peldzius were combining for steals, rebounds and baskets from close in to keep the Titans in the game .While the shooting of Chris Coyne from outside the arc, continued to keep the score close, while the Cork lads began to show indications as to their true potential with some Big 3’s of their own from Walsh and Kamara. The tiredness was beginning to show on both sides and one felt that this game was going to be won by the ability or inability of either Coach to use their substitutes to greatest effect in what was fast becoming a Battle of Attrition..but an amazing game to watch. Coach Freeman had 8 players making an impact on the scoreboard at this juncture and Tomas Mitkus was still the man to stop, but he was being ably supported by the Basketball-wise Glen Hynes who continued to box out and thwart the efforts of Neptunes Awesome American while hitting Fabricious, Murphy and Peldzius as they cut their way through the Neptune defence. By the end of the third quarter, Neptune were now on terms and beggining to show their dominance in around the basket leading the Titans by 64 to 63 with an intriguing Fourth quarter in prospect.
Indeed, given the tired legs on both sides, nobody could have foreseen the ability of both sides to have raised their game with the quality, speed and marksmanship that followed. Neptune shot from deep, finished in close, while The Titans continued to move the ball at speed from their own boards with all five actively involved in each offence. Both Americans were in foul trouble and indeed with 1 minute 20 seconds on the clock, Titans Chris Coyne fouled out. However, with two timeouts and a team full of prolific freethrow shooters on court, the bouyant Home support always believed their squad could bring home the Biggest Win in the Clubs Ten year history. Neptune fouled, Peldzius, Fabriscious and Mitkus, putting them to the line to make them earn their win, and these competent shooters did not disappoint taking this final quarter by 23 points to 18 and Bringing home the Victory 86 – 82.
Top scorers-
86 (49) (T Mitkus 24, C Coyne 21, P Peldzius 14, Ginteras 10, Emmet 8, Toms 5, Chris Mc Nairney 2 and Glen Hynes 2 pts.)
Bord Gais Neptune 82 (43) (D Townes 24, G Walsh 13, J Kamara 13).